Maryland on Film II, Ocean City: The Great Hurricane of 1933 + other films

October 3, 2015 - 10:00am until 4:00pm

In 2013, the National Film Preservation Foundation awarded the Maryland Historical Society a grant to preserve our film, “The Great Hurricane of 1933,” which captured the incredible destruction of Ocean City, Maryland. S. Watts Smyth of St. Louis, Missouri captured this harrowing footage of the 1933 hurricane while on vacation with his family. The Smyths had driven fifteen hours in their brand new Cadillac LaSalle to visit the beach for their annual vacation only to be caught in one of the worst weather events in Maryland history. On August 22, after four days of saturating rain, the hurricane made landfall. Heavy winds picked up and battered the boardwalk, pummeled the city with large waves, and destroyed the town’s railroad bridge and fishing camps. The storm’s greatest and most lasting impact was a 50-foot wide, 8-foot deep inlet that was carved through the barrier island by a continuous four day ebb tide, flowing from the bay out to the ocean. Three entire streets were submerged at the south end of the town. The destruction, in the end, proved a boon for the town. The inlet made Ocean City the state’s only Atlantic port. The resulting commercial and sport fishing boom greatly shaped the character of the Ocean City we know today, as vacationers flocked to the seaside town in large numbers to crab and fish, and dozens of hotels and restaurants sprang up to meet their needs. Colorlab, in Rockville, Maryland, cleaned, duplicated, rehoused, and digitized the film to ensure that this fantastic footage will be available to future generations. The NFPF grant also required a public showing of the amazing film, which inspired this year’s “Maryland on Film.”

The MdHS Library will showcase this film and several other historically significant films from our A/V collection on October 3, 2015. Films will include: Kurt Schmoke Flu PSA (ca 1990s), Blueprint for Tomorrow – Baltimore City Life Museums (ca 1996),The Beatles, Baltimore Civic Center (September 13, 1964), Mining the Museum, Lobby Tape (1991), Baltimore News American - The Last TV Commercials (1985), Behind the Scenes at Hutzlers (1938), and Ocean City Hurricane (1933). FREE event, and popcorn will be served!