Viral TikTok Explores Colorful Past of South Jersey Hotel

Who said TikTok is full of inappropriate content with mind-rotting music and videos, lots of cursing, and suggestive clothing and dancing?

Sure, you can find all that stuff there, but you can also find some funny, and, even educational content on the platform.

One example is a TikTok video about the colorful history of Ocean City's Flanders Hotel that's going viral and sharing some of the stories about one of the town's most interesting buildings.

Ocean City's Flanders Hotel

On the corner of 11th and Ocean in Ocean City, the Flanders Hotel was christened "The Jewel of the South Jersey Shore" when it opened in 1923.

The hotel was designed by local architect Vivian B. Smith in the Spanish Mission Revival style. The Flanders had 232 rooms, a pool and a bathtub in every room.

It was built to compete with the best hotels in the country in terms of service and amenities. 

But it's what was happening in the basement of the Flanders Hotel that this TikTok is focused on.

 The “Catacombs of the Flanders”

The Flanders was built with a full basement below sea level grade that became known as the “Catacombs of the Flanders”.

The catacombs served as an entrance for the Flanders's three saltwater pools. But it also doubled as a speakeasy during the Prohibition years of the 1920s and 30s.

In that same era, South Jersey served as a popular neutral location for meetings by organized crime bosses from New York, Pennsylvania, and Atlantic City, according to the history of the Flanders Hotel.

The perfect place to hold these meetings was in the private catacombs of the Flanders.

The catacombs in the Flanders would make a great setting for a throwback 1920's movie, wouldn't it?

See more about the catacombs in the Flanders Hotel in this viral TikTok Video.

@njdotcom Although nobody is certain which mob bosses conducted business underneath @theflandershotel , legend has it they came from New York, Pennsylvania and Atlantic City. Have you ever visited this historic hotel? 🎥 Lauren Raposa | Andre Malok #nj #newjersey #flandershotel #oceancitynj #capemaycountynj #jerseyshore #njhistory #unknownnj ♬ Documentary video, play, serious 2B(847013) - RE:MUSICA