Wildwood Crest is 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 A ...

Cape May County 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 f ...

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 Delaware ...

. 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 ...

in the South Jersey region of the state. As of the

2020 United States 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 of ...

, the borough's population was 3,101, a decrease of 169 (−5.2%) from the 2010 census count of 3,270, which in turn reflected a decline of 710 (−17.8%) from the 3,980 counted in the 2000 census. Wildwood Crest was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 6, 1910, from portions of Lower Township.Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 116. Accessed July 24, 2012. The area of the borough was first developed by Philip Baker in the 1910s as a southern extension to the resort of Wildwood. The borough's name comes from Wildwood, which in turn was named for the area's wild flowers. It is a

dry town A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Dozens of dry counties exist across the ...

, where alcohol cannot be sold, affirmed by the results of a referendum held in 1940. Wildwood Crest joins Cape May Point and Ocean City among municipalities in Cape May restricting the sale of alcohol. Adjoining Wildwood allows the sale of alcohol, including at bars on its boardwalk. The borough was ranked the second-best beach in New Jersey in the 2008 "Top 10 Beaches Contest" sponsored by the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium. Wildwood Crest is one of five municipalities in the state that offer free public access to oceanfront beaches monitored by lifeguards, joining Atlantic City,

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 decre ...

, Wildwood and Upper Township's Strathmere section.

History

The

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionarie ...

s of Wildwood Crest are characterized by a distinctive "Doo Wop" or

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 ...

style of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

. Collectively, Wildwood and Wildwood Crest contain the nation's largest collection of mid-century "Doo Wop" resort architecture.The "Doo Wop" Architecture of Wildwood Crest
Wildwood Crest Historical Society. Accessed December 7, 2015. "The first motel to reflect this style in Wildwood Crest was the Ebb Tide Motel at 5711 Atlantic Avenue, built in 1957." The term "Doo Wop" was coined by the Mid-Atlantic Center For The Arts in the early 1990s to describe the unique, space-age architectural style that was common in the 1950s and 1960s. Post

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

America was an optimistic, confident, and enthusiastic society. The new age style of architecture evolved into a showcase of colorful, flashy, modernistic architecture that captured the spirit of the times; it incorporated modern, sweeping angles, bright colors, starbursts, boomerang shapes, plastic palm trees, and angular wall and roof styles. "Doo Wop" was a celebration of the architecture, design, music, and pop culture of the 1950s and 1960s. During the 1950s, the economy had grown to unprecedented levels. Americans achieved a level of prosperity they had never known before. In response to this unprecedented growth, hundreds of motels were constructed in Wildwood and Wildwood Crest with the distinct "Doo Wop" style of architecture. The first motel to reflect this style was the Ebb Tide Motel, constructed in 1957, which was designed and built by Will and Lou Morey, who specialized in such designs. Several "Doo Wop" motels, such as the Caribbean Motel, are registered 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 ...

. In recent years, historic "Doo Wop" motels have been demolished to make way for the construction of condominiums, leading to organized efforts to preserve the remaining examples. Wildwood Crest and its neighboring towns of Wildwood,

, and West Wildwood make up "

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 ...

" resort, a popular vacation destination for those living in all parts of

as well as the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

metropolitan areas. Many vacationers and tourists have come from as far away as,

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

and

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 tot ...

and have made

a vacation hotspot, due to the area's mild summer climate. Unlike its sister communities of Wildwood and

, Wildwood Crest is generally set apart from the all-hours excitement that the resort area is known for. Many vacationers will find some of the quietest and most undisturbed beach space. In recent years, condominiums have replaced many of the motels the area was known for, such as The Grand, The Ocean Breeze, El Coronado, and The Arcadia. Some restaurants have been torn down and replaced with condominiums, including The Captain's Table, The Surfside, and Duffenetti's. These changes in housing have significantly changed the demographics of this area, from being a more family oriented one-vacation-per-summer place (for the middle class) to being a weekend retreat for wealthier families.

Geography

According to the

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 t ...

, the borough had a total area of 1.48 square miles (3.84 km²), including 1.30 square miles (3.36 km²) of land and 0.19 square miles (0.48 km²) of water (12.50%). Part of the borough's beachfront has been closed off for the protection of native birds such as the piping plover. These small birds have this area all to themselves so that their eggs may be protected from beachgoers. There is a nature trail one may take through the dunes to explore this sheltered area of the beach. Wildwood Crest borders the Diamond Beach section of Lower Township to the south, the City of Wildwood to the north, and 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 ...

Demographics

2010 census

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey 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 o ...

was $46,111 (with a margin of error of +/− $13,652) and the median family income was $67,917 (+/− $15,113). Males had a median income of $49,567 (+/− $20,496) versus $54,250 (+/− $12,982) 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 $40,032 (+/− $8,687). About 8.1% of families and 11.6% 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 t ...

, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the

2000 U.S. census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

, there were 3,980 people, 1,833 households, and 1,114 families residing in the borough. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

was 3,453.9 people per square mile (1,336.2/km²). There were 4,862 housing units at an average density of 4,219.3 per square mile (1,632.4/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 94.87%

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 o ...

