SUMMER 2006 HISTORIC Preservation In this Issue: BULLETIN Neon and Angles and: Motels of the Wildwoods....1 • New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection • • Natural & Historic Resources • Historic Preservation Office • Roadside Cabins....................6 Minding the Shore................8 Doo Wop Motels Endangered...........................11 Neon and Angles: Motels of the Wildwoods he Jersey Shore evokes many images: sand and surf, sun and fun, family and friends among them. For many, the Shore brings to mind the grand painted ladies of Victorian Cape May. However, just north of TCape May lies the neighboring communities of North Page 6 Wildwood, Wildwood and Wildwood Crest that draw praise for their own unique exuberant architecture. The Wildwoods’ wide sandy beach and the amusement-packed boardwalk are well known, but the striking, flamboyant, mid-20th century motels attract visitors to the Wildwoods every year. The architecture of the motels, called Googie on the West Coast, MiMo in north beach Miami or, more generically, Populuxe, is not known to exist outside the Wildwoods in an equivalent density. This expressive architectural style common in the ’50s and ’60s incorporated modern, sweeping angles, angular wall and roof styles, vibrant colors, starbursts and even Page 8 boomerang shapes and merits its own special attention in addition to the standard Jersey Shore fun. Indeed, the Wildwoods are a wildly popular summer spot, not only with local Shore visitors from the Mid-Atlantic, but also with vacationers from Quebec, Canada and beyond. The Wildwoods began developing as a resort in the last decade of the 19th century with steady growth to the early 20th century. The boom began in the 1950s, due partially to the construction and completion of the Garden State Parkway and the enthusiastic, tail-finned motorists it delivered. With Jon S. Corzine Governor State of New Jersey Lisa P. Jackson, Commissioner Department of Environmental Protection Asymmetry found in the Ocean View Motel, Wildwood Crest Mission The Department of Environmental Protection, Historic Preservation Office summer tourists driving to The form of each of the is committed to enhancing the quality the Wildwoods, the newly motels was relatively simple. of life for the residents of New Jersey constructed motels needed to Constructed of poured, through preservation and appreciation of our collective past. meet their needs as motorists. reinforced concrete, the While the automobile played motels were two or more Our mission is to assist the residents of an important role in the form stories and generally L- or U- New Jersey in identifying, preserving, and function of the motels, shaped. The L plan was a protecting and sustaining our historic and archaeological resources through the post-World War II solid line of rooms; the implementation of the state's historic optimism, confidence and shorter leg could be a lobby, preservation program. economic prosperity raised sundeck with parking sweeping the nation in the underneath or even more We provide assistance through our annual conference, consultation with ’50s also held large influence guestrooms. In keeping with professionals, training workshops, in the design and themes. the motorist trend and to co-sponsorship of history and historic minimize noise and maximize preservation related activities, the Historic Preservation Bulletin and other Take a drive down ocean views, the motels were free publications. Surf, Ocean and Atlantic only one room deep with an avenues and one will notice a open-air, common walkway striking similarity among the for guestroom access. Also Historic Preservation Office motels. The architecture, essential to the form of the P.O. Box 404, Trenton, locally named Doo-Wop in motels were the flat roofs that New Jersey 08625-0404 honor of the musical genre of extended well beyond the TEL: (609) 292-2023 the period, implemented FAX: (609) 984-0578 important design www.nj.gov/dep/hpo principles. Common elements include: assymetry, L- or U- This publication has been financed in part with federal shaped form, the funds from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, and administered by the New Jersey incorporation of a Department of Environmental Protection, Historic Preservation Office. The contents and opinions do not theme, overhangs, pools, necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of the Interior. This program receives federal and parking. For tourists financial assistance for the identification and protection of historic properties. