Wildwood is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in Cape May County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

. It is part of the Ocean City

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

and is a popular summer resort destination along the

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May P ...

. As of the

2020 U.S. census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, the city's year-round population was 5,157, a drop of 168 from the 2010 census count of 5,325,DP-1 - Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 for Wildwood city, Cape May County, New Jersey
,

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

. Accessed July 2, 2012.Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2010 for Wildwood city
,

New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north ...

. Accessed July 2, 2012. in turn a decline of 111 (−2.0%) from the 5,436 counted in the 2000 census. With visitors, the population can swell to 250,000 during the summer. Wildwood was the first city in New Jersey to have a female mayor, Doris W. Bradway, who was ousted in a 1938 recall election.

The Wildwoods The Wildwoods are a group of five communities (four distinct municipalities and one census-designated place) in Cape May County, New Jersey. These are situated on the Island of Five Mile Beach, a barrier island facing the Atlantic Ocean. These Je ...

is used as a collective term for the four communities located on Wildwood island that have "Wildwood" as part of the municipality name—the Borough of Wildwood Crest, City of Wildwood, Borough of West Wildwood and the City of

North Wildwood North Wildwood is a city located on the Jersey Shore in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 3,621, a dec ...

—together with Diamond Beach, a portion of Lower Township situated on the island. The city, and the surrounding communities that share the name, derives its name from the wild flowers found in the area.

History

Wildwood was originally incorporated as a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

by an act of the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

on May 1, 1895, from portions of Middle Township, based on the results of a referendum held the previous day. On January 1, 1912, Wildwood was incorporated as a city, replacing both Wildwood borough and Holly Beach City.Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 68. Accessed July 2, 2012. The Wildwoods began developing as a resort in the last decade of the 19th century. A building boom began in the 1950s, due partially to the construction and completion of the

Garden State Parkway The Garden State Parkway (GSP) is a controlled-access toll road that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May to the New York state line at Montvale. Its name refers to New Jerse ...

in 1955. "

Rock Around the Clock "Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was record ...

", 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 Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band founded in 1947 that continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...

. 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".

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnight ...

introduced his version of " The Twist" at the Rainbow Club. On occasion,

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pr ...

broadcast from the Wildwood's Starlight Ballroom. Murals in the community honor Checker, Bill Haley and

Bobby Rydell Robert Louis Ridarelli (April 26, 1942 – April 5, 2022), known by the stage name Bobby Rydell, was an American singer and actor who mainly performed rock and roll and traditional pop music. In the early 1960s he was considered a teen idol. Hi ...

; the latter artist had a major hit with " Wildwood Days" in 1963.

Wildwoods Shore Resort Historic District

Wildwood is home to over 200 motels, built during the

Doo-Wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

era of the 1950s and 1960s,Staff
"The '50s and '60s Thrive In Retro Doo-Wop Motels"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'', June 24, 2007. Accessed June 27, 2017. in an area recognized by the state of New Jersey, known as the ''Wildwoods Shore Resort Historic District.'' The term "doo-wop" was coined by

Cape May Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. The so ...

's Mid-Atlantic Center For The Arts in the early 1990s to describe the unique, space-age architectural style, which is also referred to as the

Googie Googie architecture ( ) is a type of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, jets, the Atomic Age and the Space Age. It originated in Southern California from the Streamline Moderne architecture of the 1930s, and was popular in the ...

or populuxe style.Wildwood Crest Historical Society Web site
/ref> The motels are unique in appearance, with Vegas-like neon signs and

fantastic architecture Fantastic architecture is an architectural style featuring attention-grabbing buildings. Such buildings can be considered as works of art, and are normally built purely for the amusement of its owner. Architects that employed this style include Anto ...

. New construction in the area has seen the demolition of several motels to make room for larger condominiums. The Wildwood Doo Wop Preservation League has taken action to help save and restore these historic buildings. The Caribbean Motel in Wildwood Crest, and the Chateau Bleu Motel in North Wildwood are both listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. A 1950s Doo Wop museum includes property from demolished motels such as neon signs and furniture. Neo-Doo Wop buildings in the area feature a neon lit Wawa and a 1950s styled Acme Supermarket.

Geography

Wildwood beach north of Mariner's Landing

According to the

, the city had a total area of 1.65 square miles (4.28 km²), including 1.54 square miles (3.99 km²) of land and 0.11 square miles (0.29 km²) of water (6.79%). The city is located on a

barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a ...

facing the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. On the same island is the city of

, borough of Wildwood Crest, and the unincorporated community of Diamond Beach, a place in Lower Township. Collectively with the town of West Wildwood (located on a separate, adjacent island), these communities form "

" resort. Wildwood also borders Middle Township.

