Post #233498 by John in Montreal on Tue, May 23, 2006 6:46 AM

I'm afraid a lot of the great, so-called "Doo-Wop" (don't like that name) motels in the Wildwoods are gone or on the way out. A lot of demolition/destruction/devastation in the last 2-3 years. What's going up in their place? Cookie-cutter condos... so many that the Wildwoods are becoming oversaturated and realtors/developers are now having a hard time selling some of these condos.

A few motels have received decent "doo wop" make-overs but many motels and other businesses are getting what I call the Happy Days Theme Park treatment... trying to cash in on a generic mid-century, rock n roll theme that is not at all authentic.

I've been a big supporter of Wildwood over the years, and a lot has been written about the Wildwoods in my Mai Tai newsletter. A few of the earlier articles, as well as a video, can be found online at http://www.maitaionline.com. But my last article (and I think it will be my final article on the Wildwoods, given that I don't think there's much left to write about) is only available in print for the time being.

Check out the Bamboo Blog at maitaionline.com for a sad photo of the demo of the Kona Kai (my home base in Wildwood Crest).

Sad, sad, sad...