THE WILDWOODS' BOARDWALK PREPARES TO CELEBRATE 100TH BIRTHDAY!

THE WILDWOODS, NJ--Seashore towns with boardwalks are commonplace, but nowhere in the world is there a boardwalk like the one in this five-mile long island beach resort that stretches for 37 city blocks, from 16th Avenue in North Wildwood to Cresse Avenue in Wildwood.

Nearly 100 years old, the Wildwoods' Boardwalk is world famous for its spectacular amusement piers, family atmosphere, honky-tonk games of chance, and tantalizing edibles.

The Wildwoods' Boardwalk, the main feature of the resort, originated not as a promenade, an amusement or business thoroughfare, but rather as a way to keep the sand out of the shoes for those who wished to stroll on the bathing beach. The concept of the Boardwalk came not from a businessman or government official, but a railroad conductor who grew weary of having his seat cushions sprinkled with sand when his passengers removed their shoes on the homeward journey. Alexander Boardman, conductor of the Camden and Atlantic Railroad, is considered the "Father of the Boardwalk." The country's first Boardwalk was dedicated in Atlantic City in 1870.

The City of Wildwood's first Boardwalk came 29 years after Atlantic City's, laid directly on the sand in 1899 along Atlantic Avenue at Oak Avenue, running 150 yards south to Maple Avenue. In the fall, the walk was taken up for the winter.

The very next year, in 1900, the city began construction of its first complete Boardwalk along Atlantic Avenue, stretching from Oak Avenue to 26th Avenue -- five blocks longer than the original plans had outlined.

Three years later, in 1903, Wildwood's Borough Council passed a resolution to provide a wide elevated Boardwalk closer to the ocean than the existing Boardwalk along Atlantic Avenue.

The new walk would connect with the new Ocean Pier, planned for construction at Poplar Avenue on the beach.

Ocean Pier was developed by Buck Horn and Reynolds and was built by Thomas Goslin and William Brannan. Ocean Pier, the grand dame of the resort during the first part of the century, was destroyed by fire on Christmas Day, 1943.

In 1904, the Borough of Holly Beach (now a part of Wildwood) approved legislation for construction of a Boardwalk from Cresse to Cedar avenues (now the southern part of the walk), joining the Borough of Wildwood walk at Blaker's Pavilion at Cedar.

Also in 1904, Wildwood Borough Council passed an ordinance to construct yet another new walk, from Cedar to 26th avenues, east of Atlantic Avenue, to join with the Anglesea (North Wildwood) Boardwalk being constructed from Second to 26th avenues.

When Wildwood was building and rebuilding its boardwalk, a wooden boardwalk was constructed south in Wildwood Crest, from Cresse Avenue to Aster Road. By early 1909, however, the wale was washed away and replaced by what is now Seaview Avenue and runs the entire length of the Borough of Wildwood Crest.

In 1920, Wildwood City Commissioner Oliver Bright, determined to move the Boardwalk closer to the ocean despite public sentiment against the move, pulled an overnight caper in which he organized hundreds of laborers to tear up the existing Boardwalk in the city's Second Ward during a single night. The new walk was completed for the summer season that year, however, Bright was later removed from of lice for his unorthodox behavior.

In 1925, a new walk was constructed in what was now the City of Wildwood's First Ward (from the north side of Cedar Avenue to the city limit at the south side of 26th Avenue). The new walk was dedicated on Memorial Day that same year.

In 1927, the southern part of the Boardwalk was reconstructed from Montgomery south to Cresse Avenues. It was completed in July. At the same time, North Wildwood's Boardwalk was completed from 26th north to 16th avenues. That portion of the walk was dedicated on July 4, 1927. The BoardwaLk that existed in North Wildwood since 1904 from Second to 26th avenues was wiped out in a storm in 1926.

During the first four decades of the Boardwalk's existence, the Blaker Rolling Chair company's three-wheeled wicker rolling chairs were a prominent part of the resort. A pusher came with each chair and would push, for 25 cents an hour for a single, people up and down the Boardwalk. In the evenings, it was popular for ladies dressed in the finest and displaying their best shawls and furs to occupy the chairs. The chairs ceased operation in 1946, followed by the infamous tram cars, that today take passengers from one end of the walk to the other.

Perhaps the most fondly remembered amusement ride to ever exist along the walk was the carousel housed inside the Cedar-Schellenger Building. This grand old merry-go-round with its

proud ponies and gay music was a "must" for children and adults alike. Sadly, the carousel was taken down in the 1970s, and the spot that was once home to the area's most famous amusement ride is now Nickel's Midway Pier. Local lore has it that the antique amusement was dismantled and stored in a barn in Camden County, with the horses sold off individually.

Two other amusement rides often recalled by people who spent their youth on the island are rollercoasters. The "Jack Rabbit," also on what is now Nickel's Midway Pier, and the "Flyer," on the former Hunt's Pier, now Dinosaur Beach Adventure Theme Park, were old-fashioned, wooden rollercoasters that would set hearts apounding as travelers viewed their magnificence while crossing the bridge into Wildwood. Newer, state-of-the-art coasters, located on Moreys' piers, thrill and delight kids of all ages.

