After 46 Years, Ocean City's 34th St Market Demolished

"Sad Day! The 34th St Market is gone...no bikes...no flowers...no ice cream"

That's how the final Instagram post from Ocean City's 34th Street Market read on Tuesday, just after the building was demolished.

An Ocean City Landmark is Torn Down

A landmark business in Ocean City was reduced to rubble Tuesday, as the 34th Street Market was torn down to make way for a new project that will bring condos and retail space between Haven and West avenues.

Since 1977, the 34th Street Market and Garden Shop has been a big part of the Ocean City 34th Street shopping district. The business combined a garden market, a bike shop, and the Scoop Box Ice Cream shop.

In November, owner Ron Farnath announced the market would not be returning in 2024. The 34th Street Market was a tenant in this location and the property's owner wanted to sell the land.

l miss all of it," Farnath told CBS3. "When you've done something that long in your life, you really become attached to it."

The 34th Street Market Remembers the Early Days

Ron Farnath reminisced Tuesday about the evolution of the market for CBS3, saying that the corner market started as a bike shop.

"It was all marshes, so I went out to Sears and bought a tin shed with 1,000 screws in it and cut down some marshes and that's how the bikes started," Farnath said.

Later, he added the fruit and produce stand. Then, the garden center. And eventually, the Scoop Box ice cream parlor. Farnath said he worked about 100 hours a week at the market during the summer season.