Wildwoods Shore Resort Historic District

The Wildwoods Shore Resort Historic District, or Doo Wop Motel District, is an area in The Wildwoods, New Jersey, that was home to over 300 motels built during the Doo-Wop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Officially recognized as a historic district by the State of New Jersey, it lies primarily in the municipality of Wildwood Crest, along a two-mile stretch between Atlantic and Ocean avenues, and includes areas in Wildwood and North Wildwood.[1][2] The term doo-wop was coined by Cape May's Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts in the early 1990s to describe the unique, space-age architectural style, which is also referred to as the Googie or populuxe style.[3]

The motels are very stylized, with Vegas-like neon signs, plastic palm trees, and fantastic architecture.[4] Construction of condominia in the area has resulted in the demolition of many motels, but the Wildwood Doo Wop Preservation League has taken action to help save and restore the remaining historic buildings.[5] The Caribbean Motel in Wildwood Crest, and the Chateau Bleu Motel in North Wildwood are both listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Plastic palm trees at the Caprice in Wildwood
Doo-wop styled Wawa Food Market

A 1950s Doo Wop museum has recently been built which contains property from demolished motels such as neon signs and furniture. Neo-Doo Wop buildings in the area feature a neon-lit Wawa and a 1950s-style Acme Supermarket.

History

Motel construction in the Wildwoods began in the early 1950s. 1958 was a banner year for construction in Wildwood Crest, with the opening of the Satellite, Caribbean, El Reno (later the South Beach Motel), Sand Castle, Swan Motel and Tangiers motels. The Rio Motel, in Wildwood proper, also made its debut that spring.[6] New motels were built into the 1970s.

Morey Brothers

The sign of the Lollipop Motel in North Wildwood

Many of these Doo-Wop motels were designed by the brothers Lewis J. (Lou) and Wilburt C. (Will) Morey, born in West Wildwood in 1925 and 1927, respectively. In 1952, their company Morey Brothers Builders built Wildwood's first motel, the single-story Jay's Motel, at the corner of Hildreth and Atlantic Avenues. In 1955 they dissolved their formal business partnership and began to work more independently on motel designs.[7]

Styles

Doo Wop motels generally include U-shaped or L-shaped designs of two or three stories, asymmetric elements, swimming pools, adjacent parking or second story sun decks over parking spaces, plastic palm trees, angular walls or windows, flat overhanging roofs, prominent neon signs and railing, bright colors, and a contemporary or fantasy theme. References to popular culture or history were also common. The themes or sub-styles have been classified as: Modern/Blastoff, Vroom, Chinatown Revival, Tiki (Polynesian Pop), and Phony Colonee. The Blastoff style is reminiscent of the jet-age airports of the 1950s and 1960s. The Vroom style includes forward-thrusting building elements. Phony Colonee imitates the mass market Colonial Revival architecture of the 1950s and 1960s with Colonial American brick and lamppost elements[8][9]

The rotating Pan American Motel sign, one of only two rotating signs in the Wildwoods

Neon signs

Each motel typically had one or more large, garish neon signs used to draw in passing motorists to their establishment. These signs became part of the architectural style and motels competed to have the most distinctive sign. Two firms supplied most of the signs, Ace Sign Company and Allied Sign Company, with W. Robert Hentges becoming the best known local sign designer. Hentges originally worked for Ace, then moved to Allied, and later founded his own company. Local laws banned flashing signs and limited revolving signs.[10]

Existing motels

Caribbean Motel

The Caribbean Motel's C-shaped swimming pool and plastic palm trees

The Caribbean Motel in Wildwood Crest, built in 1958 and now restored, was the first motel to use the full-size plastic palm trees that now adorn most of the Doo Wop motels in the area.[11] The motel was saved from demolition in 2004, when it was purchased by George Miller and Caroline Emigh, who succeeded in getting the property placed on the national historic registry. After reading the book, How to Doo Wop: the Wildwoods-by-the-Sea Handbook of Design Guidelines published by the Doo Wop Preservation League, they were so impressed by the suggested designs of Philadelphia architect Anthony Bracali that they hired him to oversee restoration of the motel. The interior design was done by Darleen Lev, a designer from New York City who was staying at the motel around the time that Miller and Emigh bought the property. An admirer of the Technicolor film process, Lev's designs are modeled on movie sets of the 1950s, as well as reflecting the motel's Caribbean motif. The Caribbean Motel was owned by the Rossi family for more than 30 years, until the early 1990s.[12]

Chateau Bleu Motel

Located in North Wildwood, Chateau Bleu Motel was built in 1962 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 25, 2004.[13][14] It features a heart shaped swimming pool.