Unincorporated communities An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

, localities and place names located partially or completely within the city include Five Mile Beach.

Demographics

Census 2010

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...

showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars)

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways ...

was $32,783 (with a margin of error of +/− $9,471) and the median family income was $45,125 (+/− $24,251). Males had a median income of $24,416 (+/− $1,945) versus $26,043 (+/− $7,007) for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the borough was $25,118 (+/− $3,877). About 16.2% of families and 23.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 25.4% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.

Census 2000

As of the

, there were 5,436 people, 2,333 households, and 1,273 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

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 per square mile (1,941.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 70.55%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 16.65%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.39% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.15%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 8.85% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 2.94% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 17.62% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Wildwood city, New Jersey
,

. Accessed July 23, 2013.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 - Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Wildwood city, Cape May County, New Jersey
,

. Accessed July 23, 2013. Among Wildwood's Hispanic community in 2000, 69.7% were from

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, while an additional 17.0% were from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. 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 Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

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

for the city was $13,682. About 20.2% of families and 26.4% of the population were below the

, including 39.7% of those under age 18 and 21.9% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Commerce

Portions of the city—together with areas in

, West Wildwood and Wildwood Crest—are part of a joint Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ), one of 32 zones covering 37 municipalities statewide. The four municipalities in

were selected in 2002 as one of a group of three zones added to participate in the program as part of a joint zone with. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment and investment within the Zone, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3.3125%

sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a gove ...

rate (half of the % rate charged statewide) at eligible merchants. Established in September 2002, the city's Urban Enterprise Zone status expires in December 2023. The joint UEZ is overseen by the Enterprise Zone Development Corporation of the Wildwoods Board, which includes representatives from all four municipalities. Wildwood has an unusually large number of liquor licenses for its population.

State law State law refers to the law of a federated state, as distinguished from the law of the federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, o ...

normally provides for one consumption license (i.e., for a bar, restaurant) for every 3,000 residents, and one distribution license (i.e., for a liquor store) for every 7,500 residents. Because of a state law allowing a municipality to grandfather in liquor licenses that existed before 1948, Wildwood has a permanent population of 5,300, but has 61 active liquor licenses.

Tourism

Wildwood is a resort city that is very popular with vacationers and tourists mostly from

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and even nearby parts of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

(particularly

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

) during the summer months. The year-round population of Wildwood of over 5,300 grows to as many as 250,000 or more during the peak tourist season during the summer. Its most notable features are its beach and

boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of br ...

, home to the

Morey's Piers Morey’s Piers & Beachfront Waterparks is a classic seaside amusement park located on The Wildwoods' boardwalk in Wildwood and North Wildwood, New Jersey. The park has been family owned and operated since 1969 and is currently run by 2nd gen ...

amusement complex and Raging Waters and Ocean Oasis

waterparks A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other bare ...

owned by Morey's Piers. The boardwalk features a trolley called the " Tramcar", which runs from end to end. In June 2006, its

-style motels were placed on the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 ...

's annual Eleven Most Endangered List,"Wildwood,"
'American Heritage'', April/May 2007. described as "irreplaceable icons of popular culture."

. Accessed March 14, 2015. "Families have been vacationing at the Jersey Shore for more than a century and the Wildwood Doo Wop motels have been a popular beach destination since their construction from 1956 to 1970." In June, thousands of recently graduated high school seniors come to Wildwood for Senior Week. During Senior Week, the graduates stay in hotels and rent beach houses in Wildwood where they party and participate in underage drinking. Quebec DooWop WWNJ

Wildwood was ranked the best beach in New Jersey in the 2008 Top 10 Beaches Contest sponsored by the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium. Wildwood is one of five municipalities in the state that offer free public access to oceanfront beaches monitored by lifeguards, joining

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, Wildwood Crest and Upper Township's Strathmere section. Wildwood is home to the New Jersey Firefighter's Convention, held annually every September since the 1970s. Known for its parade featuring fire company apparatus from across the state, it moved from Atlantic City due in part to rising crime and the disallowing of the parade on city streets. Wildwood is also home to an annual co-ed beach

Ultimate Frisbee Ultimate, originally known as ultimate Frisbee, is a non-contact team sport played with a frisbee Flying disc sports, flung by hand. Ultimate was developed in 1968 by AJ Gator in Maplewood, New Jersey. Although ultimate resembles many traditiona ...

tournament drawing teams from all over the country that attracted 430 teams and over 5,000 players to its 19th annual event in 2011.

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fre ...

tourists from Quebec visit Wildwood during the summer. There are motels in the Wildwoods named to attract tourists from Quebec, including Chateau Bleu, Fleur de Lis, Le Voyageur, Royal Canadian, and Quebec. Several hotels in Wildwood have signs in both English and French. The French Canadian tourists primarily vacation in Wildwood in July when Canada takes a two-week construction holiday.

