Glossy Reminders of Wildwood Past

A pair of vacationing Pennsylvanians document the changing landscape of Wildwood in a new book of photography.

Posted June 13, 2011 by Ashley J. Cerasaro

The larger-than-life letters at Boardwalk and Rio Grande Avenue are a favorite backdrop for playful family vacation photos.

Courtesy of Robert O. Williams.

Courtesy of Robert O. Williams.

Pennsylvanians Robert and Melinda Williams have been vacationing at the Jersey Shore together every summer for the past 35 years, reveling in nostalgia, such as Wildwood’s famed doo-wop architecture and neon signage. “But by the end of the ’90s, it was apparent that something big—and not always in a good way—was happening in Wildwood,” Melinda says. “Every year, fewer places we loved to drive by were there.”

So she suggested Robert, a former staff photographer for the Philadelphia Inquirer who previously documented the diner culture in America in Hometown Diners, begin to chronicle Wildwood’s changing landscape. “Wildwood was right under my nose, but I wasn’t paying attention,” Robert admits. “Melinda and I had traveled across the country and the world, but this fascinating mecca called Wildwood was in my own backyard.”

For the next 10 summers, Robert photographed the seaside playground as neon signs faded, motels were demolished and sterile condos sprang forth. Meanwhile, Melinda, then an advertising exec for the Inquirer, penned her Wildwood memories and interviewed local movers and shakers—including members of the Morey family and architect Richard Stokes.

The result is Wildwood’s Neon Nights & Motel Memories, a glossy book of color photography, vintage images and nostalgic text. “We wanted to save for prosperity the images of Wildwood’s past and show folks who have never experienced Wildwood just how very cool it still is,” Melinda says. “Along the way, if we can educate people about the importance of preserving an important model of architecture, then that is the icing on the cake.” The book is available at wildwoodsneonnights.com.

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