The Boardwalk's near-century of existence has seen a multitude of changes, many of them reflective of society as a whole. In the earlier part of the century, it was the place for people to "be seen" as they strutted their finest clothing and accessories. Today, it is still the place to "be seen," but in a more casual style that now pervades the country. And whereas people walking "the Boards" in days past were satisfied simply with strolling and meeting their neighbors, today's Boardwalk patron seeks thrills and excitement.

No other organization has contributed more to the resort's premier attraction and funnily atmosphere than the Morey Organization, which owns and operates three of the Boardwalk's amusement piers: Morey's Pier at 26th Avenue; Mariner's Landing at Schellenger Avenue; and their newest acquisition, Morey's Wild Wheels Pier (formerly Fun Pier) at Youngs Avenue.

Organization and family patriarchs Will and Bill Morey began their amusement empire in 1969 with the construction of a giant sliding board on the pier at 26th Avenue, called the "Wipe Out." While in Florida in 1968, the brothers Morey spotted a giant slide for sale in a parking lot, and obtained a $250,000 bank loan to purchase the amusement. The next year, the Moreys chose a floating pier called the "Surfside" at 26th Avenue in North Wildwood, as the spot for the slide and Morey's Pier. The Wipe Out still stands and is still one of the more popular attractions today, but the Moreys have expanded their amusement business infinitely to include two water parks (and parks in other parts of the country), and the Boardwalk's safest, finest, most exciting amusements.

In 1976, the Moreys bought Marine Pier on the Boardwalk at Schellenger Avenue and renamed it Mariner's Landing. In 1978, large water parks, named Raging Waters, were opened on the ocean end of each of the two piers operated by the Moreys. Fun Pier, once thriving but fallen into disrepair, was resurrected by the Moreys in 1987. The pier, renamed Morey's Wild Wheels Pier, unveiled this past summer, the "Great White", a rollercoaster that replicates the exciting
wooden rollercoasters from the 1950's.

Mariner's Landing, with 38 rides and a water park, boasts yearly estimated attendance of 1.4 million. Morey's Pier, with more than 31 rides plus a water park, has attendance of 1.2 million. Other Morey holdings include the Pan American Hotel, the Port Royal Hotel, Park Place Family Entertainment Center, and Seapointe Village, a luxury real estate development in the Diamond Beach section of the resort.

Many people nostalgically recall Boardwalk spots like Fun Chase Pier, the Starlight Ballroom, Ocean Pier, Blakers, and Casino Pier, but in more recent times amusement piers like those owned by the Moreys have become staples of the world-famous Boardwalk. Nickels' Midway Pier, the only amusement pier on the west side of the Boardwalk, is a favorite for many. Nickels' Pier was destroyed in a fire in 1992, but the Nickels family rebuilt their business and reopened the next summer, bigger and better than ever.

Hunt's Pier, former site of the popular Fun Chase Pier (Ocean Pier), and adored by millions of children, closed in the 1980s and fell into a state of disrepair. In 1994 the Catanoso family purchased the pier and soon made improvements, reopening the pier under the name "Atlantic Pier" in 1995. In 1996, the Catanoso family again made history by opening up the first themed amusement park at the Atlantic Pier site. The all new "Dinosaur Beach Adventure Theme Park" opened up in May of 1996 to rave reviews from kids and parents alike. Located at Juniper Avenue and the Boardwalk, Dinosaur Beach features prehistoric-themed water roller coaster, log flume, river rapids water. signature ride, a 700 seat amphitheater and interactive educational exhibits.

Seaport Village, a retail shopping pier, opened in the 1980s at 22nd Avenue in North Wildwood. Before the transformation into a retail shopping pier, Seaport Village was a fishing pier that overtime became landlocked by the ever-increasing beach.

In 1993 the Wildwoods' Boardwalk made another foray into history as two walls of the Boardwalk Mall, at Garfield Avenue, became the canvas for world-renown environmental muralist Wyland in his East Coast Tour that saw 17 murals completed in 17 cities in 17 weeks.

The Boardwalk today is just under two miles long (9,771 feet long) extending from 16th Avenue in North Wildwood south to Cresse Avenue the Wildwood-Wildwood Crest boundary. For most of its length, the famous walk is 50 feet wide.

The boardwalk's fascination as an attraction is found in its high concentration of activities for people of all ages, and its proximity to the beach and ocean helps to set the Wildwoods amusement mecca apart from all other seashore resort destinations. It is a sure bet, the boarded walkway is "a must do" or "must see" for almost every visitor to the resort.

Wildwoods' Boardwalk has always been entwined with the economy of the communities since its humble beginning in 1899 and even more so in the last sixty years. The Wildwoods Boardwalk has been, and will remain, the focal point of the resort, and a principal source of entertainment, awe, and delight for the millions of people who have walked its more than 70,000 wooden planks.

Research for EVERYTHING THAT YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE WILDWOODS' BOARDWALK was provided by Robert J. Scully, Curator, of the George F. Boyer Historical Museum, Spencer Ave. and the Holly Beach Station in Wildwood, N. J.