The Henry Hotel

By Bethany Hooper
Associate Editor
(Oct. 3, 2025)
Officials and supporters this week unveiled a new mural celebrating the Henry Hotel, its owners and its history. On Tuesday, representatives with the Henry Hotel Foundation and Beach to Bay Heritage Area, alongside officials with various nonprofits and government agencies, cut the ribbon on a new mural, located next to the historic Henry Hotel in downtown Ocean City. Funded by the Maryland Department of Commerce and the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, the installation not only celebrates the building’s legacy, but pays tribute to all African Americans who worked in Ocean City and helped make the resort town a successful tourist destination. “It’s a wonderful addition to what we are trying to do here in Ocean City …,” Henry Hotel Foundation President Nancy Howard said this week. “My motto is that the Henry Hotel is here because it wants to be here, it wants to tell its story, it needs to tell its story … Everybody here has played a part in helping us so far in getting the story out, and we’re not done yet.”

The Henry Hotel is one of a few 19th century structures remaining in Ocean City. Located on the corner of South Division Street and South Baltimore Avenue, the building was purchased in 1926 by Charles T. Henry, a Black businessman from Berlin. It opened the following year as “Henry’s Colored Hotel.” Following Henry’s death in 1942, his widow continued to operate the hotel until it was sold in the 1950s. Its last owner, Pearl Bonner, operated the hotel until the 1990s. Upon her death in 2003, the property passed to her children. However, those with the Henry Hotel Foundation are now looking to restore the building and establish a museum and learning center that honors the life of Bonner and reflects on the history of African Americans in Ocean City. As part of that effort to educate the community, officials this week celebrated the unveiling of an art installation to the south of the Henry Hotel. The mural features images of Bonner and those who worked in Ocean City. “We’re celebrating our 150th year anniversary this year, so this is particularly important and, I think, appropriate for this occasion,” Mayor Rick Meehan said during Tuesday’s ribbon cutting ceremony. “I think those of us who live in Ocean City are proud of our history. We’re also very curious about our past and how we got to where we are today. And I think the Henry Hotel plays a role in that history … I think this mural will inspire people to learn a little bit more about where we were in Ocean City, where we are today, and really where we’re headed in the future.” Worcester County Commissioner Diana Purnell and Maryland Sen. Mary Beth Carozza also took time Tuesday to recognize the history of the Henry Hotel and the partnerships that allowed the mural to be constructed. Artist Jay Coleman said the mural is “about more than servitude but about resilience and hope and tenacity.” “I hope this [mural] can be a beacon, for all of us to dig deeper into our own histories, into Maryland history, and of course into the history of the Henry Hotel,” he told the crowd this week.

The mural in Ocean City is one of four created to highlight African American heritage on the Lower Shore. Other installations are the Rev. Dr. Charles Albert Tindley mural in Berlin, the Frederick Douglass mural in Salisbury and a mural in Crisfield honoring 17 locals who made lasting contributions to their community. “This project is about more than preserving history — it’s about recognizing the stories, people, and places that have shaped who we are today,” said Lisa Challenger, executive director for Beach to Bay Heritage Area. “We could not have done it without the Henry Hotel Foundation and the support from Home Depot and Delmarva Veteran Builders for the construction of the mural wall”. Beyond the mural installation, efforts are underway to raise funding for the restoration of the Henry Hotel. In addition to state grants, the foundation is seeking community donations for both exterior and interior improvements. Additional information can be found on the foundation’s website, henryhotel.org