Wildwood, New Jersey

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Wildwood, New Jersey
Map of Cape May County
Map of Cape May County
Coordinates: 38°59′20″N 74°49′12″W / 38.98889, -74.82
Country United States
State New Jersey
County Cape May
Incorporated May 1, 1895
Government
 - Type Walsh Act (New Jersey)
 - Mayor Ernest Troiano, Jr.
Area
 - Total 1.4 sq mi (3.6 km²)
 - Land 1.3 sq mi (3.3 km²)
 - Water 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km²)
Elevation [1] 0 ft (0 m)
Population (2006)[2]
 - Total 5,309
 - Density 4,212.7/sq mi (1,626.5/km²)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 08260
Area code(s) 609
FIPS code 34-81170[3]
GNIS feature ID 0885444[4]
Website: http://www.wildwoodnj.org/
For other places with the same name, see Wildwood (disambiguation).

Wildwood is a city in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 5,436 during the off-season, but it can swell to 250,000 during the summer months.

Wildwood was originally incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 1, 1895, from portions of Middle Township, based on the results of a referendum held the previous day, and was reincorporated on April 30, 1895. On January 1, 1912, Wildwood was incorporated as a city, replacing both Wildwood borough and Holly Beach City.[5]

Wildwood is also used as a collective term referring to the four communities with Wildwood comprising part of the municipality name — specifically the Borough of Wildwood Crest, City of Wildwood, Borough of West Wildwood and the City of North Wildwood — together with Diamond Beach, a portion of Lower Township situated on the island. Collectively, these communities are known as "The Wildwoods."

Wildwood is a resort city that is very popular with vacationers and tourists mostly from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware and even nearby parts of Canada during the summer months. Its most notable features are its beach and 1.8-mile boardwalk, home to the Morey's Piers amusement complex and Raging Waters, a 2-location waterpark complex owned by Morey's Piers. The boardwalk features a trolley called the "Tramcar", which runs from end to end. It is also home to Splash Zone Water Park. Built in 1999, Splash Zone features the world's highest dumping bucket and the biggest family raft ride on the east coast, The Beast of the East. Its famous doo wop-style motels and hotels have been designated as endangered historical places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It was ranked the best beach in New Jersey in the 2008 Top 10 Beaches Contest sponsored by the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium.[6]

Rock Around the Clock, often credited as the first rock and roll record, was first performed on Memorial Day weekend in 1954 at the HofBrau Hotel in Wildwood by Bill Haley & His Comets. The song's status as one of the first rock and roll hits has given rise to the city's claim as "the birthplace of rock and roll".[7][8]

Contents

[edit] Geography

Wildwood is located at 38°59′20″N, 74°49′12″W (38.988969, -74.819863).[9] It is situated on a barrier island facing the Atlantic Ocean comprised of five separate municipalities: Wildwood, North Wildwood, West Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and Diamond Beach, a place in Lower Township. Collectively, these communities form "The Wildwoods" resort.

Wildwood also borders Middle Township.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.6 km²), of which, 1.3 square miles (3.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (6.52%) is water.

[edit] Historic Motel District

Wildwood houses over 200 motels, built during the Doo-Wop era of the 1950s and 1960s. The motels are unique in appearance with Vegas-like neon signs, odd architecture, and an overall distinctive look which makes Wildwood one of the most interesting districts of its kind in the nation. [10] New construction in the area however has seen the demise of many older motels being demolished so bigger condominiums may take up residence. The Wildwood Doo Wop Preservation League has taken action to help save and restore these historic buildings but construction of far larger hotels may overtake the area in the next few years. A 1950s Doo Wop museum has recently been built which contains property from demolished motels like neon signs and furniture. Neo-Doo Wop buildings in the area feature a neon lit Wawa, Subway Sandwich Shop, and a 1950s styled Acme Supermarket.

New Jersey State Firemen's Convention

Since the early 1970s the Wildwoods have been home to the annual New Jersey State Fireman's Convention. It moved to the Wildwoods from Atlantic City in the early 1970's. The convention had been held in Atlantic City for many years prior to the building of the big casinos of today. When the City began to change the council refused to allow the visiting firefighters to parade their apparatus through the streets. This was one of the reasons for the move along with the rising crime rate. The Wildwoods welcomed the convention with open arms and allowed for the parade which every year runs the length of New Jersey Ave. from Wildwood Crest through Wildwood to North Wildwood.

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.  %±
1930 5,330
—
1940 5,150 -3.4%
1950 5,475 6.3%
1960 4,690 -14.3%
1970 4,110 -12.4%
1980 4,913 19.5%
1990 4,484 -8.7%
2000 5,436 21.2%
Est. 2006 5,309 [2] -2.3%
Population 1930 - 1990[11]
The Wildwood boardwalk, including the Tramcar.
The Wildwood boardwalk, including the Tramcar.

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 5,436 people, 2,333 households, and 1,273 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,212.6 people per square mile (1,627.0/km²). There were 6,488 housing units at an average density of 5,027.9/sq mi (1,941.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 70.55% White, 16.65% African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 8.85% from other races, and 2.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.62% of the population.

