The RIP Tide Pool Bar Gnome
You have located The RIP Tide Pool Bar Gnome!
In honor of this chlorinated boardwalk dweller, the gnome of which you have located comes with a very specific quest.
You must email your very own written, visual, or other artwork to berlinfolklore@gmail.com along with a picture of the gnome as validation that you have claimed and secured its little lore gnome body.
Your work will be featured in the subsequent phases of this living art project, further carrying on the local lore!
Just as the boardwalk ends (or begins), as umbrellas and music flow like frozen vodka drinks from open decks, there once stood a gnarly poolside hideaway known as Riptide Pool Bar.
Tucked up to the Flagship Hotel on 26th Street, the Riptide was once a sun-splashed meeting place where beachgoers wandered in straight from the surf, friends gathered around cold drinks, and exes would cross paths casually exchanging a bud light loving cheers. Over the years, it became a favorite daytime retreat for those getting off (or just going into) work!
Live music always drew both locals and tourists into its easygoing rhythm, yet, so very sadly, like many seaside legends, it has become legendary lore. In 2025, longtime visitors began saying goodbye as redevelopment plans for the Flagship Hotel site raised the possibility that the Riptide might never reopen, leaving generations of patrons remembering it as a joyful oceanfront hangout that defined countless summers.
…. so the tide rolls on.
But in the quiet corners of Ocean City lore, the spirit of the Riptide still lingers — in salty air, sun-faded laughter, and perhaps in the small footsteps of a wandering gnome who refuses to let the story fade. If you smell Bud Light and suddenly feel like fighting an ex-lover, surely he lurks near!
Reference
Zipay, K. (2025, October 16). Ocean City’s Riptide Pool Bar may be closing for good. CoastTV. https://www.coasttv.com/news/ocean-city-s-riptide-pool-bar-may-be-closing-for-good/article_57bf7ca9-34f8-4d17-9507-3e8866e32e48.html