In Case You Missed It: Glory Days of Old Orchard Beach & Saco Bay 1890-1930

The Dyer Library/Saco Museum has countless photographs and postcards from the “Golden Age” of the Old Orchard Beach resort destinations and Ocean Park Chautauqua community. Tourism launched into high gear when the Old Orchard Beach station for the Boston & Maine (B&M) Railroad opened in 1873. Together with the rise of tourism came the obsession with vacation photographs, as mass produced cameras like the Brownie Camera became widely available for aspiring amateur photographers. Here we gather all the images of the “Glory Days” of Old Orchard Beach, circa 1890-1930, when visitors would wear their Sunday Best on the hot sands and try their luck at the grand Pier Casino.

Click through to look at all the items we’ve digitized from this incredible part of our local history!