Neon Garden at the Doo Wop Experience

Oceanview Motel

The Oceanview Motel in Wildwood Crest, which was built in 1964, is the largest motel ever built in The Wildwoods. In 2009, the owners had plans to demolish the motel to make way for condominia, but it was rejected by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The Oceanview was originally named the Admiral East Motel, when the Admiral West Motel (now the Admiral Resort Motel), shared the same owner.

Other motels

Notable existing motels also include: The Jolly Roger, The Pan American, The Crusader, The Waikiki, The Newport, The Sea Shell, The Admiral, The Adventurer, The VIP, The Carriage Stop, The Granada, The Tangiers and the Yankee Clipper.

Extant historic motels

Name Image Built Location Coordinates Description
Admiral Motel 1971 Rambler Rd & Atlantic Ave. 38.9752°N 74.8293°W / 38.9752; -74.8293 (Admiral Motel) Once the Admiral West, when its neighbor across the street was also called Admiral (East).

Date is circa - does not appear on a 1970 overhead of property (see historicaerials.com) - is listed in 1973 G.W.H.M. Accommodations Directory

Aqua Beach Buttercup & Ocean Ave. 38.9771°N 74.8246°W / 38.9771; -74.8246 (Aqua Beach)
Armada By The Sea 1973 Forget-me-not & Beach Ave. 38.9723°N 74.8311°W / 38.9723; -74.8311 (Armada By The Sea)
American Safari 1969 Lavender & Ocean Ave. 38.9769°N 74.8257°W / 38.9769; -74.8257 (American Safari) Zoo theme
Astronaut Motel 1963 Stockton & beach 38.9680°N 74.8359°W / 38.9680; -74.8359 (Astronaut) Date is circa - the Astronaut is visible on a 1963 overhead of the property (see historicaerials.com). Does not appear in 1961 G.W.H.M Accommodations Directory (though hotels/motels did not necessarily participate).
Attache Resort 1966 Heather & Ocean Ave. 38.9762°N 74.8261°W / 38.9762; -74.8261 (Attache)
Aztec Resort 1960 Lavender & Atlantic Ave. 38.9774°N 74.8263°W / 38.9774; -74.8263 (Aztec Resort) Its western annex building is older and was originally the Coral Sands Motel
Beach Colony Motel 1963 Stockton & Ocean Ave. 38.9682°N 74.8367°W / 38.9682; -74.8367 (Beach Colony) Originally the Golden Nugget. Date is circa - the Golden Nugget is visible on a 1963 overhead of the property (see historicaerials.com).

Does not appear in 1961 G.W.H.M Accommodations Directory.

Bel Air 1956 Morning Glory & Ocean Ave. 38.9775°N 74.8250°W / 38.9775; -74.8250 (Bel Air) Just north of the Caribbean. "7-shaped" Date is circa - the Bel Air appears on a 1956 overhead of the property (see historicaerials.com). Originally one floor.
Bristol Plaza 1970 Rosemary & Beach Ave.
Wildwood Crest
38.9727°N 74.8305°W / 38.9727; -74.8305 (Bristol Plaza)
Cape Cod Inn 1966 Sweetbriar & Atlantic Ave.
Wildwood Crest
38.9747°N 74.8293°W / 38.9747; -74.8293 (Cape Cod Inn) Originally three floors, and expanded to four in the 2000s.
Cara Mara 1963 Fern & Ocean Ave. 38.9721°N 74.8329°W / 38.9721; -74.8329 (Cara Mara) Date is circa - the Cara Mara is visible

on a 1963 overhead of the property (see historicaerials.com). Does not appear in 1961 G.W.H.M Accommodations Directory. Originally two floors, without oceanfront rooms.

