Photography By John Spaulding
The origin of the call letters of Salisbury’s CBS affiliate says much about the city’s self-image: WBOC—We’re Between Ocean and Chesapeake. Neither frivolous fun-in-the-sun beach resort nor placid aquasphere of workboats and yachts, but something else smack dab in the middle.
Which isn’t to say Salisbury has no distinct identity. The second largest city on the Delmarva peninsula (after Dover, Del.) and site of the Eastern Shore’s only airport with national airline service, Salisbury is the seat of Wicomico County and the commercial center of the lower Eastern Shore. It’s easy to see why folks drive here to shop, from the beach and surrounding towns, with numerous strips malls along Highways 13 and 50, the major arteries that form “The Crossroads of Delmarva.” But most are drawn to the Centre at Salisbury, the closest modern mall, home to everything from Hollister to Sears.
The poultry industry maintains a conspicuous presence, with Perdue Farms’ main processing plant occupying a big swath of downtown real estate and signs exhorting all to “EAT CHICKEN TONIGHT!” gracing many local lawns. On the other, more high-tech hand, Salisbury is an international leader in the production of microwave filters (who knew?), with seven companies designing and manufacturing filters that separate cell phone signals from other high frequencies. Sen. Paul Sarbanes was born in town and lived, until age ten, above his Greek immigrant parents’ Mayflower Restaurant on Main Street, now long gone. And the Poodle Club of America’s National Specialty Show at the Wicomico Civic and Youth Center makes Salisbury, for one week each June, the world capital of poodledom.
Salisbury (locals say “Sahlz-bury”) is also distinguished as a National Trust for Historic Preservation Main Street community. Aptly enough, downtown development focuses on Salisbury’s own Main Street, particularly on the pedestrian-friendly section dubbed Downtown Plaza, where traffic is reduced to one lane and the widened sidewalks are filled with plantings, statues, and fountains. It’s a fine place for a nice quiet stroll—perhaps too quiet, with too many lawyer’s offices (the county courthouse and other government buildings are nearby) where shops and cafes and restaurants ought to be. I did dive into a couple of antiques stores (see “Shop” on page 83), but I took a pass on the Plaza’s other retail outlets—the Velvet Pearl and Perfect Dress ladies’ boutiques—because they just weren’t me.
The next boom you hear will be housing, specifically new downtown housing for professionals and retirees. Within the next year or so, three downtown condominium projects—Residences at Rivers Edge (116 units), River Place (42), and Five Hundred Riverside (45)—will open on the heretofore undeveloped banks of the Wicomico River. And the old Manhattan Shirt factory on Main Street will become Manhattan Square Lofts and Condominiums, seventeen industrial-chic lofts and single-floor units, which are going for $109,000 to $289,000.
Sushi has arrived, and new restaurants and boutiques are in the offing to serve all those new locals.
Current residents welcome development in principle but remain skeptical about the execution. “Downtown definitely has the bones for a restoration,” says Dana Simson, a ceramic artist who, with her husband, transformed a fleabag hotel near the Perdue processing plant
into the Chesapeake East gallery/studio. “But Salisbury is growing like a weed. I wish it would grow more proactively, rather than sprawl.”
The historic district just north of downtown illustrates that Salisbury can, when it sets its mind to it, preserve and improve its venerable neighborhoods. The town was originally established in 1732 and quickly became an economic hub in the eighteenth-century and a transportation hub through the nineteenth, especially after the Wicomico River channel was deepened and railroad intersections were constructed. Major fires in 1860 and 1886 gutted most of downtown, and residents rebuilt on the grounds of the former Poplar Hill plantation. I stroll past beautiful remnants of this neighborhood, now known as Newtown, and its lovely Victorian and Queen Anne homes, dating to the turn of the last century. The identical Queen Annes, situated diagonally across the intersection of Division and Isabella streets, are especially striking. My walking tour pamphlet (kindly provided by the Wicomico County Convention and Visitors Bureau) points out more than thirty beauty spots and curiosities of this historic district, established in 1975. Most offer sidewalk-only views, but Salisbury’s oldest structure, the circa-1795 Poplar Hill Mansion, does offer guided tours (Sundays 1-4 p.m.; 410-749-1776), a boon on this rainy day. I also take sanctuary in Trinity Methodist Church, a stately, circa-1904 structure sided with Port Deposit granite and adorned with Louis Comfort Tiffany mosaics and find refuge in the doorway outside the 1830s John Wesley A.M.E. church, established by the town’s free African-Americans.
