Wildwoods Original Bdwk resurfaces on Atlantic Ave

[JerseyDigger29]

Hey guys, you ain't gonna believe this. But if the treasure hunter and amateur archeologist in me is right, we may be witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime miracle right now!!!!

You all know that the Hunt's Shore Theater and the Quality Restaurant were torn down recently after being there for almost 80 or more years. Well, when they leveled the lot, apparently no one realized what might just pop up from underneath it:

What is probably the last remaining piece (certainly the last piece that anyone alive today will probably ever see) of WILDWOOD'S FIRST BOARDWALK has resurfaced after almost a century.

(For those who might not know, the first boardwalk was actually a wooden walkway along the east side of Atlantic Avenue. Between Cedar and Schellenger Avenues was Blaker's Pavilion, which was a kind of combination nickolodeon/hall/arcade, etc. This became the Blaker Theater, and when the boardwalk moved eastward along Cedar Avenue, it lead to the famous merry-go-round building, Jackrabbit Roller Coaster and Tunnel of love, etc. And eventually they moved the main boardwalk eastward, too, to where it is today and linked it up to the merry-go-round).

Anyway, the original wooden pilings (actual trees, I think) from the famous Blaker's Pavilion at Cedar and Atlantic Avenues are still sticking up out of the beach exactly where they were way back when.

Today, because of the DEP and regs, when you tear something down (like a gas station, etc), you are required to completely remove what was there and reclaim or clean the land in most instances. I have seen several examples over the last few years that lead me to believe that in the old days, they didn't remove everything that used to be there, they just built over top of it:

1) Drive down Atlantic Avenue in NW with your left tire on the center line of the road (approx. between 23rd and 26th, and your car will bump along like you're riding over a highway "rumble strip." These bumps are caused by the wooden spacers from the old Five Mile Beach Trolley Tracks. (You know, the trolley that famed opera tenor Mario Lanza used to be a conductor on). I think they just removed the iron tracks and covered up some of the wood planks between them. (Somewhere in Wildwood, I can't remember where, there is still at least one iron track very near the road surface. You can see about a six inch strip of it protruding through the asphalt).

2) A few years ago, they took a bulldozer under the main bdwk from Oak Ave to Wildwood so they could fix some burried pipes and/or gas or wire lines. They dug out about 6 to 8 feet of sand and up popped the original wooden treestump pilings from the boardwalk just after the turn of the 20th century (before they installed the current concrete pilings, which are now beginning to fall apart BTW).

3) And now, what's left of Blakers Pavilion resurfaces to see the 21st century. Geez, I hope I'm right about these being the original pilings from the late 1800's. History, especially local history just makes my heart go pitter- patter. ;D

Check out the photos below and you decide...

Thom

p.s. If you can, check this site out before they cover it up again. You may never get to see anything that was part of the Wildwood boardwalk FROM THE LATE 1800's in your lifetime, especially those interested in Wildwood architecture.

TheWildwoodsReporter.com

[MMM]

Neat - thanks Thom! They should put a plaque there or something...

Isn't that east-west part by Cedar Avenue the oldest section of the current Boardwalk?

[crazyaboutwildwood]

That is unbelievable!!!!! That is a great find!

[writhinganacondo]

Great post Thom! The Hist. Society should try to get a piece of it....did you go over the site with your detector at all?
With all the demolitions going on I'm sure more interesting things will resurface.
I've seen trolley rails peeping out in certain parts of town, just can't remember where (senility). There is also some rr track over behind Harvey's Furniture somewhere.

[FlyinGN]

great stuff! Thanks Thom!!! That most definetly sure looks like the original boarkwalk pilings..

[homer]

Holy shmokes! If that's the old boardwalk pilings, I think I have a pic of them before they were buried.

I believe this was the move of the boardwalk that took place under Mayor Bright (relative of Bob Bright from the Wildwood Historical Society Museum). Is that right, Thom?

If so, I have a great article I'll post here about that move. (I've got to get it from my home PC).

Apparently Mayor Bright had it moved...while the other council members were out of town! I believe he was impeached. But, of course, the boardwalk remained (remains) in its new location.

[Al Alven]

WOW -- Absolutely phenomenal findings, Thom!

They don't call you the "Jersey Digger" for nothing.

You may have inspired me to take my third trip of the month to the Wildwoods to check this out in person.

(Quick question, because I can't tell from the photos... Were your photos taken from an area that is easy enough to access? Or, might it be an area that will be roped off shortly?)

[Cindy]

Wow! People dig on the beach for buried treasure, but they are digging in the wrong spot. . . athough "treasure" is a relative term.

Great find and thanks for posting the picture.

[JerseyDigger29]

I'll try to answer everyone's question in one post:

1) I usually try to get by the museum every Thursday, it's the only day I can dedicate for this purpose. I'll see Bob Bright and tell him about my find. Maybe he can get a piece of the pavilion for posterity. After being under ground and waterlogged for so long it will need preservation, though. I'll also ask him if anyone ever thought of an historical marker at this location.