Boardwalk

The

Wildwood Boardwalk Wildwood and Wild Wood may refer to: Populated places Australia * Wildwood, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne Canada *Wildwood, Alberta, a hamlet * Wildwood, Calgary, Alberta, a neighborhood * Wildwood, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan *Wildwood Park, Winn ...

features several amusement parks, water parks, an aquarium, and shops, most notably three piers collectively known as

. Due to the distance of the ocean from the boardwalk, the beach is home to many sporting events, concerts, and

monster truck A monster truck is a specialized off-road vehicle with a heavy duty suspension, four-wheel steering, large-displacement V8 engines and oversized tires constructed for competition and entertainment uses. Originally created by modifying stock p ...

rallies in view of the boardwalk. Wildwood is the tenth most popular boardwalk in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. A stage is set off to the side of the boardwalk near Mariner's Landing Pier where several performances are held throughout the summer. Wildwood Stores North of BwkChapel

In 2008–2009, a section of the

was rebuilt using

ipe Ipe or IPE can refer to: * Isopropyl ether, a chemical solvent, usually in the form of DIPE (diisopropyl ether) * Icosapent ethyl, that is, ethyl eicosapentaenoic acid, an omega-3 lipid formulation * ''L’Institut pour I’Expertise'' (IPE), that ...

tropical hardwood, even though the town had made a commitment to use domestic

black locust ''Robinia pseudoacacia'', commonly known in its native territory as black locust, is a medium-sized hardwood deciduous tree, belonging to the tribe Robinieae of the legume family Fabaceae. It is endemic to a few small areas of the United States ...

as a more environmentally friendly option. The black locust wood shipped by the supplier was deemed unacceptable and the commissioners decided to use ipe wood to ensure that the project could be completed in time for the upcoming season. Boardwalk Chapel is a summertime Christian Gospel outreach on the boardwalk, sandwiched between a pizzeria and a gift shop. Visitors to the boardwalk are invited to attend any of its 77 consecutive evening services held during June, July and August.

Sports

Beach racing, featuring motorcycles and hot rods, takes place every year. Over a four-day period each June, Wildwood hosts the National

Marbles A marble is a small spherical object often made from glass, clay, steel, plastic, or agate. They vary in size, and most commonly are about in diameter. These toys can be used for a variety of games called ''marbles'', as well being placed in mar ...

Tournament at Ringer Stadium, an event that dates back to 1922. The

Wildwood Aces Wildwood and Wild Wood may refer to: Populated places Australia *Wildwood, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne Canada *Wildwood, Alberta, a hamlet *Wildwood, Calgary, Alberta, a neighborhood *Wildwood, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan *Wildwood Park, Winnipe ...

were a professional basketball team that played in the United States Basketball League in 1985 and 1986. Their

home court In sports, home is the place and venue identified with a team sport. Most professional teams are named for, and marketed to, particular metropolitan areas; amateur teams may be drawn from a particular region, or from institutions such as sch ...

was the Wildwood Convention Hall.

Government

Local government

Wildwood is governed by a three-member commission under the

Walsh Act The Walsh Act is a legislation in the U.S. state of New Jersey that permits municipalities to adopt a non-partisan commission form of government. The legislation was signed by Governor of New Jersey Woodrow Wilson on April 25, 1911. The commissi ...

Commission form of municipal government. The city is one of 30 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form of government. The governing body is comprised of three commissioners, who are elected

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

on a

nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

basis to serve concurrent four-year terms of office, with the vote taking place as part of the November general election. At a reorganization conducted after each election, the commission selects one of its members to serve as mayor and gives each commissioner an assigned department to oversee and manage.''2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book'',

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, March 2013, p. 8. As part of the May 2009 election, voters approved a ballot question that shifted elections from May to November. The first election under the new cycle was held in November 2013, with prospective savings of $25,000 each election cited as the primary justification for the change. , members of Wildwood's commission are:

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Pete Byron (

Commissioner of Public Works, Parks and Public Property The Walsh Act is a legislation in the U.S. state of New Jersey that permits municipalities to adopt a non-partisan commission form of government. The legislation was signed by Governor of New Jersey Woodrow Wilson on April 25, 1911. The commissi ...

), Krista Fitzsimons (

Commissioner of Revenue and Finance The Walsh Act is a legislation in the U.S. state of New Jersey that permits municipalities to adopt a non-partisan commission form of government. The legislation was signed by Governor of New Jersey Woodrow Wilson on April 25, 1911. The commiss ...

