What a contrast to the recently posted Beach Vacation 1880s! Twenty years makes a difference, but this is more about how the other half spends their leisure time – a working class crowd having a very good time, smiles all around, not that concerned about how they look, openly demonstrative of their friendship, even some sweethearts holding hands, and one young woman has her boyfriend's bowler on her head. As is par for the course, a few people have moved when the shutter clicked, some have their eyes closed.
The camera may be in the hands of someone from this group of revelers; it is from a glass negative that was very much overexposed and none too well preserved, but this very different scene shows the increasing ease with which most people face the camera and the changing purposes of photography. They are happy to have their picture taken (a term we still use today)!
The Oceanside is a store (a sign for cigars and tobacco is beneath the window), and it may be a small hotel or inn with rooms to rent.