My $64,000 nostalgia question

[fuzzyscorpio]

My earliest memory of the Wildwoods is a very foggy one... I would be so jazzed if someone had a scrap that would bring it into focus.

It was a little place called the Oasis. More of a snack bar than what you could really call a restaurant, I think. I picture it on the beach side of Atlantic Ave about halfway down into the Crest, maybe somewhere around Rambler Rd. I seem to recall that it was either a round structure or one with more than four sides (i.e., a hexagon or whatever). And that I loved it partly for those little individual jukeboxes at the counter and booths. And that it was where we used to stop for some lunch when we arrived from northern NJ each year, even before we began stopping at the All Star/Schumann's. This would have been in the '50s or very early '60s.

Again, this is a very old memory parts of which may have been amalgamated or completely fabricated over the years--my memory has never been terribly good. But no question that the Oasis did exist. Exactly when it went away or what replaced it I can't begin to say. I know that I missed it for a long time.

Does anyone remember this place? Better yet, does anyone have some kind of image of it?

-Kathi

[Al Alven]

Funny you should mention the Oasis, Kathi, as this place just came up in one of my recent conversations with Fred Musso.

You're absolutely right about the location. According to Fred (who is an amazing fountain of Wildwood knowledge), it stood right at or near the northeast corner of Atlantic and Rambler.

Today, this is the site of that older condominium complex (sorry, blanking on the name) that sits directly north (across Rambler) from the Admiral Motel and south (across Primrose) from the Diamond Crest.

I hope this puts it in some sort of perspective.

As for photos, I don't have any of the actual restaurant itself, unfortunately. However, I did recently snap one of the old sign, which is presently in storage:



(Unless I am mistaken, and this is from an old "Oasis Motel"; but, I don't think such a place existed. I'll have to ask Fred to be absolutely sure, though.)

Anyway, I hope this helps!

[FlyinGN]

hmm Al. could this have been from the Oasis nightclub?

[Al Alven]

You know what, Frank, I think you're right.

Sorry for the confusion there, guys. I forgot all about the nightclub of the exact same name.

The location given for the Oasis Restaurant above is correct, but, yeah, now that you point it out, I believe that pic is actually of the sign of the Oasis Nightclub.

Sorry 'bout that!

[JerseyDigger29]

alalven said:

You know what, Frank, I think you're right.

Sorry for the confusion there, guys. I forgot all about the nightclub of the exact same name.

The location given for the Oasis Restaurant above is correct, but, yeah, now that you point it out, I believe that pic is actually of the sign of the Oasis Nightclub.

Sorry 'bout that!

Al, the sign is the Oasis nightclub, I think. I have to say, though, that I don't remember an Oasis on Atlantic and Rambler. The southwest corner of Rambler and Atlantic of course is the Church of the Assumption.

All I can remember back into the 50's is that the east side of Atlantic Avenue was mostly oceanfront. (Hence, the original Crest Pier, which was actually over the water).

And Rambler avenue was the location of the famous "Turtle Gut Inlet," which I think began to fill in around the 62 storm.

All these dates really have me confused, because although Rambler Avenue was Turtle Gut Inlet (how far back, I don't know), I also remember the original Playpen nightclub at the end of Atlantic Avenue in Diamond Beach in the very early 60's.

And the condo tower you're thinking of at Rambler and Atlantic is Ocean Towers. - Thom

[MMM]

Ocean Place, Thom?

[fuzzyscorpio]

jerseydigger29 said:

I have to say, though, that I don't remember an Oasis on Atlantic and Rambler. The southwest corner of Rambler and Atlantic of course is the Church of the Assumption.

The Oasis was on the beach (east) side of Atlantic, I'm 99.9% certain of that.

All I can remember back into the 50's is that the east side of Atlantic Avenue was mostly oceanfront.

Yes, it was as we discussed in the Cape Cod thread. I picture the Oasis with quite a bit of space surrounding it, and with the beach and ocean pretty close by to either side of it.

I also remember the original Playpen nightclub at the end of Atlantic Avenue in Diamond Beach in the very early 60's.