) and Steve Mikulski (

Commissioner of Public Affairs and Public Safety The Walsh Act is a legislation in the U.S. state of New Jersey that permits municipalities to adopt a non-partisan commission form of government. The legislation was signed by Governor of New Jersey Woodrow Wilson on April 25, 1911. The commiss ...

), all serving terms of office ending December 31, 2023.Commissioners Office
City of Wildwood. Accessed May 14, 2022. "The Wildwoods are composed of five separate municipalities consisting of Wildwood, North Wildwood, West Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and Diamond Beach which is governed by Lower Township."2021 County & Municipal Elected Officials Cape May County, NJ -- July 2021

Cape May County, New Jersey Cape May County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Much of the county is located on Cape May bound by Delaware Bay to its west and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and east. Adjacent to the Atlantic coastline are ...

, September 13, 2021. Accessed April 28, 2022.Cape May County 2019 General Election Successful Candidates

, updated November 18, 2016. Accessed January 1, 2020. In June 2022, Mayor Peter Byron and Commissioner Steven Mikulski, together with former Mayor Ernest Troiano, were all charged with unlawful taking and tampering with public records in a case in which it was alleged that they improperly declared that they worked full-time for the city so that they could collect health insurance from the city under the State Health Benefit Plan worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Wildwood Housing Authority oversees

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, de ...

in the city of Wildwood, providing affordable housing to low and moderate income families, senior citizens, and disabled people. The agency is governed by a seven-member board of commissioners, with six appointed by the Mayor and one appointed by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. The housing authority owns two housing developments with a total of 170 units between them. Sandman Tower offers 100 one-bedroom apartments while Commissioners Court offers 70 apartments.

History of recall elections

Since the City of Wildwood has been incorporated on January 1, 1912, there have been three

recall election A recall election (also called a recall referendum, recall petition or representative recall) is a procedure by which, in certain polities, voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of of ...

s all of which were successful. The first was in 1938 when the State's first female Mayor Doris W. Bradway and Commissioner Frederick W. Murray were voted out of office.Staff
"Wildwood Ousts Its Woman Mayor; Mrs. Bradway, First of Sex to Hold Post in Jersey, Loses in Recall Election She Lays Move To Hague Although a Republican, She Has Aided Democrats, but Shifted Back Last Fall Wildwood Ousts Its Woman Mayor Says Hague Dominates Move Indicted After Inquiry New Petition Circulated"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', February 19, 1938. Accessed May 17, 2011. "Mayor Doris W. Bradway, New Jersey's first woman Mayor, was defeated today in a special recall election in this resort city. Ousted with her was City Commissioner Frederick McMurray, also a Republican." The second successful recall was in December 1984 when Mayor Earl B. Ostrander was recalled. The third successful recall was in December 2009 when Mayor Ernest Troiano Jr. and Commissioner William N. Davenport were recalled.

Federal, state and county representation

Wildwood City is located in the 2nd Congressional DistrictPlan Components Report
New Jersey Redistricting Commission, December 23, 2011. Accessed February 1, 2020. and is part of New Jersey's 1st state legislative district.Municipalities Sorted by 2011-2020 Legislative District

New Jersey Department of State The secretary of state of New Jersey oversees the Department of State, which is one of the original state offices. The Secretary is responsible for overseeing artistic, cultural, and historical programs within the U.S. state of New Jersey, as ...

. Accessed February 1, 2020.''2019 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''
New Jersey

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

. Accessed October 30, 2019.

Politics

As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 2,791 registered voters in Wildwood City, of which 611 (21.9%) were registered as Democrats, 732 (26.2%) were registered as Republicans and 1,448 (51.9%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were no voters registered to other parties. In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

received 61.3% of the vote (991 cast), ahead of Republican

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...

with 38.2% (617 votes), and other candidates with 0.6% (9 votes), among the 1,635 ballots cast by the city's 2,979 registered voters (18 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 54.9%. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 54.4% of the vote (964 cast), ahead of Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

, who received 44.2% (783 votes), with 1,772 ballots cast among the city's 2,583 registered voters, for a turnout of 68.6%. In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

received 52.6% of the vote (949 ballots cast), outpolling Republican George W. Bush, who received around 45.8% (825 votes), with 1,803 ballots cast among the city's 3,161 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 57.0. In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in N ...

received 66.1% of the vote (622 cast), ahead of Democrat

Barbara Buono Barbara A. Buono (born July 28, 1953) is an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2014, where she represented the 18th Legislative District. She served from 2010 to 2012 as the Majority Leader in the Senate, succ ...

with 32.6% (307 votes), and other candidates with 1.3% (12 votes), among the 976 ballots cast by the city's 2,828 registered voters (35 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 34.5%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 50.8% of the vote (540 ballots cast), ahead of both Democrat

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...

with 41.7% (444 votes) and Independent Chris Daggett with 4.5% (48 votes), with 1,064 ballots cast among the city's 2,908 registered voters, yielding a 36.6% turnout.