I finally dry out with a hot cuppa at Tyme for Tea, a cozy little spot within the historic district. “We were looking for a Victorian or older type of place to open the tea shop, and we met some really nice people here who encouraged us and helped us get started,” says co-owner Carmen Hopper, a retiree from the Anne Arundel County school district who opened the shop in 2005 along with a former colleague. “It’s such a friendly, open town. People are helpful in anyway they can be.”
Some of Salisbury’s most appealing attractions are located in parkland along both banks of the South Prong Wicomico River, southeast of downtown. The well-loved Salisbury Zoo operates at about my speed: no pandas or other superstar attractions but also no crowds. It’s flat, shady, free, and small enough so I can commune with every animal in the joint in no time. Negotiating the zoo’s twisting jungle-like byways, I establish meaningful relationships with a flock of pink flamingoes John Waters would die for and reminisce with the world’s oldest Andean spectacled bear (thirty-two years).
As I enter the expansive and bright glass-sided lobby of Salisbury University’s Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, a bit further downriver, one thought percolates to the top of my mind: Some people with really big bucks are really into duck decoys. With seven galleries and some 3,000 objects in its collection, the sumptuous modern space has plenty to offer even non-aficionados of wildfowl art. I breeze past numerous displays of Ward World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition winners but linger in the Decoy In Time Gallery: I learn that decoys were invented by Native Americans, who first wore them on their heads as they crept up on sitting ducks, and examine a Chesapeake Bay bushwack [sic] boat model equipped with canvas curtains to conceal duck hunters. Also fascinating is the re-created workshop of the museum’s namesakes, Lem and Steve Ward of Crisfield, Md., the moonlighting barbers who elevated decoy carving to decorative art…and a collecting passion.
Salisbury University is no ivy-laden academic sanctuary—it opened in 1925 as the State Normal School at Salisbury—but the principally Georgian-style campus on the south side of town does eschew the brutalist modern architecture of some other Maryland institutions. SU also differs from other state institutions in that all four of its academic units were fully endowed by four local boys who done good: Franklin P. Perdue School of Business (Mr. Chicken); Richard A. Henson School of Science and Technology (Henson Aviation); Charles R. and Martha N. Fulton School of Liberal Arts (Holly Farms poultry); and the Samuel W. and Marilyn C. Seidel School of Education and Professional Studies (Peninsula Insurance). The 140-acre campus is made for wandering, even if you’re not a student.
Ultimately, however, Salisbury’s main attraction is something inhabitants find difficult to quantify or describe. “Except for college and the military, I’ve lived here all my life,” says Anthony Sarbanes, president of the Wicomico County Council (and the senator’s younger brother). “When I asked my son—he’s a local attorney—why he was moving back here, he said, ‘Why didn’t you leave?’ I said, ‘Quality of life.’ And he said, ‘That’s why I’m coming back.’”
Terry Fischer writes from Silver Spring.
Locals’ Guide to Salisbury
Eastern Shore Sounds Log on to http://www.wicomicotourism.org to hear “music inspired by the Eastern Shore,” written and performed by the noted Wicomico County groups Red Letter Day and Randy Lee Ashcraft & the Saltwater Cowboys.
Meal Deal All are welcome to dine at the Marketplace in the Commons at Salisbury University, an un-collegiately fresh and tasty all-you-can-eat (and drink) food-court-style buffet. Breakfast, $5.46; lunch, $7.54; dinner, $9.31. 410-543-6105.
