Post #233710 by Sabina on Wed, May 24, 2006 8:33 AM

Ok, this is a project I've had up my sleeve since February. These pages aren't full blown completed yet, but it may take a while before I find time to get them all the way up to where I want them, so I'm making them live as a special treat- http://www.sevenpleasures.org/gallery/Wildwood-NJ. There's plenty there to spend a chunk of time on, just keep clicking through the individual galleries, each hotel has its own page, there may not be a lot on it, but it will begin to give you a feel for the place.

Forgive me in advance, this post is going to be a bit image intensive because while the Wildwoods have come up on TC from time to time, pictures of what remains really haven't hit TC consciousness yet, and I really want to drive home what folks are missing. Sure, there have been occasional mentions here of the Wildwoods, and yes, as James already noted, TRT lists them as over and done with. But what remains while a shadow of it's former self, is still really interesting.

I've met some of you in our travels and you know, we've been around the country and REALLY looked at place after place with an eye towards Tiki and midcentury architecture. Let me just say this as simply as I can- the Wildwoods being along a long thin stretch of island are the single most densely packed incredible collection of exterior (and the interiors have already been touched on in this thread) Googie goodies all in one place I've ever seen.

The problem is, that density is getting lost incredibly quickly. And, there is no dripping with top to bottom Tiki-ness. If you make that your criteria for a Wildwoods trip you will come away disappointed. That said, though, if you can squint your eyes a little, and find some of the areas where the old hotels make up the visual setting in all four directions, you can really begin to get a feel for what the Wildwoods were.

But that's the point- "were" they aren't any more. Even on the blocks where treasures remain intact, one need only look at the back of the building, or up the street, or at the cranes that are part of the wintertime/construction season skyline to understand that what was is being ripped out incredibly quickly- only to replaced by Beigeville USA. In a real sense, it's already too late to REALLY save the Wildwoods, as one need only look out their window to have the midcentury fantasy shattered by the ugly condos next door. The masterpieces that remain are rapidly becoming islands in a sea of beige.

No, I've definitely not given up on saving what we can. What remains is all the more vital, as even the 'plain ole boring' little hotels are a vital link to a time and way of life that is unappreciated until after it's gone.

That said though, saving what's left is going to be incredibly difficult, as what we're really seeing is an economic transition from mom and pops who owned properties to development corporations. If you're a mom or pop getting up in years, sitting on a pile of otherwise unremarkable bricks and peeling paint, and you're being offered a multi-million dollar 'retirement' for your property, well, you know how this is going.

By the time we finally made it to the gem mere hours from home (despite all our wild travels across North America) more than 70 hotels had already been torn down, including the Kona Kai and the Tahitian. John in Montreal in the Mai Tai magazine and the website passed along to us all vital pieces of the Kona Kai history, for which I can't begin to thank him enough. Be forewarned, there are two pictures of the blasted Kona Kai condos in an unimpressive neuvo- 'DooWop' style on my Wildwood page. A look at John documenting what we lost, vs. what it's about to be replaced with should have any Tikiphile marching down to their local Tiki establishment and supporting it!

There are still a fair number of remnants of Tiki hotels still functioning in the Wildwoods, to name only 4 (and yes, there are more, hotels and even mid-century condos)

The Royal Hawaiian-

The Ala Moana-

The Ala Kai (now missing the Hula girl from its signage)-

and the Waikiki-

All that said, there's still a lot to see left, and it's worth a trip. Nowhere else will you see block after block, building after building (now disrupted by condos scattered throughout) quite like this. Southern CA has many gems, but the Wildwoods are unique. And yes, tucked in the middle of the ruins and the condos and the construction are a few rare amazing examples that are just beyond words, small hotels like the Carribean-

or the Beach Colony-

or Wildwood's Eden Roc-

Now what you're looking at are pictures of the hotels in February, the off season, the construction season- and 'in the winter, everything's for sale in Wildwood'. Just because it has a for sale doesn't mean it's condos now. Nor does it mean that preservationists can just buy them up and save them. The asking prices on these babies are often not the price of the existing hotel (and ability to keep it a hotel) the prices are condo-high, because that's what the developer who pays the high price is going to build on that lot, and particularly those beachfront lots, once they tear down the treasures. Mom and Pops don't want to sell their hotels for hotel prices, only to have someone promise to keep it a hotel and sell out later for the big condo bucks. Mom and Pop want to condo price for their retirement. Thus preservation becomes all the less likely. Even as preservationists fight to save the few, the immersive feeling of the place, seeing midcentury gems in all directions as far as the eye could see is already gone.

Most of all though, I have dreamed, and lusted, and longed to put together even a small weekend event supporting what Tiki hotels remain. I understand they're not particularly Tiki on the inside, and I know the financial realities for these places are what they are. But if only for one or two nights, imagine the possibilities. Some of the Tiki that remains in the Wildwoods has incredible character. These were the summertime beach haunts of Tikiphiles from elsewhere. There's still lava rock to be found, murals, and yes, even at least one solitary Tiki I spotted on a cold February (construction season) day.

We are after all, talking about a place whose official tree is the Palmus plasticus wildwoodii (or Plastic Palms of Wildwood!) But event or no- go to Wildwood, support wildwood, and work to build awareness of our national treasure being wrecked one potential condo site at a time.

One last thing to add, the Hawaiian Rumble mini-golf and pancake house is there as well, although the Tikis were plastic covered when we were there due to it being winter.

"You're getting more interesting by the drink!" -Pepe le Tiki

[ Edited by: Sabina 2006-05-24 08:37 ]