Legends: Saving Grace

Ocean City raised a collective eyebrow this spring when a sign from a Pleasantville construction firm arose outside 2536 Wesley Avenue. Was the teardown epidemic claiming Grace Kelly’s legendary Shore home? Mercifully, no: Current owner Anthony Demos, a Bryn Mawr chemical magnate, is merely doing some sprucing. The house—built in 1931 by John B. Kelly Sr., and where Grace spent numerous summers through the ’30s and ’40s—will retain its ­Spanish flair. For now. While people “would certainly care” if someone were to radically remodel or demolish the place, says O.C. historian Fred Miller, “When it comes to real estate here, there’s not much anyone could do about it.”