There were 2,333 households out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.2% were married couples living together, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.4% were non-families. 38.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,981, and the median income for a family was $28,288. Males had a median income of $30,787 versus $23,320 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,682. About 20.2% of families and 26.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.7% of those under age 18 and 21.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government

[edit] Local government

Wildwood is governed under the Walsh Act Commissioner form of municipal government.[12]

Wildwood City is governed by a three-member commission consisting of Mayor Ernest Troiano, Jr., Gary S. DeMarzo and William Davenport, Jr.[13]

[edit] Federal, state and county representation

Wildwood City is in the Second Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 1st Legislative District.[14]

New Jersey's Second Congressional District, covering all of Atlantic County, Cape May County, Cumberland County and Salem County and portions of Burlington County, Camden County and Gloucester County, is represented by Frank LoBiondo (R, Ventnor). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

The 1st legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Nicholas Asselta (R) and in the Assembly by Nelson Albano (D, Vineland) and Jeff Van Drew (D, Dennis Township).[15] The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).[16]

Cape May County is governed by a Board of Chosen Freeholders consisting of five members, elected at large in partisan elections to serve staggered three-year terms in office. Cape May County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director Daniel Beyel (Upper Township, term expires December 31, 2008), Freeholder Vice-Director Ralph E. Sheets, Jr. (2008), Ralph E. Bakley, Sr. (2010), Leonard C. Desiderio (Sea Isle City, 2009) and Gerald M. Thornton (2010).[17]

[edit] Education

The Wildwood Public School District serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[18]) are Glenwood Elementary School (K-5; 394 students), Wildwood Middle School (6-8; 173 students) and Wildwood High School (9-12; 284 students).

Students from West Wildwood attend the district's schools as part of a sending/receiving relationship for grades K-12. For grades 9-12, students from North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest attend Wildwood High School as part of sending/receiving relationships.[19]

[edit] Points of interest

  • Boardwalk Chapel is a summertime Christian Gospel outreach on the boardwalk, sandwiched between a pizzeria and a gift shop. Its wide entrance offers thousands of board walkers the opportunity to move freely in and out of any one of its 77 consecutive evening services held during June, July, and August.

[edit] Popular culture

[edit] Noted residents

[edit] References

  1. ^ USGS GNIS: City of Wildwood, Geographic Names Information System, accessed November 10, 2007.
  2. ^ a b Census data for Wildwood city, United States Census Bureau, accessed August 4, 2007.
  3. ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  4. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  5. ^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 116.
  6. ^ Urgo, Jacqueline L.. "Triumph for South Jersey", The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 23, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-30. 
  7. ^ The Birthplace of Rock and Roll: Wildwood, New Jersey, Stakes Its Claim, accessed November 16, 2006.
  8. ^ Strauss, Robert. "Cradle of Rock? Two Towns Stake Their Claims", The New York Times, July 10, 2007. Accessed July 10, 2007. "It was Saturday night during Memorial Day weekend in 1954, and more than 500 people were jammed into the HofBrau Hotel here to hear his band, the Comets, kick off the summer. “We had just recorded this song in April,” he said, “and that night we introduced it to the crowd. I guess that was the first real night of rock ’n’ roll.” The song was “Rock Around the Clock,” by Bill Haley and His Comets, considered by many to be the first rock-’n’-roll hit, and the first song with the word “rock” in the title to hit the top of the Billboard charts."
  9. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  10. ^ Fancher, Emily. "Doo Wop" architecture lures tourists back to seaside town, Columbia News Service, June 10, 2002. Accessed June 17, 2007. "Just about everything in Wildwood, N.J. has been touched by 'Doo Wop'. The term describes the distinctively kitschy flair of the town's 200 motels, which were built in the 1950s and 60s. Reflecting the popular cultural themes of the era, the motels have Hawaiian and Polynesian designs, Space Age accents or rock 'n' roll details."
  11. ^ Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990, Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. Accessed March 1, 2007.
  12. ^ 2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 8.
  13. ^ Key Employee Directory, City of Wildwood. Accessed May 1, 2008.
  14. ^ 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 66. Accessed August 30, 2006.
  15. ^ Legislative Roster: 2008-2009 Session, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed June 6, 2008.
  16. ^ About the Governor, New Jersey. Accessed June 6, 2008.
  17. ^ Freeholders Home Page, Cape May County, New Jersey. Accessed January 30, 2008.
  18. ^ Data for the Wildwood Public School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 30, 2008.
  19. ^ Wildwood City School District 2007 Report card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 30, 2008. "Students from North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest join students from Wildwood and West Wildwood at Wildwood High School."
  20. ^ Schedule of Events 2007, accessed March 26, 2007.
  21. ^ Jacob Thompson Baker biography, United States Congress. Accessed August 4, 2007.
  22. ^ Narducci, Marc. "SOUTH JERSEY FOOTBALL STANDOUTS SCORE IN THE NFL THIS YEAR, NINE FORMER HIGH SCHOOL STARS ARE SUITED UP IN THE PROS, AMONG THEM IRVING FRYAR AND RON DAYNE.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 13, 2000. Accessed June 14, 2007. "Wildwood's Randy Beverly had two interceptions for the New York Jets in Super Bowl III."
  23. ^ Remy Hamilton profile, Arena Football League. Accessed June 14, 2007.
  24. ^ Saxon, Wolfgang. "JOY HANCOCK DIES; LAST WAVES CHIEF", The New York Times, August 25, 1986. Accessed June 5, 2007. "Born in Wildwood, N.J., Miss Bright briefly belonged to the Naval Reserve in New Jersey and then stayed on as a civilian employee at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station."

[edit] External links

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