Post by fuzzyscorpio on Aug 23, 2006 2:41:38 GMT -5
So I'm taking it upon myself to try to start a new discussion with the ideas that Al Alven posted in the Wildwood Diner thread and some comments of my own...
These classic structures and businesses need to be celebrated NOW. Perhaps one idea is for the DWPL (and/or us on this message board) to organize some sort of Internet "street team."
Hear me out for a moment here...
What the preservation effort needs is publicity, like any would- or should-be first-class resort. Articles on the island and its "Doo Wop" architecture still pop up in newspapers and magazines, but it seems with less regularlity these days. Maybe that's just me.
But, remember when the whole "Doo Wop" craze really kicked off five or six years ago? Around the time when the Starlux opened, there seemed to be a good deal of national (yes, NATIONAL) press on the Wildwoods.
(Quick aside -- Darleen Lev, the New York designer who used to post here as funkychic, was introduced to the Wildwoods when she saw an NY Times article on the subway that featured a pic of the Lolipop Motel.
She was fascinated, looked into it, visited the Wildwoods, and learned about the history of the resort and its architecture. She went on to meet with the new owners of the Caribbean Motel and went on to be hired to completely redesign the motel in retro fashion.
Today, the Caribbean is celebrated as a "Doo Wop" treasure and is held as one of the brightest examples of how an older property can be maintained and renovated, and remain very profitable -- thanks in large part to Darleen's work.
It's proof how one article, one little instance of publicity can go a long way.)
Something like that, NOW, could really help sound the alarm.
Let's figure out a way to get the stories of places like the Fairview, the Shamrock, the motels, the remaining diners and restaurnats, out there, before it is too late.
What I propose with this "street team" idea is pretty simple. A group of us could put our heads together and come up with a good, basic cover letter. Then, we can start sending it out, pitching stories on the Wildwoods to various media outlets all over the place.
Worst case scenario, the newspapers and magazines we contact reject the idea. Best case scenario -- the Wildwoods get a write up in a paper in, say, the Boston, Minnesota or even San Diego area... and perhaps one even catches the attention of someone with the passion and resources to help out.
You never know. But, I think it's a low risk/high reward endeavor. Any thoughts?
In the original thread I said something about trying to come up with a theme for a media campaign, perhaps something along myth-vs-reality lines. Here's an example of why I said that. Someone put up a couple of postcards of the Surfside Diner on eBay this week, which are nice, but the interesting part is the copy that's posted with them, so scroll on:
Here's what this particular eBayer has to say about Wildwood on the postcard page:
Sounds like everything's hunky-dory, doesn't it? Like Wildwood has somehow been cloaked in a magical layer of protection that will preserve it as a living museum forever?
This is probably what a lot of people outside of metro NYC and metro Philly--and, I'll wager, some within those bounds as well--think, based on snatches of coverage of the doo-wop campaign. I'm reminded of the comment about the demise of the Wildwood Diner from my Midwestern friend that I posted elsewhere: He said he was "amazed that the historical preservation society [sic] has nothing to say about this."
The truth is vastly different, as we all know, with midcentury Wildwood steadily slip-slidin' away in Paul Simon's phrase, motel by motel, icon by icon. We need to make people understand that. And I don't think we necessarily have to denigrate the DWPL to do it. We just have to paint a realistic picture of its limited ability to hold back powerful market forces.
Sometimes, I think, the theme of "doo-wop" is a little too cute and frothy for its own good. We might need to persuade the media to rearrange the song of the 21st century Wildwoods and sing it in a minor key for a while. Help them drill down through the rock 'n' roll fluff to expose the genuinely tragic aspects of this situation.
If every one of us could write a brief piece about one thing we knew and loved in the Wildwoods that's been demolished, we might end up with quite a compelling media package (or an a la carte menu for editors to choose from).
What do people think about that approach? Other approaches? Specific targets? Come on, let's get that gray matter hummin'...
alalven said:
That's exactly it, lastresort.These classic structures and businesses need to be celebrated NOW. Perhaps one idea is for the DWPL (and/or us on this message board) to organize some sort of Internet "street team."
Hear me out for a moment here...
What the preservation effort needs is publicity, like any would- or should-be first-class resort. Articles on the island and its "Doo Wop" architecture still pop up in newspapers and magazines, but it seems with less regularlity these days. Maybe that's just me.
But, remember when the whole "Doo Wop" craze really kicked off five or six years ago? Around the time when the Starlux opened, there seemed to be a good deal of national (yes, NATIONAL) press on the Wildwoods.
(Quick aside -- Darleen Lev, the New York designer who used to post here as funkychic, was introduced to the Wildwoods when she saw an NY Times article on the subway that featured a pic of the Lolipop Motel.