, 1.23%

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 ...

, 0.10% Native American, 0.48%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 2.21% 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 1.11% 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 forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 4.22% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Wildwood Crest borough, New Jersey

. Accessed July 24, 2012.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 - Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Wildwood Crest borough, Cape May County, New Jersey
,

. Accessed July 24, 2012. There were 1,833 households, out of which 20.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.7% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.76. In the borough, the population was spread out, with 18.2% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 25.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $36,579, and the median income for a family was $47,462. Males had a median income of $42,727 versus $27,500 for females. The

for the borough was $23,741. About 4.4% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the

, including 1.1% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Portions of the borough—together with areas in

, West Wildwood and Wildwood—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 rate (half of the % rate charged statewide) at eligible merchants. Established in September 2002, the borough'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. Notable motels in Wildwood Crest include the Caribbean Motel, built in 1957 in the Doo-Wop style and added to the

on August 24, 2005.

Parks and recreation

Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet Memorial Park

The borough is bordered on the bay side by Sunset Lake. This was once connected to the Atlantic Ocean by

Turtle Gut Inlet Turtle Gut Inlet was an inlet located in what is now Wildwood Crest, in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. Geography Turtle Gut Inlet separated Five Mile Beach from Two Mile Beach, both of which are now connected. The inlet was app ...

, which was closed in 1922. The Sunset Lake and Turtle Gut Park is located at New Jersey and Miami Avenues. A nearby memorial commemorates the

Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet The Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet (June 29, 1776) was an important, early naval victory for the Continental Navy and the future "Father of the American Navy", Captain John Barry. It was the first privateer battle of the American Revolutionary War. ...

fought on June 29, 1776. This was the only

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

battle fought in

Government

Local government

Wildwood Crest has been governed 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 commiss ...

, by a three-member commission, since 1937. The borough is one of 30 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use the commission form of government. The governing body is comprised of three commissioners, who are elected at-large on a

non-partisan 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 s ...

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 operate.''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 The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy of Rutgers University (The Bloustein School) serves as a center for the theory and practice of urban planning, public policy and public health/health administration scholarship. The sc ...

, March 2013, p. 8. As part of an effort to reduce the costs of conducting a standalone election for commissioners and to generate greater participation from voters, the election for borough commissioners was shifted from May to November by an ordinance passed in 2012, with the first November election held in 2013. , the Board of Commissioners consists of

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 ...

Don Cabrera ( Commissioner of Public Works, Parks and Public Property), Deputy Mayor Joseph Franco Jr.( Commissioner of Revenue and Finance), and Joseph Schiff (

Commissioner of Public Safety The New Jersey Commissioner of Public Safety heads one of the departments in those local governments in New Jersey that operate under the Walsh Act form of municipal governance, with oversight over the police and fire departments. This is a standalo ...

, all serving concurrent terms of office ending December 31, 2025.Borough Commissioners
Borough of Wildwood Crest. Accessed August 19, 2022. "Wildwood Crest Commissioners Joseph Franco Jr., Joseph M. Schiff and Don Cabrera were sworn into office on Jan. 4, 2022, and will serve as borough commissioners through Dec. 31, 2025."2022 County & Municipal Elected Officials Cape May County, NJ -- July 2022
Cape May County, New Jersey, July 7, 2022. Accessed August 1, 2022.2021 General Election Successful Candidates
Cape May County, New Jersey, updated November 16, 2021. Accessed January 1, 2022.

Federal, state, and county representation

Wildwood Crest is located in the 2nd Congressional DistrictPlan Components Report

New Jersey Redistricting Commission The New Jersey Redistricting Commission is a constitutional body of the government of New Jersey tasked with redrawing the state's Congressional election districts after each decade's census. Like Arizona, Idaho, Hawaii, Montana, and Washington; t ...

, 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. Accessed February 1, 2020.''2019 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''
New Jersey League of Women Voters. Accessed October 30, 2019.

Politics

As of March 2011, there were a total of 2,341 registered voters in Wildwood Crest, of which 436 (18.6%) were registered as Democrats, 1,052 (44.9%) were registered as Republicans and 850 (36.3%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 3 voters registered as

Libertarians Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's enc ...

or Greens. In the

2012 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January ...

, Republican Mitt Romney received 61.1% of the vote (1,046 cast), ahead of 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, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

with 38.5% (659 votes), and other candidates with 0.4% (6 votes), among the 1,724 ballots cast by the borough's 2,419 registered voters (13 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 71.3%. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 59.2% of the vote (1,090 cast), ahead of Democrat

, who received 39.6% (729 votes), with 1,842 ballots cast among the borough's 2,319 registered voters, for a turnout of 79.4%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

received 60.4% of the vote (1,203 ballots cast), outpolling 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 ...

