At long last life - good signs!

[JerseyDigger29]

The beams are brand new as I reported in TWR, although I don't know how many. The Mayor said they had to be remanufactured because many of the old ones were rotted away. From the picture, all the beams seem to be similar so I'm guessing they're all new.

As for our discussion here, I don't think I really care how much of it is new or rebuilt. We ARE getting the Surfside back. Nothing that is old can last forever, especially in the salt air around here. Look at the condition of the older motels.

So even if it is rebuilt, it still is the Surfside. Besides, a generation from now, your children won't even remember the original restaurant, they'll just talk about the Doo Wop museum at Fox Park that used to be a restaurant in the Crest.

Thom

P.S. To the best of my knowledge, there is only one hotel on the island that has never been changed, updated, or modernized. It is also the oldest surviving hotel in the Wildwoods that has always been a hotel from Day 1. And it was built in the 1880's and is still going strong.

It's called the Beachwood and it is located in the 200 block of east Montgomery Avenue, catty-corner from WHS. Check it out if you ever get in that neighborhood. It's Victorian, far older than Doo Wop.

[hulk007]

1880's? Wow that's probably one of the first places ever built in WW, period.

[JerseyDigger29]

hulk007 said:

1880's? Wow that's probably one of the first places ever built in WW, period.

Yeah, I think it is. At least it's in the right neighborhood to be one of the first. I think Wildwood and Holly Beach (current Wildwood city limits from 26th to Cresse) got it's beginnings sometime around the early 1880's, give or take a couple of years. Fox Brothers, the store on the SW corner of Montgomery and Pacific has a sign above it's front door saying it was the very first store in Wildwood (1884, I think). So that ties in with the 1880's for the Beachwood across the street.

I also remember a story in the old newspapers from the Wildwood's that said the church at the corner of Maple and Atlantic held its very first church service on the merry-go-round (Cedar Avenue?) about this same time while waiting for its first church to be built, so that pegs Wildwood pretty much at around 1880.

The exact date can be found by talking to Mr. Bright in the Boyer Museum, I'm sure. I do know that Anglesea, which began as a tiny fishing village, is slightly older than Wildwood and Holly Beach. I think Anglesea dates to the 1870's. Because of its location on Hereford Inlet it was much more important to the early shipping and fishing industries of the island than Holly Beach or Wildwood were.

Over the years, there have been seven total governments, or communities, on Five Mile Beach: Anglesea, North Wildwood, West Wildwood, Holly Beach, Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, and Lower Twp. in Diamond Beach.

Seven, count 'em. Now there are only five, counting Lower Twp. I wish it was one.

Thom

[writhinganacondo]

That Beechwood Hotel still has old spot pin bowling lanes on the ground floor from long ago though they are covered up. Want to see perhaps the island's oldest house? The 200 block of East 2nd St., south side (forget #), there is a white house, the original front section dates from 1866 built by Swedish fishermen (the garage & rear apts. since added on)...
That Surfside looks lower than the original, but at least its getting done. Build it and get someone to run it right.
We were on the eastern and western shores the past few weeks. Whats happening in Wildwood is happening everywhere there is mid-century architecture.

[JerseyDigger29]

writhinganacondo said:

That Beechwood Hotel still has old spot pin bowling lanes on the ground floor from long ago though they are covered up. Want to see perhaps the island's oldest house? The 200 block of East 2nd St., south side (forget #), there is a white house, the original front section dates from 1866 built by Swedish fishermen (the garage & rear apts. since added on)...
That Surfside looks lower than the original, but at least its getting done. Build it and get someone to run it right.
We were on the eastern and western shores the past few weeks. Whats happening in Wildwood is happening everywhere there is mid-century architecture.

Another of the first houses on the island is the "Toll Collector's House," which is a tiny wooden house that sits directly on the water behind Uries - Southside of the bridge.

In the beginning, farmers from the mainland had to ferry their cattle to Wildwood to graze for the summer. After that there was a wooden bridge crossing the bay where Uries and the Boathouse are (Old Rio Grande Avenue). The toll collector lived in the little house next to the wooden bridge. The bridge is gone, but the house is still there. (1880's, I think).

And of course, the Wildwoods' first "one-room school house" is still there. It's on display in Holly Beach Park (East Burk Avenue).

And you're right about the bowling alley at the Beachwood. After WWI, many hotels in the Wildwoods had their own bowling alleys on their ground floors, as well as ballrooms where live bands would provide the entertainment of the day.

God, I love history. I could go on forever.

Thom

[fuzzyscorpio]

jerseydigger29 said:

hulk007 said:

1880's? Wow that's probably one of the first places ever built in WW, period.

Yeah, I think it is. At least it's in the right neighborhood to be one of the first. I think Wildwood and Holly Beach (current Wildwood city limits from 26th to Cresse) got it's beginnings sometime around the early 1880's, give or take a couple of years. Fox Brothers, the store on the SW corner of Montgomery and Pacific has a sign above it's front door saying it was the very first store in Wildwood (1884, I think). So that ties in with the 1880's for the Beachwood across the street.

An older man who came out to his car as I was taking this shot the other day teased me about the picture-taking ("you think we're going to be torn down for condos?") and then identified himself as its owner for the past 30 years. He says it was built in 1903 and is technically Wildwood's first hotel. And "we're not going anywhere." (I should note that there's more than a bit of shabbiness along Montgomery Ave, with at least one house only about a block west of the Beachwood that's literally falling down. In the current housing market, his site may not be on developers' prime target lists.)

[fuzzyscorpio]

Back on topic... a look at further progress on the frame of the museum as of Saturday. Starting to resemble the SurfSide more, no?

[thelastresort]

Looks like a nice replica.

So, tell me again, how is this preservation?

[wildwood4life]

At least your getting something back....be it original or a replica. Better to have the replica than to never see anything like it again

[thelastresort]

I see your point.

But then, aren't we are turning WW into Williamsburg? Sure, it's cute to visit, but it's all new fakey stuff.

[Doowopper]

Maybe it came to be that using all the original parts would not work out (structural issues etc).

We can't be to fussy with what we get. I'd much rather have a replica that looks 100% like the Surfside in which Doo-Wop can be promoted, and residents and tourists can enjoy a warm summer evening concert than some grass and a basketball court.

Maybe the outer shell (walls) will be originals. If not, oh well. The Surfside was old and a more structurally sound building is the better option, if that's what it comes down to.

[MMM]

I'm very happy to see it, even if not all completely original. It replicates what once was in its form, instead of taking liberties. Basically anything, if it hangs around long enough, will need things repaired/replaced. There would be a lot fewer old cars remaining if parts weren't replaced over time.

[hulk007]

I'm impressed with the Beachwood. It actually looks in decent shape considering its age.

[Crippled_Visions]

I would love to see them replicate the old Skua pirate ship the way they replicated the Surfside. To me, it really doesn't matter if it's new matterials...at least it's the old design.

[MMM]

I wonder if blueprints, etc. exist?