Education

The

Wildwood Public School District The Wildwood City School District is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Wildwood, in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. Its headquarters are on the ...

serves students in

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called Pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

through

twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

. As of the 2019–20 school year, the district, comprised of three schools, had an enrollment of 938 students and 92.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...

of 10.2:1.District information for Wildwood City School District

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district financ ...

. Accessed April 1, 2021. Schools in the district (with 2019–20 enrollment data from the

) are Glenwood Elementary School with 470 students in grades Pre-K–5, Wildwood Middle School with 186 students in grades 6–8 and

Wildwood High School Wildwood High School is a comprehensive high school, comprehensive community state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school that serves students in ninth grade, ninth through twelfth grades from Wildwood, New Jersey, ...

with 245 students in grades 9–12. For

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

through

s, students from

and Wildwood Crest attend Wildwood High School as part of

sending/receiving relationship A sending/receiving relationship is one in which a public school district sends some or all of its students to attend the schools of another district. This is often done to achieve costs savings in smaller districts or continues after districts hav ...

s. Public school students from West Wildwood, a non-operating school district, attend the district's schools for grades 9–12 as part of a

. Students are also eligible to attend

Cape May County Technical High School Cape May County Technical High School, located in Middle Township, which provides vocational and technical education to students in ninth through twelfth grades from Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Cape May ...

in the Cape May Court House area, which serves students from the entire county in its comprehensive and vocational programs, which are offered without charge to students who are county residents. Special needs students may be referred to Cape May County Special Services School District in the Cape May Court House area. There is one Catholic school on the island,

Wildwood Catholic Academy Wildwood Catholic Academy (WCA), formerly Wildwood Catholic High School, is a co-educational pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade Catholic school in North Wildwood, in Cape May County, New Jersey. The school operates under the auspices of the Rom ...

(Pre-K–12) in

, which operates under the auspices of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden The Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden is a Roman Catholic diocese of the Latin Church in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It consists of 62 parishes and about 475,000 Catholics in the Southern Jersey counties of Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cum ...

. There was previously a Catholic elementary school in Wildwood, St. Ann's School, which operated until 2010, when it merged into Cape Trinity Regional School (Pre-K–8) in North Wildwood. - The author was the principal of Our Lady Star of the Sea Regional School. Upon its creation Cape Trinity Catholic Regional School operated separately from Wildwood Catholic High School but shared a common building. On April 17, 2020, the Diocese of Camden announced that both of its Wildwood schools would permanently close at the end of the school year, which is June 30, 2020. However, both schools avoided closure after agreeing to merge to create Wildwood Catholic Academy. Additionally Bishop McHugh Regional School in Dennis Township takes students from Wildwood.

Transportation

Roads and highways

The city had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Cape May County and by the

New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transportat ...

. Route 47 (Rio Grande Avenue) has its southern terminus in Wildwood and continues into Lower Township via the George Reading Wildwood Bridge, which provides access to the

. County Route 621 (New Jersey Avenue) runs for through the city, from Wildwood Crest to the south to

in the north, and serves as part of Ocean Drive. Parking in the beach and downtown areas of Wildwood is regulated by on-street

parking meter A parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by municipalities as a tool for enforcing their integrated on-street par ...

s and paid parking lots. Parking meters in Wildwood are in effect from May 15 to October 31. Wildwood has 24 paid parking lots in the beach area that are privately owned and charge varying rates based on demand. Among these lots is a 719-space lot operated by the

Wildwoods Convention Center The Wildwoods Convention Center is a convention center and indoor arena in Wildwood, New Jersey. Built in 2001 to replace an older Convention Hall, the center has exhibition space of . The building includes the Oceanfront Arena, an indoor arena ...

. There is also a public parking lot along Schellenger Avenue in the downtown area. In 2018, Wildwood began offering paid parking on the beach for vehicles with four-wheel drive at Baker Avenue, with space for 1,000 vehicles.

Public transportation

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

provides bus service to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

on the

313 __NOTOC__ Year 313 ( CCCXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantinus and Licinianus (or, less frequently, yea ...

and 315 routes and to

on the

552 __NOTOC__ Year 552 ( DLII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 552 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era beca ...

route, with seasonal service to Philadelphia on the 316 route, to the

Port Authority Bus Terminal The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving about 8,000 bus ...