2) Yup, former Mayor Bright supposedly moved the boardwalk eastward "in the dead of night," so to speak. Apparently he couldn't convince people that the ocean was retreating and moving the boardwalk eastward would create a whole lot of valuable new real estate, so he just ignored them and did it his way - MY KIND OF GUY! However, he paid for it big time. Bob Bright loves to tell anyone who will listen about his famous, or infamous, ancester. Check him out at the museum.

3) Yes, Cedar Avenue is the oldest part of the original boardwalk and the current one. Like I said, the first boardwalk was just a wooden promenade along Atlantic Avenue so the hotel guests could walk along the oceanfront without getting sand in their "hightopped" Victorian and turn of the century shoes. If you ever see photos of the Victorians on the beach around the turn of the century, it's so funny. Everyone of them, except the small kids, is dressed up completely to the neck in thick and hot suits and ties. The men never went anywhere without their hats and ties, and the women would never be seen in public without an ankle-length dress. The Victorians weren't very big on showing skin. I seem to remember being tought in college that swimming in the ocean was a product of the 20th century or something. Between the time of the Lenni Lenape Indians coming here and the late 1800's, people just wouldn't be caught dead swimming in the ocean without almost all their clothes on.

Blakers Pavilion at Cedar Ave was a kind of pier extending over the water. As the ocean retreated eastward, and Mayor Bright moved the boardwalk along with it, Cedar Avenue and the Pavilion moved east with it, too. But basically, Cedar Avenue and Blakers was the central focal point of the entire boardwalk. BTW, the oldest part of the boardwalk later also extended south from the Pavilion along Atlantic Avenue. Crest Pier was actually a real pier over the ocean. It was the same kind of structure as Blakers Pavilion, a large hall or arcade with a beautiful dance hall, etc. I remember in the late 50's roller skating at the original Crest Pier - no longer over the water, of course. Eventually, Crest Pier was modernized and turned into the structure it is today, but it also extended out over the ocean at one time.

4) I'll take a photo at the museum of Blakers. I want to include it with my formal story for TWR next week, kind of "Here she is in her glory, and here she is now."

5) You can get right up to the edge of the hole at the site to take pictures. So far, only the hole has an orange construction fence around it.

6) It's amazing what kind of historical things I've found after demolitions in Wildwood. When they tore down the old lumber yard where the new bus terminal is now, I found a lot of old glass bottles dating to the 1800's. My favorite find, though, came from the park at Oak and New Jersey Avenue (the location of the old Magnolia Lake from the 1800's. About 8 inches underground I found a piece of an iron dedication plaque, the kind they place when they dedicate trees. Anyway, it was inscribed by the "Clara Barton Society of the Daughters of the Civil War," or something to that effect. I gave it to the museum several years ago.

Thom

[wildre]

WOW Thom, you truly are a digger, wonderful find.

[FlyinGN]

wow too cool ! Civil war??!! Outstanding..

[Captain Phil]

Awseome find! Im going to check them out tomorrow. Thanks JD!

[homer]

Here's the article I said I would post. It first appeared in "Wildwood Properties" magazine (www.wildwoodproperties.net/). They published a series, "A History of the Wildwoods" This is from the Oct.-Nov. 2004 issue:

"A History of the Wildwoods"

Wildwood’s real estate boom can be disorienting. Have you driven down a street in recent months and found yourself looking for buildings that are no longer there?

Believe it or not, lightning-fast demolition is not a new phenomenon on the island. Eighty five years ago, Wildwood’s residents awoke to find one of their most treasured landmarks had disappeared. City Commissioner Oliver Bright had led a clandestine crew of laborers to do a job that many citizens opposed. The men worked under cover of darkness and in the morning, wood pilings and scraps were laid out along Atlantic Avenue, and the boardwalk was gone.

It wasn’t the first time a boardwalk in Wildwood had been disassembled. Initially, boardwalks were little more than wooden walkways that allowed pedestrians to pass over sandy terrain. According to a paper written by Robert J. Scully, Sr., curator of the Wildwood Historical Society, boardwalks connected Anglesea’s hotel and cottages as early as 1884, and by 1893 Holly Beach had boardwalks around its dance halls and pavilions.

Each of Wildwood’s early communities had their own promenades. Wildwood Crest’s boardwalk ran along what is now Seaview Avenue. North Wildwood’s walk was located “two hundred feet east” of where it is today. In 1898, Mayor Latimer Baker recommended that Wildwood erect a boardwalk “on the easterly margin of Atlantic Avenue.”

According to George Boyer’s book, “The Middle of the Island,” a debate ensued in council about the proposed location. Some councilmen and business owners preferred to have the structure built further east, but since no one at the time knew Wildwood’s beach would continue to grow, Baker’s proposed location prevailed.

Over time, these walks were modified and reconstructed, and by the early years of the twentieth century, a boardwalk stretched from North Wildwood into the Crest.

As the boardwalk expanded, it became an entertainment center. Amusement rides, eateries and bandstands soon appeared. Blaker’s Pavilion was an early landmark, and in 1906 its proprietor, Gilbert Blaker had applied for permission to operate 20 rolling chairs. These wicker chairs with wheels became a popular amusement for visitors who were pushed along the boardwalk for a small fee.