Oh yeah... I remember the Playpen too, now that you mention it. It's so great having all you people here to jog my lazy memory cells

And the condo tower you're thinking of at Rambler and Atlantic is Ocean Towers. - Thom

Might be Ocean Place as Martin says. It can't be Ocean Towers--that's the really butt-ugly one that sits over the south end of the boards.

[fuzzyscorpio]

alalven said:

You know what, Frank, I think you're right.

Sorry for the confusion there, guys. I forgot all about the nightclub of the exact same name.

The location given for the Oasis Restaurant above is correct, but, yeah, now that you point it out, I believe that pic is actually of the sign of the Oasis Nightclub.

Sorry 'bout that!

Oh wow... I was thrilled when I first saw that sign, because I recognized those jaunty dancing letters... but then when I read Frank's post I realized I didn't exactly know where I recognized them from ... anyway, thanks, Al, for trying to help me fully retrieve that memory. When you talk to Fred next, could you ask him what he remembers about the Oasis? I'd really appreciate it.

When I come down I'll look in the Boyer museum. Maybe they'll have a street shot that includes it.

[FlyinGN]

The Oasis nightclub was our hangout as a teenager with my friends.. ahh the memories..

[JerseyDigger29]

mmm said:

Ocean Place, Thom?

Thanks, Martin. Without actually checkinig these places personally, Ocean Place and Ocean Towers at the end of the boardwalk have always confused me. Thom

[MMM]

What was on the Ocean Place site before it was built? Open property, possibly?

[nickp]

This picture was taken from the Admiral east golf course in 1976 facing the block that now houses the Ocean Place condos. The only two buildings on that block were Bradley Bikes (before they moved across the street) and that restaurant. I never remembered the name of it, just that we used to get cheesesteaks and other sandwiches there. Not sure if this is the same place or time frame that you are thinking of but thats what was there in '76.

[writhinganacondo]

Thats right across from the church, is that the Oasis lunch? Didn't think it was still there in '76. I remember it as a flat roofed structure in the mid-60's, could have been redone later (?). Ask some of the fossils at the lifeguard hdqrtrs.
Just don't ask Hovnanian.

[fuzzyscorpio]

Hmmm... thanks for posting that picture, Nick. God, this is making my hair hurt My first reaction was yeah, that's it... I'm not 100% sure, but I think so. Like writhinganacondo, I would have thought the Oasis was gone by 1976. But that looks like my memory of where it was, if the camera that took that shot was facing west. That's Atlantic Ave. running along the front of the structure, right?

During my recent visit I asked Mr. Bright at the museum about the Oasis, and he laughed, because there is one other person who has been bugging him about the Oasis: Carolyn Travis, the producer of the Wildwood Days video. He hasn't been able to find a picture of it, only a reference to taxes being paid on it in some record book that he has. I'm 99% sure the address listed in the book was 7111 Atlantic Ave (near Rambler Road, as I had recalled), but can't confirm as I somehow seem to have blown off that little section of my audio notes from the trip.

I'll have to send my dad the photo and see if he recognizes it.

[fuzzyscorpio]

I was getting ready to send Nick's photo to my dad, and when I sharpened it in Photoshop I noticed the traffic light on the far side of the building in question, which indicated that my original reading of the image was not quite right, in the street-map sense.

So, for anyone who is not yet convinced of my utter lunacy, I submit the following



After drawing this little map to try to clear my head, I went back and read through this thread, and realized that the location where I placed the Oasis on my map is exactly what Al had relayed from Fred Musso. Duh. I'd forgotten that he'd been so specific about the street boundaries.

So now I'm pretty much convinced that the building in Nick's photo is the Oasis. I think the tent-like shape of the roof could easily have morphed into the idea of a round or hexagon in the recesses of my memory. My beloved little lunch joint must have been one of the earliest casualties of the condo phenomenon (Ocean Place as Nick said). Anyone know who the developer of Ocean Place was? writhinganacondo, is that why you mentioned Hovnanian? Maybe they have some pictures of the site before they wiped it...

The one thing that still puzzles me is Nick's reference to Bradley's Bikes (of which I've been a loyal patron in recent years--really nice guys) having "moved across the street" some time after 1976. Assuming the little white structure in front of the Oasis in Nick's photo is Bradley's Bikes, it seems to me they are still located there today. Are you sure about that one, Nick?