, who received around 38.4% (766 votes), with 1,993 ballots cast among the borough's 2,644 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 75.4. 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 77.4% of the vote (920 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 20.9% (249 votes), and other candidates with 1.7% (20 votes), among the 1,233 ballots cast by the borough's 2,410 registered voters (44 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 51.2%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 60.8% of the vote (806 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 32.9% (436 votes) and Independent

Chris Daggett Christopher Jarvis Daggett (born March 7, 1950) is an American businessman who is the president and CEO of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, one of the largest foundations in New Jersey. A former regional administrator of the United States En ...

with 4.5% (59 votes), with 1,325 ballots cast among the borough's 2,448 registered voters, yielding a 54.1% turnout.

Education

The Wildwood Crest School District serves public school students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade at Crest Memorial School. As of the 2019–20 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 275 students and 34.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.0:1.District information for Wildwood Crest Borough School District
National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2021. For ninth 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 ...

s, public school students from Wildwood Crest attend

Wildwood High School Wildwood High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Wildwood, in Cape May County, New Jersey. It is the sole secondary school of the Wildwood City School District. ...

in Wildwood as part of a

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 ...

with the Wildwood Public School District, together with students from

and Wildwood Crest. As of the 2019–20 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 245 students and 29.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.2:1. 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 The Cape May County Special Services School District (CMCSSSD) is a special education public school district headquartered in Middle Township, in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, whose schools offer educational and therapeutic services ...

in the Cape May Court House area. Wildwood Catholic Academy in

(prior to 2020 it was two separate schools: Cape Trinity Catholic elementary school and Wildwood Catholic High School) 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 ...

. Cape May County Library operates the Wildwood Crest Library.

Transportation

Roads and highways

The borough has a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality and by Cape May County. County Route 621 (Pacific Avenue/New Jersey Avenue) runs for through the borough, from Lower Township to the south to Wildwood in the north. Parking in the beach area of Wildwood Crest is regulated by parking meters between mid-May and mid-September.

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

on the 313 and 315 routes, with seasonal service to Philadelphia on the

316 __NOTOC__ Year 316 (Roman numerals, CCCXVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sabinus and Rufinus (or, less frequently, y ...

route and 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 buse ...

in Midtown Manhattan on the 319 route. The Great American Trolley Company operates trolley service in Wildwood Crest during the summer months. The company runs a trolley route that provides service from Wildwood Crest to the boardwalk at Schellenger Avenue in Wildwood daily during the evening hours. The Great American Trolley Company also runs trolley service to the Irish Fall Festival in North Wildwood, with a route connecting Wildwood Crest to the festival site during the weekend of the festival.

Landmarks

* Crest Fishing Pier * Sunset Lake

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, notabl ...

system, Wildwood Crest, New Jersey has a humid subtropical climate (''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 Crest, 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 ar ...

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 als ...

values ≥ 95 °F (≥ 35 °C). During the winter months, episodes of extreme cold and wind can occur with wind chill 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 Crest Beach is 7b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 6.8 °F (−14.0 °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 ...

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 Crest, New Jersey would have a dominant vegetation type of Northern

Cordgrass ''Spartina'' is a taxon of plants in the grass family, frequently found in coastal salt marshes. Its species are commonly known as cordgrass or cord-grass, and are native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean in western and southern Europe, north ...

(''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.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Wildwood Crest include: * J. Thompson Baker (1847–1919), one of the original developers of Wildwood and Wildwood Crest, who was also a politician who 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 * Kenneth A. Black Jr. (1932–2019), 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 District 3A from 1968 to 1974 *

Aliki Brandenberg Aliki Liacouras Brandenberg or pen name Aliki (born September 3, 1929) is an American author and illustrator of books for children. Early life Brandenberg was born in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey, to James Peter and Stella (née Lagakos) Liacoura ...

(born 1929),

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

author, was born in Wildwood Crest *

Joe Maloy Joe Maloy (born December 20, 1985) is an American triathlete. Maloy represented the United States in triathlon at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. Maloy was born in Somers Point, New Jersey and grew up in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey, where he at ...

(born 1985), professional triathlete * Bill Osborn (born ), football scout and color analyst who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

, World League and the

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 ...

Bernie Parent Bernard Marcel Parent (born April 3, 1945) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 13 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs, and also spent one seaso ...

(born 1945), goalie for the

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 t ...

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. The team plays its home games in Well ...

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

Frank Vogel Frank Paul Vogel (born June 21, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach. He previously served as the head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Vogel also previ ...

(born 1973), head coach of the Los Angeles LakersStaff
"Wildwood High School graduate Frank Vogel promoted to interim head coach of Indiana Pacers"
''

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 ...

'', January 30, 2011. Accessed January 30, 2011. "Wildwood Crest native Frank Vogel took over as interim head coach of the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, after the team fired Jim O'Brien. Vogel, a 1991 Wildwood High School graduate who was promoted from assistant coach, will take over for the rest of the season."

Gallery

File:Wildwood Crest Fire Station 2.jpg, Fire station

References

External links

Wildwood Crest official website

{{Authority control 1910 establishments in New Jersey Boroughs in Cape May County, New Jersey Jersey Shore communities in Cape May County New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zones Populated places established in 1910 The Wildwoods, New Jersey Walsh Act