Voice From The Readers 

By Special To The Dispatch Originally published May 11, 2007 

Ocean City Losing Its Classic Appeal 



Editor: 


A small fishing village once known for its unique atmosphere and family-oriented appeal has permanently turned for the worst. Ocean City, located at the bottom edge of the Delmarva Peninsula, has been stripped of its classic stick buildings and rare businesses to cater to money-hungry government officials and contractors. 

One by one, the timeless buildings, most built in the 1960s and which offered a homey atmosphere that we all remember so well, are being demolished to make way for condominiums and elaborate hotels that now dominate the once dwarfed skyline. We no longer have a “high-rise row,” but rather an entire city made up of the modern high-rise commercial buildings that many tourists and city-goers despise. 

Local government officials for Ocean City have become blind to what tourists originally loved about the town. The accelerated growth of the condominium industry in Ocean City has gotten ahead of itself, leaving many condos vacant because of uninterested people who are no longer in the market for such a property, or who can no longer afford it because of high prices. 

The town, once desired by many because of its affordability, has become dominated by high prices that are out of the budget range for many who visit. Tourists are now choosing other vacation hot-spots to take their families because of the constant increase in pricing for entertainment, lodging and dining. Furthermore, visitors are no longer impressed by the town, but rather disgusted by the rate of commercialism taking over the once frugal and old town-styled resort. 

In the midst of the ever-changing commercial atmosphere, local businesses are beginning to suffer as well. Recent tax increases have threatened to shut down Trimper’s Amusements, a staple business in Ocean City that has been offering entertainment to visitors young and old since 1890. The family and its 14 shareholders will meet after this season to consider selling the majority of the property and ending their historical amusement legacy. The family is finding it more and more difficult to make enough money, one dollar at a time, to meet the increasing taxes, which are assessed at $914,000 this year. The property value, which rose from $24 million in 2004 to $63 million this year, is making it impossible for the family to continue to run the classic black-top-pavement rides that we all remember from our childhood. The Trimper’s are fairly optimistic, hoping that tax relief may be on its way from city officials. Owner and President Granville Trimper is against folding up. It is rumored that he will attempt to operate rides on a small portion of land regardless of what the corporation does as a whole. 

It is downright shameful that a family, dedicated to their business and who work tireless days in the grease, sweat and frustrations, are given this tax burden as a thank-you for entertaining the city and contributing to its economy continuously for the past century. It has already been proven that besides the Trimpers, other business owners, who ventured into this small town at the start of the 20th century and founded the great resort that it once was, are now resorting to selling their business property because of increasing costs, both in taxes and other necessities, like insurance. And, with the recent opening of Wal-Mart and Home Depot just over the Route 50 Bridge, businesses that were perhaps in a comfortable state are being forced out of business. The small hardware stores and convenient beach-merchandisers are forced to find alternate jobs or go out of business all together. 

Commercialism is taking over the town one block at a time. The sky-rocketing land values and high tax assessments are bringing in good fortunes for contractors of condominiums and city officials and shutting out the small hotels and businesses that made this small resort town once so desired by millions.