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of arriving in the large cars 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the of the era, parking was U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, or handicap in its essential, and all the federally assisted programs. If you believe that you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or motels provided facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to: Office of Equal Opportunity, perimeter parking, with National Park Service, 1849 C. Street NW (NC200), some spots sheltered Angled walls of the Ebb Tide Motel, Wildwood Washington, D.C. 20240 Crest. The first motel built on the island. Now under raised sundecks. demolished. Photo courtesy of HABS 2 walls. These wide, roof angles were overhangs offered protection then topped to the guests on the open with an corridors but also provided a overhanging design element specific to the roof and popular culture of the time. contrasted with The same wide overhangs the flat were also often found on the elevation of the lobbies of the buildings. Most two-story office. were flat, but, depending All this upon the theme of the motel, combined to the overhangs could be flared give the motel a or accordion style. feeling of movement. Asymmetry and strong angles were also essential to Asymmetry was the lines of a motel in the also often found Wildwoods. This was seen in the lobbies. most dramatically in the now The lobby of demolished Ebb Tide. One of the Ocean View, the first motels built in 1952, with its long the Ebb Tide had a sloping sloping roofs, Stylized entrance of the Attaché Motel, Wildwood Crest. facade, with the first floor had one side leaning away from the dramatically parking lot while the second longer than the other. Large side-by-side cabanas. and third floors leaned diamond-paned windows toward the motorists. These augmented the asymmetrical While a building’s form effect. This lobby and wide overhangs were roof served a dual important, themes were purpose by also established to capture the providing some attention of the tourist. Each covered parking. motel had an essential The angles were designated theme, which often incorporated created an ambience for the in the theme of motel and lured potential some motels. The guests as they drove around Casa Bahama, looking for accommodations. taking on a Common themes reflected in Caribbean theme, the architecture include exotic had the basic L- locations as found at the shaped form that Tangiers, the Pyramid and the incorporated many Caribbean motels; luxury at peaked rooflines the Imperial 500 and the along the open Diamond Crest; space corridors. These exploration at the Astronaut; peaks rose from the historic interpretations at the sidewalk at the first Carriage Stop and the floor and Crusader; and the oceanic at culminated in a the Blue Marlin, Gulf Stream The cabana-like appearance of the former Casa Bahama steep peak above and Sea Gull. The themes creates a Caribbean flare. Also note the palm trees on the second story were reflective of the era: the doors. Now demolished. roof mimicking expanded contact with new 3 and exotic locations through travel and the movies, the newly established space Best Practices program. WOrkshop The theme of each motel was echoed throughout the building. Large neon signs were mounted on roofs, Purpose: attached to the side of a Hone your expertise, expedite your projects, building or mounted near the curb, each competing with its better serve your clients, and earn a certificate of neighbor in bright neon. Often achievement by attending this training provided the name of the motel was by the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office painted on a wall surface along with an image representing the theme. The Who Should Attend: Gondolier, for example, had Historic Preservation Consultants who prepare an entire wall surface painted surveys, nominations, and historic property with an image of a gondolier October 27, 2006 documentation. Basic knowledge cultural in Venice, and the Olympic resource practices required. features a man throwing a discus. The expression of the theme could also be carried Topics: out in the building materials. HPO Survey Form System Historic Resource The three-story Brittany Analysis Impact Assessment Information featured false half-timbering, Management And more… giving it a Tudor appearance. The Singapore had multiple- hipped roofs, which give the impression of a pagoda. The Location: Carriage Stop was faced in Rutgers EcoComplex Environmental Research red brick with white columns, and Extension Center reminding people of colonial 1200 Florence-Columbus Road roots. Bordentown, NJ 08505-4200 Just as parking was critical to the motoring tourists, so were pools. Even with the beach just a few Price: $75.00 steps away, few motels were without pools. The pools were often just as dramatic as the themes themselves, and all For more information, contact: were meant to help attract and, most importantly, keep Genny Guzman at (609) 984-0543 or the tourist. The Chateau Bleu [email protected] pool was heart-shaped, while www.state.nj.us/dep/hpo the pool of the exuberant Caribbean was crescent- shaped. Other motels featured Save the Date! Save kidney-shaped, standard oval 4 railings. Solid beaches and exciting doors were boardwalks, but none except often painted the Wildwoods can boast colors to match about its exuberant, mid-20th the themes.