Blob's Park

Blob's Park was a German-style beer hall that opened in 1933 in Jessup, Maryland. It was the "Home of America's First Oktoberfest".

It is named after Max Blob, who immigrated to the United States In 1893, at age 10. He came from Vogenberg, Germany, and was the oldest of three sons of Katherine and Phillip Blob. The family, which included younger brothers, John and Henry, settled on 150 acres outside of Jessup, Maryland. With the end of Prohibition, in 1933, Max opened up Blob's Park for business. Blob's Park Bavarian Beer Garden was the home of America's first Oktoberfest back in 1947. While the original building interior was destroyed by fire in 1956, repairs got the beer hall back up in six weeks. After Max's death in February, 1969, his extended family kept the hall open. A new hall was built in 1976. The old hall was burned to clear the area for an outdoor pavilion in 1980. The new Blob's Park stayed up in operations until New Year's Eve, 2007 when owner John Eggerl retired and the land was earmarked for development. The facility was closed on March 31, 2014.