Preserving and Creating History, One Building at a Time

Susan Martin

Apr 09, 2021

Today the Wicomico Hotel has experienced a rebirth, housing the popular new restaurant Mogan's Oyster House, Angello's Scoops (gift and ice cream shop) and many offices. It still stands beautifully in Downtown Salisbury.

The Wicomico Hotel was the epitome of glamour in its glory days. Constructed in 1923, its full concrete composition made it the safest, most sound and prominent structure in downtown Salisbury, MD. The ambiance was a swanky, boutique hotel in the heart of downtown. Along with the guest rooms, the amenities included a French-inspired restaurant on the first floor with a club bar in the basement. There was a ballroom with a hand-carved capitol and numerous storefronts including at one time a jewelry store and barber shop.

In its humble beginning, the hotel was planned to be only four stories. There was so much interest in its construction for the developing area, but concern broke out about the number of stories not being enough. The townspeople felt Salisbury needed more. With all the community interest, the Wicomico Hotel Company was formed in the early 1920s. From this formation, the idea for the additional three floors was born.

For 30 to 40 years, the Wicomico Hotel was the most sought after lodging in the area. Good years and bad years ensued, just like any other business during those shifting times. 

A change of hands and a change of times.

In the late 1960s, the Wicomico Hotel was purchased by Bill Ahtes and a group of investors. They flipped the hotel into office spaces and storefronts. At around the same time, the old Salisbury Mall (now vacant land by the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center) was being built. A couple decades later the Centre at Salisbury was built. Downtown and the surrounding city was exponentially growing, leaving hometown businesses fighting to stay afloat. The downtown area took a sad turn and continually deteriorated over two decades. Dark curtained windows, empty storefronts, and hallow streets became the new normal.

A revised purpose.

Fast forward to the last 10 years and an upward shift in development has come to fruition. 

When Davis Strategic Development purchased the majority of the old Wicomico Hotel building (known as the One Plaza East building), it was mostly condominiumized. They purchased floors four and five to start, then two and three, then the basement, and finally the first floor. In January 2020, they purchased the DiCarlo Digital Copy Center parcel (who moved to its Northwood Drive location) allowing them to add a catering suite onto Mogan’s Oyster House. The seventh floor of the building and a front parcel is owned by other parties.

After redevelopment, they are now at full capacity including a restaurant, an ice cream parlor, numerous executive offices, and retail shops. The office suites give off that New York City vibe, but still have the history and quaintness of downtown Salisbury. The basement also houses a mini data center that supplies high-speed, reliable internet to downtown businesses through their company Simple Fiber, in partnership with the Maryland Broadband Cooperative. All in all, the building is 55,000 square feet with the basement being an additional 11,500 square feet.

History preserved.

But with so much history soaked into one property, Bret and his team couldn’t let it all be forgotten. One day, an unknown Salisbury resident dropped off a box full of historical items from the original Wicomico Hotel. After sifting through the materials and delving into the rich history, they realized that there was too much antiquity in this box alone not do something with it. And there was more history was out there and it needed to be preserved and showcased. They have found inventory lists from the early 1930s, guest room photos, investor documents, company bylaws, financial records, improvement documents, and more. They even have a menu from the original restaurant. 

Here are a few excerpts from the Inventory List from July 1, 1934:

• LINEN: 1,164 dining room napkins at $0.22 each, totaling $256.08.
• CHINA & GLASSWARE: Banquet & Miscellaneous China - 180 Bread & Butter Plates at $0.13 each, totaling $23.40.
• SILVERWARE: 112 Silver Knives at $0.31 each, totaling $34.72.

And my personal favorite: 921 bath towels at 32 and a half cents each, totaling $299.32. I wonder how many towels each guest room received?

Not all the history found is on paper. During the years of renovations, history was unearthed. Hidden stairwells have been discovered, along with an old elevator shaft, hotel room keys and tags, silverware, and more. 

It is astonishing to see history pouring out of just one box of documents. There has been more history given to Bret and his team since that initial box.

Currently, Davis Strategic Development is in the midst of a massive project to research, put in chronological order, and display the historical evidence of the Wicomico Hotel building. The COVID-19 pandemic halted some of work, but progress is restarting soon.

History in the making.

For Bret and his colleagues, it’s all about the details when it comes to redeveloping historical buildings. The goal is to always keep the building’s history alive while adding modern advantages and flair. Each historic element is matched with modern convenience. And keeping the local Salisbury feel to their buildings is paramount. For example, the rolling ladder that adorns the wine storage behind the bar at Mogan’s Oyster House is an original ladder from the old downtown Vernon Powell building. What a creative way to repurpose!

As a company, they not only construct and renovate buildings, but they preserve them and their abundant history. “We are just stewards (of these buildings), and we pass it down to the next generation,” says Bret Davis, Partner at Davis Strategic Development. They preserve the history of the building where possible, recreate historical elements where needed, and turn these historical buildings into modern-day mementos.