Just Listed Down the Shore: Art Deco Condo in Ocean City

Did this condo get lost somewhere on its way to South Beach? Whether or not that actually happened, this Art Deco unit at 4106 Central Ave., 2nd Floor, Ocean City, NJ 08232 definitely looks like nothing else around it — or anywhere else in OC, for that matter. / Photography by HomeJab via Monihan Realty and South Jersey Shore Regional MLS

Ocean City has traded on its family-friendly reputation for more than a century. That reputation grew out of its roots as a Methodist camp meeting.

This Ocean City Art Deco condo for sale is also family-friendly — with four bedrooms and two baths, it can definitely handle Mom, Dad and the kids. But I suspect that the kind of camp meeting that would appeal to someone living in a place like this one isn’t the Methodist variety.

The owners who recently gave this place a makeover recently decided to take its Art Deco bones and run with them to a place far away from Ocean City. Maybe South Beach, or Beverly Hills, or Fire Island, or somewhere else with a similar glam factor.

I respect those architects who have rejuvenated the traditional Jersey Shore vernacular, but I also have to give props to those designers who march to the beat of their own drummer and add some spice to the Shore. That definitely describes the people who jazzed up this Jazz Age residence.

Main living area

The basic layout of this split-level top-floor condo makes the public and private spaces clear: One must climb a short flight of stairs to reach the bedrooms in the back. But that difference in elevation also gives the open main living area a feeling of spaciousness thanks to its high ceilings.

Living room

Kitchen and dining room

By mixing the condo’s clean Art Deco lines and architectural details with more traditionally styled furniture, the updating gave it a certain urbane elegance usually not found at the Shore. Yet because of this same juxtaposition along with its large windows, it doesn’t feel stuffy at all.

Front balcony

As this house sits just one lot in from the corner of 41st Street and Central Avenue, you can catch views of the ocean from its front balcony.

Kitchen

Even though this house departs from traditional Shore decor in just about every way, it doesn’t completely reject it. You will find some familiar Shore decorative objects in its modern-yet-traditionally-styled kitchen, for instance.

And the four bedrooms at the back are painted in colors more typical of Shore houses, but as clean and simple in their appearance as the house itself.

Primary bedroom

The primary bedroom has a skylight that fills the room with natural light all day.

Primary bathroom

So does its bathroom, the most glamorous room in the place. Combining Spanish and American influences, it’s a vision in black and white.

Bathroom

The hall bath has a more modern design, with Shore-favorite dark blue tile dominant.

Aerial view of building showing its location relative to the beach

Not only is this Ocean City Art Deco condo for sale truly unique in its appearance, but it’s also situated away from the crowds and noise. It sits in OC’s narrower southern portion, beyond the boardwalk, arcades, shops and amusement piers. But it’s not hard to reach them when you or yours want to take all of that in. The marshes along Egg Harbor Bay also lie just a few blocks from here.

This condo, then, is ideal for anyone who fondly remembers the Ocean City of their childhood but has cultivated more grownup tastes since then.

THE FINE PRINT

BEDS: 4

BATHS: 2

SQUARE FEET: Not available

SALE PRICE: $1,499,000

OTHER STUFF: This unit comes with parking for one car in a garage at the rear and driveway parking for a second. Its sale price was reduced by $50,000 on July 19th.

4106 Central Ave., Ocean City, NJ 08226 [Chris Monihan | Monihan Realty]