Blaker would soon be at the center of the controversy which led to Oliver Bright’s midnight escapade. Wildwood’s beach was growing every year and the boardwalk was in disrepair. The city authorized the construction of a new structure, which would run closer to the ocean, but Blaker challenged the move in court. The city ignored an injunction to halt demolition of the walk, and several people were found in contempt of court and fined. The boardwalk project was stalled.

In their book “Wildwood by the Sea,” Robert Scully, Sr. and coauthors David and Diane Francis describe how this series of “complicated legal actions brought construction of a new boardwalk to a stand-still.” Apparently Oliver Bright had grown impatient with the gridlock.

Bright, a Philadelphia native, began his career as a carriage and wagon painter, who specialized in gold leaf and scroll work. He later opened a successful livery and express business, which provided dry goods to local businesses. He then expanded his interest into real estate development, and he built the Chalfont Hotel on Pacific Avenue.

By all accounts, Bright was a colorful figure. He entered the island’s political scene as a councilman in Holly Beach, and he later became commissioner of the city’s second ward when that borough consolidated with Wildwood. In an obituary, he is remembered by an admirer as one of Wildwood’s “loyal and most colorful boosters,” and a “pioneer” with a “keen interest in community affairs.” He was also known for his “aggressiveness in boosting the community he was chosen to represent.”

It was perhaps that aggressiveness that led to his slick maneuver on the boardwalk project in 1919. According to Oliver Bright’s grandson, Robert Bright, the director of the Wildwood Historical Society, there may have been another motivation.

“He was in real estate,” Bright explained, “I’m sure he wanted that property to sell. He could have bought it when it went up on tax sale.” Bright said that very little was discussed about the boardwalk incident within his family, although he remembers it was his uncle who told him the story. “I think they wanted to keep it quiet,” he explained.

Few written records of the incident exist, but according to Bright, the other city leaders had gone to Washington DC to visit the local senator. “The way it was told to me, was that the politicians left on one train and the workers came in on another,” Bright explained

According to a paper by Robert Scully, Sr., Wildwood Historical Society’s curator, “Oliver Bright and a group of hired hands, including Bright’s son, Robert, Sr. who was 11 years old at the time, tore up the boardwalk with only the pilings left as a silent reminder of where the walk had been.”

“The police couldn’t even stop him,” Bright explained, “Because they were under his jurisdiction.” The midnight caper was not popular with many boardwalk business owners, and angry protests ensued. When the dust settled, Bright was removed from office in a recall election.

Blaker eventually submitted to the city in the legal proceedings, and in August of 1921, the new boardwalk was completed where it stands today.

According to Robert Bright, his ancestors, who were among Wildwood’s earliest pioneers, were not always popular or scrupulous. He proudly offered as an example the speech given at a city council meeting by Commissioner Percy Jackson. It was included in the meeting’s minutes:

I’m tired of women. I’m tired of sin.
I’m tired of whiskey. I’m tired of gin.
I’m tired of the days. I’m tired of the nights.
But mostly I’m tired of those g--d--- Brights.

Oliver Bright may not have been popular with everyone, but he certainly left an impression on the City of Wildwood. And one way or another, he got things done.

Oh, and the photo is of the new Boardwalk being constructed...of course, there are no photos of this "fly-by-night" demo job of the old boards...they were too busy tearing them down!

Hopefully this will persuade some to visit the George F. Boyer Museum www.the-wildwoods.com/history/museum.html ...The Wildwood Historical Society's museum

[JerseyDigger29]

Homer - Thanks for the story. There are so many versions out there, it's nice to see one with a lot more info in it.

Like many, I also called him Mayor Bright although he was only a commissioner. (Or was he also the mayor)? Maybe someone should hold a ceremony and dedicate the current boardwalk to him. At least, we could name him honorary "Mayor of the Boardwalk" for all time, or something.

Without Commissioner Bright and his vision and "unique personality" - even if he may have been motivated mostly for real estate profit - this might not be the same Wildwoods it is today.

Commissioner Bright is a strong example of the kind of person I prefer. I call them the "Wildwoods' Warriors," a take-off on WHS's teams.

A Wildwoods Warrior is someone who cares about the Wildwoods above all else. Someone who takes part in civic affairs instead of sitting back and quietly bi**hing and moaning about everything going on around him. A Wildwoods Warrior is someone who won't let anyone or anything stand in his or her way when there is something he KNOWS must be done.

He or she is also someone who doesn't usually like working through committees or paying for constant studies. If she knows something is right, she prefers to pitch in and get it done - no talk, no study, no focus groups. Just do it!

A Wildwoods' Warrior's philosophy is: "If you aren't part of the solution, get out of my way!"

Commissioner Bright was a Wildwoods' Warrior.

Thom

p.s. I got that picture of the Blaker's Pavilion, although I don't believe it is the very first version of it. I seem to remember a picture of the first Pavilion, before there was a theater there. I may be wrong. But the photo I included in my story for this week's TWR is still pretty cool looking.

TheWildwoodsReporter.com

[wildre]

Thanks Homer, great read!