There are 1,300 properties on the island that are more than 100 years old
OCEAN CITY — It may surprise some people who live on the island that there are 1,300 properties more than 100 years old.
It certainly surprised Sne Avichal, who was the host of the Friends of OCNJ History & Culture historic home tour Dec. 6.
“There is a misconception that there are little to no old homes in Ocean City, but Alan Richter did a database of all the housing stock in Ocean City. He established that there are 1,300 homes in Ocean City that are at least 100 years old,” Avichal said. (He supported Richter in that effort.)
“As an architect, I would have put that number at 200. It’s 1,300 houses that we wouldn’t have known about,” he added.
Avichal and Richter are on the board of the Friends group, which describes itself as “a group of old homeowners and history enthusiasts dedicated to educating and inspiring people about the rich history and culture of our wonderful town, with a special focus on its historic homes and buildings.”
“These structures are living embodiments of the city’s past and provide a visual link to its heritage,” the group continues on its website. “Our goal is to raise awareness about the importance of preserving this history, the value of these buildings, and to ensure their continued survival and contribution to the community.”
Avichal is one of a small group of owners of the historic Scarborough Inn at 720 Ocean Ave. He is the innkeeper.
He organized this year’s tour, finding the homes and businesses that participated and did the outreach to find the volunteer hosts.
The tour sold out.
“We didn’t do a lot of broad marketing for this,” he said. “We marketed it mostly to people in town because we want the locals to discover old homes in town. We want people to know a lot of these houses are still here.”
There were 13 houses and seven businesses included in this year’s tour, and some but not all have been renovated.
Avichal noted a number of the homes have changed hands fairly recently. One on the tour is the Coastal Chateau at the corner of of Sixth Street and Atlantic Avenue. It has a history dating back to near the turn of the previous century and is now a luxury boutique hotel.
The Scarborough Inn also was on the tour.
“My predecessors left that in pretty good shape,” he said. Avichal headed up the redesign of all of the rooms.
He said the tour included some houses that “are in terrible shape, but they are beautiful holiday homes.” He noted the former Holly Manor at 424 Atlantic Ave. has not yet been renovated so those going on the tour saw a lot of the original finishes.
He said the tour was a positive thing for the community.
“Of the many things, especially this year, this town could use something that brings people together,” he said.
“Over the last couple months, hosts that I’ve met are going through a variety of some of their own personal tragedies, but this is something that brings them joy,” Avichal said.
That included a home where the mother had passed away recently, but the daughters were inheriting the house and adding “a new energy” to it.”
The Scaffidi family renovated the Coastal Chateau and will be doing the same at the former Holly Manor.
“One of the things that makes Ocean City so charming is that we still have these locally owned businesses that have properties from the 1900s, original ones that have been renovated and cared for by families that grew up loving the town,” said Alyse Scaffidi at Coastal Chateau.
“Our family just purchased the former Holly Manor at 424 Atlantic Ave. so we’ll be renovating that and making it available,” Scaffidi said. “It’s a really large property with nine bedrooms and eight baths, so big families can now enjoy that during the summer. We’ve put a lot of love into it and I can’t wait for everyone to see the transformation.”
To learn more about Friends of OCNJ History & Culture, go to friendsocnj.org.
– STORY AND PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
