Wildwood is a beautiful city in Cape May County, New Jersey. Wildwood was initially incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 1, 1895. Wildwood became a city on January 1, 1912, replacing Wildwood borough and Holly Beach City. During the last decade of the 19th century, the Wildwoods began to develop as a resort. During the 1950s, a building boom began due partially to the construction and completion of the Garden State Parkway.
Tourists and vacationers love Wildwood as a resort city. Wildwood’s year-round population of over 5,300 grows to 250,000 during the summer peak tourist season. More than 200 motels were built in Wildwood during the Doo-Wop era of the 1950s and 1960s, in an area designated by the state of New Jersey as the Wildwoods Shore Resort Historic District.
Here are some stunning vintage photos that show Wildwood in 1978 by John Margolies.
I remember that bootleg Star Wars ride haha. Good times!
Wow, so many memories. Those photos of Hunt’s Pier made my heart ache a little, especially the ones where the Golden Nugget is visible, that was always my favorite as a kid.
Snow White has been there a loooooooong time. Never ate there as a little kid when my parents took me to the boardwalk, but I basically lived off their food during Senior Week 1991 and I stop there for a meal every time I go down for a day trip.
Such wonderful childhood memories.
That was my first summer in Wildwood. I was six weeks old. We stayed at the Shore Plaza in an oceanfront room, generally on the 4th floor closest to 26th Avenue. Couple of the descriptions are wrong, but those are some wonderful pictures.
Anyone know what the white roller coaster next to Dracula’s Castle was in pic #7?
It was originally the jack rabbit wooden coaster. It was renamed scream machine when the castle opened.