Caribbean Motel 1958 Buttercup & Ocean Ave.
Wildwood Crest
38°58′45″N 74°49′32″W Listed on the NRHP Owners claim it opened in 1957.
Conca d’or Motel East Stanton Road at the beach 38.9673°N 74.8366°W / 38.9673; -74.8366 (Conca d’or Motel)
Compass Motel Atlantic and Rosemary 38.9732°N 74.8319°W / 38.9732; -74.8319 (Compass Motel)
Crusader
Crystal Beach Motor Inn Atlantic and Aster 38.9760°N 74.8281°W / 38.9760; -74.8281 (Crystal Beach)
Diamond Crest
Fleur de Lis Resort 1966 Ocean and Sweetbriar 38.9742°N 74.8285°W / 38.9742; -74.8285 (Fleur de Lis)
Gold Crest 1967
Gondolier 1965 Lavender & Beach Ave.
Wildwood Crest
38.9762°N 74.8255°W / 38.9762; -74.8255 (Gondolier) Italian themed, "F shaped"
Imperial 500 1964 Forget-Me-Not Road & Atlantic Avenue, Wildwood Crest East end expanded to four floors (from

the original three) in the first half of the 2000s.

Jolly Roger 1959 Originally on the beach, before Ocean Avenue expanded south.
Lollipop Motel 1969 23rd Ave. & Atlantic Ave. 38.99326°N 74.805635°W / 38.99326; -74.805635 (Lollipop Motel) Originally developed by multi-billionaire M. Bolero. Also the site of his death in 1981 in a tragic drowning accident.
Jolly Roger 1959 Originally on the beach, before Ocean Avenue expanded south.
Nassau Inn 1969 Ocean and Wisteria 38.9739°N 74.82925°W / 38.9739; -74.82925 (Nassau Inn) Date is circa - appears in 1970 overhead of property (see historicaerials.com).
Ocean Holiday 1973 Beach Ave. & Rosemary 38.9725°N 74.8309°W / 38.9725; -74.8309 (Ocean Holiday)
Oceanview 1963 Rambler Rd and Ocean Ave. 38.9692°N 74.8356°W / 38.9692; -74.8356 (Oceanview) Date is circa - appears in 1963 overhead of property (see historicaerials.com) Does not appear in 1961 G.W.H.M Accommodations Directory.

Originally called Admiral, and later Admiral East (once the West motel was built across the street), then by 1992 it became the Ocean View. Initially two floors.

Olympic Island
Pan American 1964
Park Lane 1963 Date is circa - appears in 1963 overhead of property (see historicaerials.com) Does not appear in 1961 G.W.H.M Accommodations Directory.
Pink Orchid Atlantic& Orchid 38.9695°N 74.8364°W / 38.9695; -74.8364 (Pink Orchid)
Royal Hawaiian 1969 Orchid & Ocean Ave.
Wildwood Crest
38.9684°N 74.8359°W / 38.9684; -74.8359 (Royal Hawaiian) Polynesian Pop

East wing is from 1969, West wing from 1978

Sand Castle Motel Ocean & Stockton 38.9684°N 74.8374°W / 38.9684; -74.8374 (Sand Castle)
Sand Dune
Saratoga Inn 1960 Stanton & Ocean 38.9675°N 74.8375°W / 38.9675; -74.8375 (Saratoga Inn) Phoney Colonee
Sea Chest Motel Atlantic & Stockton 38.9688°N 74.8375°W / 38.9688; -74.8375 (Sea Chest Motel)
Sea Drift Atlantic & Buttercup 38.9782°N 74.8267°W / 38.9782; -74.8267 (Sea Drift Motel)
Sea Scape Inn
Shalimar 1964 Rosemary & Atlantic Ave.
Wildwood Crest
38.9734°N 74.8312°W / 38.9734; -74.8312 (Shalimar) Restored in 2005 & expanded to allow for two-floor units + single level motel rooms, raising the height to five stories (originally three).
Singapore 1964
Tangiers 1958
Viking 1960 Columbine & Ocean Ave.
Wildwood Crest
38.9734°N 74.8308°W / 38.9734; -74.8308 (Viking) Date is circa - the Viking is listed in a 1961 G.W.H.M. Accommodations Directory.
V.I.P. 1965 Forget-me-not & Atlantic Ave.
Wildwood Crest
Waikiki 1969 Wisteria & Beach Ave. 38.9736°N 74.8292°W / 38.9736; -74.8292 (Waikiki) By the beach & library, Polynesian Pop

Date is circa - appears in 1970 overhead of property (see historicaerials.com).