She was fascinated, looked into it, visited the Wildwoods, and learned about the history of the resort and its architecture. She went on to meet with the new owners of the Caribbean Motel and went on to be hired to completely redesign the motel in retro fashion.
Today, the Caribbean is celebrated as a "Doo Wop" treasure and is held as one of the brightest examples of how an older property can be maintained and renovated, and remain very profitable -- thanks in large part to Darleen's work.
It's proof how one article, one little instance of publicity can go a long way.)
Something like that, NOW, could really help sound the alarm.
Let's figure out a way to get the stories of places like the Fairview, the Shamrock, the motels, the remaining diners and restaurnats, out there, before it is too late.
What I propose with this "street team" idea is pretty simple. A group of us could put our heads together and come up with a good, basic cover letter. Then, we can start sending it out, pitching stories on the Wildwoods to various media outlets all over the place.
Worst case scenario, the newspapers and magazines we contact reject the idea. Best case scenario -- the Wildwoods get a write up in a paper in, say, the Boston, Minnesota or even San Diego area... and perhaps one even catches the attention of someone with the passion and resources to help out.
You never know. But, I think it's a low risk/high reward endeavor. Any thoughts?
In the original thread I said something about trying to come up with a theme for a media campaign, perhaps something along myth-vs-reality lines. Here's an example of why I said that. Someone put up a couple of postcards of the Surfside Diner on eBay this week, which are nice, but the interesting part is the copy that's posted with them, so scroll on:
Here's what this particular eBayer has to say about Wildwood on the postcard page:
Nestled between the glitzy casinos of Atlantic City and the stately Victorian bed and breakfasts of Cape May, lies a resort town that history and time has forgotten--Wildwood, New Jersey.
This beach town is known as the "Doo-Wop Capital", and the Doo-Wop Preservation League makes Wildwood its home. What makes this town so amazing? Entering Wildwood is like stepping back in time to the 1950s. The many, many motels on the island all have one thing in common--lots of neon, flamingos and bold, brash colors reminiscent of the poodle skirt days and the drive-in theaters. When the sun goes down in Wildwood, the neon goes on and lights up the town in flashy, gaudy shades of green, pink and aqua.
Adding to its neon charm is the five-mile beach, which is only one of two free beaches left on the Jersey shore (Atlantic City being the other one). Wildwood has the largest beach of all the Jersey shore towns, and some beaches even provide "jitneys" to transport sunbathers from the boardwalk to the ocean's edge.
The island is a great family vacation spot. Although the motels are preserved in their 50's style in shades of hot pink and turquoise, they are clean, family-friendly and a great value.
Wildwood also features the largest boardwalk along the shore, with four piers of amusement rides and several water parks, not to mention the T-Shirt shops, gift shops and "shore" food, such as waffles and ice cream, pork roll sandwiches and French fries you eat with a toothpick. In the morning, the boardwalk abounds with cyclers riding 50's style bicycles which can be rented at numerous stores along the boardwalk.
Because of its vintage style, Wildwood hosts many doo-wop festivals and concerts on the beach, so while the kids are enjoying the roller-coasters, the parents are jitterbugging to the music of their youth.
There is also a doo-wop trolley tour for sightseeing around the island and visiting the most popular neon spots in town. The tours runs about 45 minutes and operates every Tuesday and Thursday.
Sounds like everything's hunky-dory, doesn't it? Like Wildwood has somehow been cloaked in a magical layer of protection that will preserve it as a living museum forever?
This is probably what a lot of people outside of metro NYC and metro Philly--and, I'll wager, some within those bounds as well--think, based on snatches of coverage of the doo-wop campaign. I'm reminded of the comment about the demise of the Wildwood Diner from my Midwestern friend that I posted elsewhere: He said he was "amazed that the historical preservation society [sic] has nothing to say about this."
The truth is vastly different, as we all know, with midcentury Wildwood steadily slip-slidin' away in Paul Simon's phrase, motel by motel, icon by icon. We need to make people understand that. And I don't think we necessarily have to denigrate the DWPL to do it. We just have to paint a realistic picture of its limited ability to hold back powerful market forces.
Sometimes, I think, the theme of "doo-wop" is a little too cute and frothy for its own good. We might need to persuade the media to rearrange the song of the 21st century Wildwoods and sing it in a minor key for a while. Help them drill down through the rock 'n' roll fluff to expose the genuinely tragic aspects of this situation.
If every one of us could write a brief piece about one thing we knew and loved in the Wildwoods that's been demolished, we might end up with quite a compelling media package (or an a la carte menu for editors to choose from).
What do people think about that approach? Other approaches? Specific targets? Come on, let's get that gray matter hummin'...
Lets pray they actually do something about this - but I'm not getting my hopes up 