Wildwood-Jersey Shore Doo Wop Heaven
Marianne McGarrity
Issue date: 5/5/08 Section: Opinion
Do muscle cars roaring up the street shooting sparks interest you? How about the longest boardwalk in the United States, complete with seven roller coasters? Do you like beautiful soft sand barrier island beaches, funky diners, amazing fifty's style motels, great clubs and good times? Would you get a kick out of being in the club where the very first rock 'n' roll song was performed for the first time? If the answer is yes, hop into your car and head south on the Garden State Parkway to Exit 4B and you'll be in Wildwood. It's a long drive to Cape May County, but it's worth it to see this very unique piece of Americana.
Wildwood is actually four separate towns; Wildwood, West Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and North Wildwood all strung together on barrier islands. They have a year round population of 5,400 residents, which swells to 250,000 in the summer.
When you drive over the bridge into Wildwood you'll know immediately that it's not like anywhere you've ever been before. Most of it was developed as a resort in the 1950's and 60's and a lot of the original buildings remain. The 200 plus motels and diners look like a cross between 'The Jetsons" and "Grease." There's enough neon lighting to make Las Vegas jealous and they have actually opened a Doo Wop Museum with artifacts from buildings and business that have been demolished. The Doo Wop Preservation League is working with the Endangered Historical Places national organization to try and convince developers to refurbish the original architecture rather than tear it down to build new.
In addition to the two miles of boardwalk, complete with candy shops, taffy, sausage sandwiches, souvenirs, amusement parks, clubs and restaurants, there are two large water parks. Splashzone has the world's tallest dumping bucket as well as the largest raft ride on the East Coast. Wildwood also offers free concerts, WWE Raw events, the International Kite Flying Competition, the Marbles Competition, and Muscle Car week-ends, among other things. They have a large new Convention Center that's becoming very popular. There are twelve golf courses in the area, as well as plenty of miniature golf ranges.
Wildwood is actually four separate towns; Wildwood, West Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and North Wildwood all strung together on barrier islands. They have a year round population of 5,400 residents, which swells to 250,000 in the summer.
When you drive over the bridge into Wildwood you'll know immediately that it's not like anywhere you've ever been before. Most of it was developed as a resort in the 1950's and 60's and a lot of the original buildings remain. The 200 plus motels and diners look like a cross between 'The Jetsons" and "Grease." There's enough neon lighting to make Las Vegas jealous and they have actually opened a Doo Wop Museum with artifacts from buildings and business that have been demolished. The Doo Wop Preservation League is working with the Endangered Historical Places national organization to try and convince developers to refurbish the original architecture rather than tear it down to build new.
In addition to the two miles of boardwalk, complete with candy shops, taffy, sausage sandwiches, souvenirs, amusement parks, clubs and restaurants, there are two large water parks. Splashzone has the world's tallest dumping bucket as well as the largest raft ride on the East Coast. Wildwood also offers free concerts, WWE Raw events, the International Kite Flying Competition, the Marbles Competition, and Muscle Car week-ends, among other things. They have a large new Convention Center that's becoming very popular. There are twelve golf courses in the area, as well as plenty of miniature golf ranges.
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