The Henry Hotel has stood at the corner of S. Division St. and Baltimore Avenue in downtown Ocean City, MD since 1916.
In 1926 Mr. Charles Henry and his wife Emma, an African American couple living in Berlin, purchased the building creating a property that catered to ‘the better class of resort employees.’ These employees were the backbone of the nascent hospitality industry in Ocean City.
Until 1956 when Mrs. Pearl Bonner took up the management the Hotel had a rather up and down reputation. Once she was in charge the Henry became a respectable property for Ocean City workers. She catered to the workers who supported the island’s resort businesses – hotels, motels, restaurants, and amusements.
Finally, in 1973 Mrs. Bonner became the owner of the property. She had paid $15,500 for the property. The Hotel continued to operate as a hotel until the late 1990s. After that, she occasionally welcomed friends and family to the former hotel. Upon her death in 2003 the Henry passed to her then three daughters.
“I try to take care of all my business in a business-like way, and I do unto others as I’d have them do unto me at all times. That’s my motto.”
Lyncia Pearl Bonner