Ferry Crossings Get a free ride across the Wicomico River upstream of Salisbury, thanks to the state and county on the 300-year-old Whitehaven Ferry (capacity: three vehicles), off of MD 352, the oldest continuously operating ferry the U.S.; and the Upper Ferry (two vehicles) from MD 349. Call 410-749-2892 for seasonal schedule.
Fear the Sea Gull Yes, it’s now a franchise, but the Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Grille is a Maryland franchise; its founders include former Salisbury University Sea Gull soccer players and a basketball coach. 2618 N. Salisbury Blvd. (U.S. 13), 410-860-9991.
Photo Ops View black-and-white photos of Salisbury past along the corridors of the Gallery Building on the Downtown Plaza (212 W. Main St.), and head downstairs to the Art Institute and Gallery (410-546-4748) for a glimpse at work by contemporary local photographers and painters.
When You GoGeneral Information: http://www.wicomicotourism.org, http://www.salisburyarea.com, Wicomico County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 800-332-TOUR. Or stop by Wicomico County CVB Visitor Center in the “lighthouse” at 8480 N. Salisbury Blvd. (U.S. 13 North).
STAY
The Whitehaven Hotel was neglected for almost fifty years until a New York City investor turned it into an elegant seven-room B&B, the only remaining business in the once-thriving Wicomico River town. 2685 Whitehaven Rd., Whitehaven. 877-809-8296 or http://www.whitehaven.tripod.com.
EAT
The Market Street Inn specializes in seafood and a secret-recipe jerk chicken. It also hosts downtown’s liveliest happy hour and Wednesday Jazz & Martini Nite. 130 W. Market St. 410-742-4145 or http://www.marketstreetinnsalisbury.com. Brew River is a sprawling downtown fish house that serves only fresh catches plus an admirable slab of ribs. 502 W. Main St. 410-677-6757 or http://www.brewriverusa.com. The Red Roost is a classic (albeit off-water) pick-’em-yourself Eastern Shore crab house. 2760 Clara Rd., Whitehaven. 410-546-5443 or http://www.theredroost.com. Tyme for Tea is a handy downtown spot for light lunches and rich pastries—until 3:30 p.m. 124 N. Division St. 410-677-4766.
SHOP
Feldman’s Market Street Antiques consists of more than 125 dealers on two stories of virtually an entire block of downtown Salisbury. 150 W. Market St. 410-749-4111.Chesapeake East is a spacious showroom for whimsical and colorful pottery and toys—and an exotic salad and sandwich shop, Mainlake Café. 501 W. Main St. 410-546-1534 or http://www.chesapeakeeast.com. Billed as “the largest country store in the East,” The Country House & Country Village crams a hodgepodge of antique reproductions and furnishings into a sweet-smelling converted factory and four remodeled houses. 805 E. Main St. 410-749-1959 or http://www.thecountryhouse.com. At Salisbury Pewter, you can watch craftsmen at work in the back room, buy perfect items, or get good deals (about 50 percent off) on wares with minor flaws. 2611 N. Salisbury Blvd. (U.S. 13). 410-546-1188 or http://www.salisburypewter.com.
PLAY
The right-sized, riverside Salisbury Zoo features close-up enclosures, the world’s oldest spectacled bear, and a flock of stuck-up peacocks. 755 S. Park Dr. 410-548-3188 or http://www.salisburyzoo.org. The Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art is the world’s largest museum devoted to mainly duck, goose, and shorebird decoys as well as the workshop of its famed namesake carvers. 909 S. Schumaker Dr. at Beaglin Park Dr. 410-742-4988 or http://www.wardmuseum.org. The Delmarva Shorebirds, an Oriole’s Class A affiliate, plays a mid-April to early September season at spiffy Arthur W. Perdue (Frank’s dad) Stadium. On game days, check out the Eastern Shore Baseball Museum near the grandstand. Salisbury Pkwy. (U.S. 50) and Hobbs Rd. 410-219-3112 or http://www.theshorebirds.com.