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildi ...

on the

319 __NOTOC__ Year 319 ( CCCXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantinus and Licinius (or, less frequently, year 1 ...

route, and to

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

on the 510 route. NJ Transit buses stop at the Wildwood Bus Terminal, which is located on Washington Avenue between Burk Avenue and Davis Avenue. The Great American Trolley Company operates trolley service in Wildwood during the summer months. There are two trolley routes that provide service to the boardwalk at Schellenger Avenue in Wildwood during the evening hours, with one route serving Wildwood and Wildwood Crest daily and the other route serving North Wildwood on Fridays and Saturdays. Another trolley route runs from North Wildwood and Wildwood to shopping centers in Rio Grande, operating Mondays through Fridays. The Great American Trolley Company also runs trolley service to the Irish Fall Festival in North Wildwood, with a route connecting Wildwood Crest and Wildwood to the festival site during the weekend of the festival. The Tramcar is a

trackless train A trackless train — or tram ( U.S. English), road train, land train, or parking lot train is a road-going articulated vehicle used for the transport of passengers, comprising a driving vehicle pulling one or more carriages connected by dra ...

service running along the entire length of the Wildwoods boardwalk from Cresse Avenue in Wildwood to 16th Avenue in North Wildwood during the summer season.

Media outlets

Television and radio stations

* WMGM-TV virtual channel 40 (UHF channel 36) is a Justice Network affiliated TV station and is the first and only TV station licensed to Wildwood. Their offices and studios are located in Linwood in neighboring Atlantic County. *

WCMC (AM) WCMC (1230 AM) is a radio station broadcasting an oldies format. Licensed to Wildwood, New Jersey, United States, the station is currently owned by Equity Communications, L.P. Its studios are located on East Black Horse Pike in the West Atlantic C ...

is a radio station licensed to Wildwood and broadcasts on 1230 AM with an

Oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as w ...

format which it simulcasts from sister station

WMID WMID (1340 kHz) is a radio station licensed to Atlantic City, New Jersey, which plays "the classic oldies". Its parent company is Equity Communications (the station was at one time owned by entertainer Merv Griffin). WMID also carries the Philade ...

. * WZXL is a radio station licensed to Wildwood and broadcasts on 100.7 FM with a

Classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...

format. *Residents of Wildwood are served by Comcast Cable's Xfinity service.

Newspapers

The City of Wildwood is served by local and distance newspapers with local editions. They are: *''

The Press of Atlantic City ''The Press of Atlantic City'' is the fourth-largest daily newspaper in New Jersey. Originally based in Pleasantville, it is the primary newspaper for southeastern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore. The newspaper designated market runs from Ware ...

'' a major daily newspaper in South New Jersey which includes a Cape May County edition. *'' Cape May County Herald'' a weekly newspaper with news and information for residents of Cape May County. *''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to '' The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of ...

'' a major daily newspaper based in Newark which prints a local edition for Cape May County. *''

Philadelphia Daily News ''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. The ''Da ...

'' a major daily newspaper based in

with local editions for Cape May County. *''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pen ...

'' a major daily newspaper based in Philadelphia with local editions for Cape May County.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

system, Wildwood, New Jersey has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(''Cfa'') with hot, moderately humid summers, cool winters and year-around precipitation. Cfa climates are characterized by all months having an average mean temperature > 32.0 °F (> 0.0 °C), at least four months with an average mean temperature ≥ 50.0 °F (≥ 10.0 °C), at least one month with an average mean temperature ≥ 71.6 °F (≥ 22.0 °C) and no significant precipitation difference between seasons. During the summer months in Wildwood, a cooling afternoon

sea breeze A sea breeze or onshore breeze is any wind that blows from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass; it develops due to differences in air pressure created by the differing heat capacities of water and dry land. As such, sea breezes a ...

is present on most days, but episodes of extreme heat and humidity can occur with

heat index The heat index (HI) is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity, in shaded areas, to posit a human-perceived equivalent temperature, as how hot it would feel if the humidity were some other value in the shade. The result is al ...

values ≥ 95 °F (≥ 35 °C). The

Atlantic hurricane season The Atlantic hurricane season is the period in a year from June through November when tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic Ocean, referred to in North American countries as hurricanes, tropical storms, or tropical depressions. In addition ...

lasts from June 1 to November 30, which can bring storms, most typically between August and late October. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy destroyed much of the Wildwood Boardwalk, which has since been restored. During the winter months, episodes of extreme cold and wind can occur with

wind chill Wind chill or windchill (popularly wind chill factor) is the lowering of body temperature due to the passing-flow of lower-temperature air. Wind chill numbers are always lower than the air temperature for values where the formula is valid. When ...

values < 0 °F (< −18 °C). The

plant hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

at Wildwood Beach is 7b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 6.7 °F (−14.1 °C). The average seasonal (November–April) snowfall total is , and the average snowiest month is February which corresponds with the annual peak in

nor'easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below), or an East Coast low is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. The original use o ...

activity.

