Ocean City City Hall is located in Ocean City,

Cape May County Cape May County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Much of the county is located on Cape May bound by Delaware Bay to its west and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and east. Adjacent to the Atlantic coastline are fiv ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States. The building was built in 1914 and added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on June 13, 1997. To celebrate its 100th anniversary, it was made the subject of the 2014 Ocean City Seasonal Beach Tag. Every fall, students of

Ocean City High School Ocean City High School (OCHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Ocean City, in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Ocean C ...

turn the building into a Haunted House to celebrate Halloween, although there have been gaps where this didn't happen.

Geography and setting

Ocean City City Hall is a three-story building that is located at the corner of the intersection of Ninth Street and Asbury Avenue on a 0.3 acre lot. It faces Asbury Avenue, and is along the main corridor that enters the city. In 1914, the same year the building was finished, a causeway connecting Ocean City with

Somers Point Somers Point is a city that is the oldest settlement in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was settled by Europeans in 1693 and was incorporated as a borough in 1886. Somers Point was incorporated as a city in 1902. As of the 2 ...

was opened.

History

In 1896, the location of the current building was an undeveloped lot, owned by the Borough of Ocean City. In 1896, Volunteer fire Company #1 built their headquarters on the site as a wood-frame structure. After their 1911 election, the newly elected city commission purchased the property next to the fire house for $6,500, with the intention of constructing a

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

. At that time, city commissioners held meetings at the Massey & Edwards building at Eighth Street and Wesley Avenue. On December 6, 1912, the commissioners passed a resolution to advertise for plans to construct a new city hall, intending to make the new building a gateway to the city once the newly approved Somers Point–Ocean City bridge was opened. In April 1913, the city commission passed Ordinance #45, which authorized the costs for the new building. Then-mayor Harry Headley voiced his support, noting that Ocean City was the only town in the county without a city hall. Residents objected to the cost and need of the new building, resulting in a special referendum on August 1, 1913. Voters approved the construction of the new facility, and six days later, the city commission secured the plans and specifications of the new city hall. The plan chosen by the Young Men's Progressive League was designed by architect Vivian B. Smith in collaboration with Earle M. Henderer. The original plan featured a larger building with a dome, but the design was turned down for a more affordable option. On April 11, 1914, the

cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

was laid, marking the beginning of construction. The building was completed by the end of the year at cost of $75,000, and opened to public tours on January 1, 1915. Upset at the high cost of the building, residents did not re-elect Mayor Headley amid an organized opposition campaign. On the Ninth Street side, five archways were originally designed to house fire vehicles. This served as the location for the No. 1 and No. 3 fire houses. The building also originally housed the police department, containing a jail cell. On February 6, 1997, the city government requested that the City Hall be listed on the

. This request was formally approved on June 13 of that year. In 2012, floodwaters from

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

damaged the first floor of the building, causing the offices to be relocated. The town's city council approved a $1.17 million contract to rebuild and improve the first floor, including improved flood gates, water proofing up to deep, and a new layout that added a public information area and larger bathrooms. To celebrate its 100th anniversary, the building was made the subject of the 2014 Ocean City seasonal beach tag.

Architecture

An example of

Beaux-Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorpora ...

, the building is made of brick, stone, and

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...

around a steel frame. A stairway, leading from Asbury Avenue to the building's second floor, is made of brick with stone

coping Coping refers to conscious strategies used to reduce unpleasant emotions. Coping strategies can be cognitions or behaviours and can be individual or social. Theories of coping Hundreds of coping strategies have been proposed in an attempt to ...

, adjoined by two cast iron light fixtures, and two columns extending to the third floor. The east and north sides of the building both face alleyways with rectangular window openings. On the building's

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

below the roof, terracotta letters spell ''City Hall''. The roof is surrounded by a

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

, and the top of the roof has three skylights.

References

{{NRHP in Cape May County, New Jersey Ocean City, New Jersey City and town halls on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Government buildings completed in 1914 Buildings and structures in Cape May County, New Jersey City and town halls in New Jersey Clock towers in New Jersey Beaux-Arts architecture in New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Cape May County, New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places

Geography and setting

History

Architecture

See also

References