Wildwood on Film
I traveled to Wildwood, New Jersey for a three-day weekend recently. Why Wildwood? I was very interested in the large numbers of mid-century motels that are located on this small barrier island. From the 1950s on, with the opening of the Garden State Parkway, motels were built here for vacationers who were coming to enjoy the wide sandy beaches of the Jersey Shore.
These motels are often called “doo-wop” style, which describes the unique, space-age architectural style, which is also referred to as the Googie style. The motels are very stylized, with Vegas-like neon signs, plastic palm trees, and fantastic architecture.
At one point there were over 300 motels on the island. Today, many have disappeared as they are torn down and replaced with condominiums. About 100 motels still exist in Wildwood.
I decided to visit during the off season, which would provide lots of photo opportunities with few cars and people in them. However, this also meant that the neon signs and motel lights were not generally on at night, so most of my photos are daytime shots. Here are a few of the photos, taken on 35mm film with a 1980s Nikon camera.
The Caribbean Motel. One of two Wildwood Motels named as landmarks.
Inside my room at the Starlux.
Early morning light strikes the Sahara Motel.
Early morning light hits a Wildwood motel, showing off repeating patterns.
The Crusader.
I’ll be sharing more Wildwood motel photos in future posts.