Ecology

According to the

A. W. Kuchler August William Kuchler (born ''August Wilhelm Küchler''; 1907–1999) was a German-born American geographer and naturalist who is noted for developing a plant association system in widespread use in the United States. Some of this database has bec ...

U.S.

potential natural vegetation In ecology, potential natural vegetation (PNV), also known as Kuchler potential vegetation, is the vegetation that would be expected given environmental constraints (climate, geomorphology, geology) without human intervention or a hazard event ...

types, Wildwood, New Jersey would have a dominant vegetation type of Northern Cordgrass (''73'') with a dominant vegetation form of

Coastal The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...

Prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

(''20'').U.S. Potential Natural Vegetation, Original Kuchler Types, v2.0 (Spatially Adjusted to Correct Geometric Distortions)
Data Basin. Accessed March 18, 2020.

In popular culture

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...

worked as a bartender in Wildwood in his early days and can be seen on the ''Wildwood Days'' documentary. *

Cozy Morley Thomas Francis "Cozy" Morley (c. 1926 – August 23, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter, entertainer, comedian and club owner, best known for his rendition of " On the Way to Cape May", which became his signature song. Raised in South Philade ...

, a once popular entertainer and club owner here, recorded a song called ''

On The Way To Cape May "On The Way To Cape May" is a song that has become a Jersey Shore sound summertime anthem for the Philadelphia/Delaware Valley and South Jersey Shore area. It was written by Maurice "Buddy" Nugent according to BMI and ''The Philadelphia Inquirer ...

''. * Wildwood is home to the beverage known as the " Lime Rickey". * The song " Wildwood Days" by

is about the shore town. * The song "Everything's Wild in Wildwood" by

The Treniers The Treniers (pronounced /trəˈniərz/) were an American R&B and jump blues musical group led by identical twins Cliff and Claude Trenier. They were originally billed as the Trenier Twins, who performed alongside the Gene Gilbeaux Quartet, ...

was inspired by summers in the early '50s during which they played residencies at a night club in the town.Strauss, Robert
"The Heart of Rock 'n' Roll Is in Wildwood"
''

'', September 4, 2005. Accessed October 28, 2019. "The Treniers even recorded a song called ''Everything's Wild in Wildwood.''" * "Wildwood Blues", the 1967 song by the psychedelic rock band

Nazz The Nazz was an American rock band formed in Philadelphia in 1967. The group was founded by guitarist and principal songwriter Todd Rundgren and bassist Carson Van Osten. Drummer Thom Mooney and vocalist/keyboardist Robert "Stewkey" Antoni joi ...

, is based on the Wildwood scene. WildwoodsConventionCenter

* A portion of the rock band

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

's 1975 album '' Alive!'' was recorded from a July 23, 1975 concert at the old

. * In the 1987 movie ''

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for ...

'', when Charlie Sheen's character tells Daryl Hannah's character she could have bought a beach house for four hundred thousand dollars (the value of a painting they were looking at) she sardonically replies, "Sure you could, in Wildwood, New Jersey". *

WWE Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show f ...

came to the Wildwood Convention Center late summer of 2005.

WWE SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...

came to the Wildwood Convention Center late summer of 2006. WWE Raw broke an attendance record at the Wildwood convention center on August 10, 2007. * A

CKY CKY may refer to: *CKY (band), American rock band, formerly "Camp Kill Yourself" ** ''CKY'' (video series), named after the band **CKY crew, people involved in the video series and related projects *CKY-DT, a television station in Winnipeg, Manitob ...

song entitled "The Boardwalk Body" was written about a body found under the boardwalk on one of lead singer

Deron Miller Deron John Miller is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band CKY, which he co-founded in 1998. Other bands Miller fronts include the progressive metal band Foreign Obj ...

's childhood trips to Wildwood. * The video for

Jason Aldean Jason Aldean (born Jason Aldine Williams; February 28, 1977) is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released ten albums and 40 singles. His 2010 album, '' My Ki ...

's song "

Laughed Until We Cried "Laughed Until We Cried" is a song written by Kelley Lovelace and Ashley Gorley and recorded by American country music artist Jason Aldean. It was released in August 2007 as the second single from Aldean's 2007 album ''Relentless (Jason Aldean albu ...