Waters Edge Ocean Resort Beach & Buttercup 38.9765°N 74.8251°W / 38.9765; -74.8251 (Waters Edge)
Yankee Clipper 1966 Cardinal & Ocean Ave.
Wildwood Crest
38.9748°N 74.8288°W / 38.9748; -74.8288 (Yankee Clipper)

Demolished motels

From 2003 to 2006, over 50 motels had been demolished to make way for condominium development. In addition to the Ebb Tide, notable demolished motels in the area included the Satellite, Kona Kai, Waterways, Christine Motor Inn, Fantasy, Rio, and Sea Rose motels.[12]

Ebb Tide Motel

The Ebb Tide Motel in 1992

The Ebb Tide Motel, built in 1957 and demolished in 2003, is credited as the first Doo-Wop motel in Wildwood Crest.[3][15]

The Sea Rose Motel

The Sea Rose Motel, which was owned by Stanley and Catherine Stefankiewicz, was demolished in Fall 2004. The motel was owned for many years by the Stefankiewicz Family, who also owned the Poplar Cafe which is now known as "Goodnight Irenes".

Satellite Motel

Built in 1958, the Satellite Motel was one of the Wildwoods' signature "Doo Wop" landmarks until its demolition after the 2004 season, sparking a wave of redevelopment in the area that winter. It was located on the northeast corner of Atlantic & Aster in Wildwood Crest. The Satellite's rooftop neon sign was installed as part of the Neon Garden at the Doo Wop Experience museum in May 2008.[6] The motel was featured prominently in Thomas Hine's 1986 book, Populuxe.[16]

As the loss of the original Satellite was so great, plans are underway for a successor to it - the 21st Century Satellite Motel. The new project looks back to the original Satellite's first decade of life when it was arguably at its best and purest form aesthetically, and truest to its initial vision as an overall experience for its guests for its inspiration, moving it forward into the future for its new form.

https://21stcenturysatellite.com/

See also

The Oceanview Motel, located on Ocean Avenue and East Rambler Road in Wildwood Crest, is the largest motel in the Wildwoods.
The Mark 1 Motel
Sign of the Sea Shell Motel

References

  1. "The '50s and '60s Thrive In Retro Doo-Wop Motels". Washington Post. 24 June 2007. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  2. Doo Wop Preservation League Web site
  3. Wildwood Crest Historical Society Web site
  4. Fancher, Emily. "Doo Wop" architecture lures tourists back to seaside town Archived 2007-07-02 at the Wayback Machine, Columbia News Service, June 10, 2002. Accessed June 17, 2007. "Just about everything in Wildwood, N.J. has been touched by 'Doo Wop'. The term describes the distinctively kitschy flair of the town's 200 motels, which were built in the 1950s and '60s. Reflecting the popular cultural themes of the era, the motels have Hawaiian and Polynesian designs, Space Age accents or rock 'n' roll details."
  5. Neon and Angles: Motels of the Wildwoods, Historic Preservation Bulletin, Summer 2006, accessed May 17, 2011
  6. "Satellite Motel". Wildwood Doo Wop.com. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
  7. Hastings, Kirk. Doo Wop Motels: Architectural Treasures of The Wildwoods. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-0-8117-3389-2.
  8. History of Doo Wop Motels Archived 2013-09-01 at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 17, 2011,
  9. Hastings, Kirk. Doo Wop Motels: Architectural Treasures of The Wildwoods. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-8117-3389-2.
  10. Hastings, Kirk (2007). Doo Wop Motels: Architectural Treasures of the Wildwoods. Stackpole Books. pp. Chapter Two. ISBN 9780811733892.
  11. Spain, John (August 16, 2008). "Doo Wop delights of the Jersey shore". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  12. Eisenthal, Bram (October 21, 2006). "Doo Wop sings the blues". Montreal Gazette. Canwest. Archived from the original on June 3, 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
  13. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  14. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Cape May County" (PDF). NJ DEP - Historic Preservation Office. January 10, 2010. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 28, 2011. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
  15. "History of Wildwood Crest, New Jersey". Visit New Jersey Shore. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
  16. Hine, Thomas (1986). Populuxe: the Look and Life of Midcentury America. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press. ISBN 978-1-58567-910-2.
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