Good Bye Wildwood
From the AP:
Building wave claims Jersey shore motels
"The Lollipop and the StarLux. The Shalimar and the Caribbean. The Imperial 500 and the Tangiers."
"With garish neon signs, multicolored exteriors and sweeping deck overhangs, the 'Doo Wop' motels of the Wildwoods are the architectural equivalents of a Vitalis-slicked pompadour."
"They, too, are fading into the past."
"One by one, the mom-and-pop motels are being razed, rendered economically obsolete by a real estate boom that has made the land underneath too valuable to support a couple of dozen $100-a-night rooms."
"More than 50 of the motels have been demolished in the past three years, giving way to pricey condominiums with none of the charm - or history."
"Built in the 1950s and 1960s and dubbed 'Doo Wop' after the vocal style of the period, the motels sprung up next to the ocean in Wildwood, North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest, catering to a booming postwar America that wanted vacation places with outdoor pools, parking spaces and easy ocean access."
More information can be found on the National Trust for Historic Preservation Website:
Doo Wop Motels
"'The exuberant architecture of the Wildwood Doo Wop motels makes them irreplaceable icons of popular culture,' said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. 'Instead of being demolished to make room for nondescript new development, the Doo Wop motels should be preserved as the focus of an all-season resort and a vibrant, livable community for year-round residents.'
Caveat Emptor!
Grim
Building wave claims Jersey shore motels
"The Lollipop and the StarLux. The Shalimar and the Caribbean. The Imperial 500 and the Tangiers."
"With garish neon signs, multicolored exteriors and sweeping deck overhangs, the 'Doo Wop' motels of the Wildwoods are the architectural equivalents of a Vitalis-slicked pompadour."
"They, too, are fading into the past."
"One by one, the mom-and-pop motels are being razed, rendered economically obsolete by a real estate boom that has made the land underneath too valuable to support a couple of dozen $100-a-night rooms."
"More than 50 of the motels have been demolished in the past three years, giving way to pricey condominiums with none of the charm - or history."
"Built in the 1950s and 1960s and dubbed 'Doo Wop' after the vocal style of the period, the motels sprung up next to the ocean in Wildwood, North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest, catering to a booming postwar America that wanted vacation places with outdoor pools, parking spaces and easy ocean access."
More information can be found on the National Trust for Historic Preservation Website:
Doo Wop Motels
"'The exuberant architecture of the Wildwood Doo Wop motels makes them irreplaceable icons of popular culture,' said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. 'Instead of being demolished to make room for nondescript new development, the Doo Wop motels should be preserved as the focus of an all-season resort and a vibrant, livable community for year-round residents.'
Caveat Emptor!
Grim
5 Comments:
Any development that is occurring in Wildwood would have to be positive.
Richie - do you really think Seaside has a lot of trash?
I don't think it's that bad. I mean, we rent a place on LBI, but we go to Seaside.
I know they put a police substation behind the Sawmill, but it still makes me smile when my daughter goes on the rides and wins her stupid stuffed animal from somebody speaking Russian.
Pat
Its the owners of the hotels that caved in to the greed.
NJN has a great documentary on the glory days of Wildwood. Also discusses DooWop architecture. If it is replayed watch it, great Jerseyana.
Don't be hating on Wildwood. Besides the really bad center, North Wildwood and the crest have very nice areas. Not to mention one of the flatest, widest, nicest beaches in NJ!!
Some development occuring in wildwood is very positive, but much of the development in the crest and north wildwood is just greed. The municipalities are allowing ridiculous condos to be put up built to the edge of the property a 20 unit motel becomes a 20 condo development with condos of 2500sqft. Quite a bit more construction on the land than normal. In fact I heard of a motel project in the crest that was going to be 20, yes 20 stories!!! WTF
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