" is set in Wildwood. * In the 2008 movie ''Wipe Out'', the beach scenes were shot in Wildwood. * A season 4 episode of '' Hoarders'' features Randy Senna, the owner of "Randyland" based out of Wildwood. * On June 20, 2012,

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs and Country ...

performed a free concert sponsored by American Express as part of their '' Unstaged'' series. The event took place on the Wildwood beach with 20,000 in attendance. * In early 2016, filming began for a movie titled ''

Wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

'', featuring actress

Heather Graham Heather Joan Graham (born January 29, 1970) is an American actress. After appearing in television commercials, her first starring role in a feature film came with the teen comedy '' License to Drive'' (1988), followed by the critically acclaime ...

. In the summer of 2016, the Travel Channel filmed their season 8, episode 6 television show “Hotel Impossible” with host Anthony Melchiorri at the White Caps Motel in Wildwood.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Wildwood include: * Joseph R. Applegate (1925–2003), linguistics expert who was the first black faculty member at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...

* J. Thompson Baker (1847–1919), represented

New Jersey's 2nd congressional district New Jersey's 2nd congressional district, based in Southern New Jersey, is represented by Republican Jeff Van Drew. He was first elected as a Democrat in 2018, but announced on December 19, 2019, that he would be switching parties. The distric ...

from 1913 to 1915, and was the first mayor of the consolidated city of Wildwood *

Randy Beverly Randy Beverly (born April 3, 1944) is a former professional American football player. He played cornerback for the American Football League's New York Jets and is best known for making two key interceptions that helped the Jets to their historic ...

(born 1944), former NFL

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

who played for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...

* Edwin Corle (1906–1956), author *

Ace Darling Michael Maraldo (born June 27, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, best known by his ring name Ace Darling. Darling has wrestled in various independent promotions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, most notably for the East Coast W ...

(born 1975), professional wrestler * Remy Hamilton (born 1974),

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

player,

Los Angeles Avengers The Los Angeles Avengers were an Arena Football League team based in Los Angeles, California, from 2000 through 2008. They folded on April 19, 2009. History The Los Angeles Avengers played their home games at the Staples Center, which is also th ...

Joy Bright Hancock Joy Bright Hancock (4 May 1898 – 20 August 1986), a veteran of both the First and Second World Wars, was one of the first women officers of the United States Navy. Biography Joy Bright was born in Wildwood, New Jersey on 4 May 1898. Durin ...

(1898–1986), one of the first female U.S. Navy officers * Wes Hills (born 1995),

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

who has played in the NFL for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

* Ernest Ingenito (1924–1995), mass murderer who shot nine people and killed five in a 1950 rampage *

Sue Lowden Suzanne "Sue" Pluskoski Lowden (; born February 8, 1952) Payment required to read article. is the former Chairwoman of the Nevada Republican Party and a former Nevada state senator. Lowden is a former businesswoman, television news anchor and kin ...

(born 1952), former member of the

Nevada Senate The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada, the lower house being the Nevada Assembly. It currently (2012–2021) consists of 21 members from single-member districts. In the pr ...

who was

Miss New Jersey The Miss New Jersey competition is an annual pageant held to select the representative for the state of New Jersey in the Miss America pageant. Two Miss New Jersey winners have gone on to hold the title of Miss America: Bette Cooper who won in ...

in 1973 *

Joey Maggs Joseph Magliano (1968/1969 – October 2006), better known by the ring name "Jumping" Joey Maggs, was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1991 to 1998. Professiona ...

(1969–2006), professional wrestler * Guy F. Muziani (1925–1988), politician who served in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

from the 1st Legislative District from 1982 to 1988 and served 11 years as mayor of Wildwood * Bernie Parent (born 1945), goalie for

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making ...

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

and most notably

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

where he back-stopped the team to two consecutive Stanley Cups *

Mickey Shaughnessy Joseph C. Shaughnessy (August 5, 1920 – July 23, 1985), better known as Mickey Shaughnessy, was an American actor and comedian. Early life Joseph C. Shaughnessy was born in New York City. He began in show business working as a singer at res ...

(1920–1985), actor * George Sheldon (1947–2018), Acting Assistant Secretary for the

Administration for Children and Families The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is a division of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It is headed by the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Children and Families. It has a $49 billi ...

who served in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopt ...

George Sheldon, Acting Assistant Secretary

. Accessed November 11, 2013. "Born in Wildwood, New Jersey, George received both his B.A. and J.D. from Florida State University."

References

External links

Wildwood City website

Wildwood, New Jersey Police Department

Wildwood Public School District
*
School Data for the Wildwood Public School District

New York Times article about endangered historical sites

Wildwood Doo Wop History
*
Doo Wop Motels: Architectural Treasures of The Wildwoods
' by Kirk Hastings 2007 {{authority control 1912 establishments in New Jersey Cities in Cape May County, New Jersey Jersey Shore communities in Cape May County New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zones Populated places established in 1912 The Wildwoods, New Jersey Walsh Act