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The Hotel Cape May

In the early twentieth century there was an attempt to turn the undeveloped area of east Cape May into the Newport RI of NJ.
It was an overly ambitious effort and eventually went bust.

The plan involved dredging the harbor so larger ships could travel to Cape May, build mansions ( a few still exist like the Peter Shields Inn ) and the jewel in the crown was the Hotel Cape May.

As early as 1901 the local newspapers began mentioning the project but work did not begin until the Cape May Real Estate Company was formed in 1903 and Peter Shields was the director.

While Cape May development in the past had been driven by Philadelphia investors this time around major money came in from Pittsburgh and the papers quickly referred to the new group as the "Pittsburgh Syndicate."

The promoters envisioned a modern city with connections to the major railroads and a new harbor that would rival the ports of Philadelphia and New York.

The million dollar Cape May Hotel along with the harbor with a water area of 500 acres and a depth of forty feet ( the promoters promised it was deep enough to accommodate the largest ocean steamships ever built) were the 2 centerpieces of the project.
The Hotel Cape May opened to great fanfare in 1908. The celebration included a visit from the governor of New Jersey and an automobile rally from Philadelphia to Cape May.

Unfortunately the new development plans were built on a poor foundation of insufficient funds and six months after the celebration the Hotel Cape May mysteriously closed for repairs. Directors resigned and new people stepped into to jump start the harbor East Cape May project. It was not to be.

The ill-fated Hotel Cape May never fulfilled its promise to restore Cape May to the throne of Queen of the Seaside Resorts.. It remained empty for years.

The hotel was later acquired by the Admiral Hotel Company which attempted to operate it as a hotel.
The effort failed and the city took the hotel - The Admiral -over for back taxes in 1940 and it was sold to a group of developers that intended to convert it into a senior citizens home. During World War two it served temporarily as a military hospital.
Fundamentalist preacher Carl McIntire purchased the hotel and saved it from the wrecker's ball in 1963.
He changed the name to the Christian Admiral but the hotel was doomed from day one.
It was razed in 1996 when a deal was cut between the city that was owed back taxes and the owners of the hotel that also owned Congress Hall. Seaside lots were sold for McMansions and the money was used to restore Congress Hall that was also in need of restoration. It was a good plan since both hotels were key landmarks in Cape May and the sacrifice of one saved the other.
Now you know the story.

The Jersey Shore Perpetual Calendar

This calendar was created by me for fans of the Jersey Shore. We used the profile image from our Face Book site " Tales of the New Jersey Shore"

It makes a great gift and since the day of the week, month and date change but never the year it is truly perpetual and never goes out of date.
Take a look at the image. An ingenious series of hidden wheels permit you to turn the dial on the sides of the calendar and change the date.

Buyers are looking for a convenient, secure way to purchase the calendar so I created this PayPal button. Just select it and PayPal will guide you through the process
The calendar is $20 plus $5 UPS shipping and handling. ( please no Box #'s as UPS will not deliver )
It is created and produced by hand in New Jersey and there is a 100% return guarantee. If you are not satisfied just return the calendar and you will be refunded your $20 minus the shipping and handling.
There is a limited supply no do not miss out.

A Beautiful Cape May day - 1918

This is one of my favorite photos of Cape May, NJ .

There is so much history in this one image. An early horse-less carriage on a street, Beach Drive, that is today impossible to find a parking space.

On the far right are the massive columns of the old Lafayette Hotel-now replaced with a newer hotel.

Center right is Denizot's Ocean View Cottage ( built 1879) and operated at the time as the Arnold Cafe. The proprietors of the cafe altered the old cottage and replaced the bathhouses with an open beer garden.

The electric railroad on the left ran from Cape May Point to Sewell's Point along the boardwalk and on the beach, and was eventually extended to Schellinger's Landing in 1913. The boardwalk arches were illuminated with electric lights and extended the entire length of the old wooden boardwalk until the early 1920s.

The boardwalk was destroyed by the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944, rebuilt and destroyed again by the Great Atlantic Storm of 1962. It was then replaced with a macadam seawall still referred to by the locals as the "boardwalk."

Emil Salvini

Peter Paul Boynton - The Pearl Diver

In the era before resorts hired lifeguards you entered the water at great peril. Should you require assistance and were lucky there might be a very skilled swimmer, an unofficial lifeguard for hire, on the beach. This was a common practice. While they would not throw you back if you or your family did not pay a reward :) ... it was expected.

A very interesting character was Peter Paul Boynton - known as the "pearl diver" because of his amazing swimming and diving skills. His name appears often as I do my research on the Jersey Shore and the U.S. Life-Saving Service that eventually became the United States Coast Guard.

He first popped up at Cape May where he operated an oriental gift shop while supplementing his income by saving lives during the summer season. Local residents blamed him for the devastating fire of 1869, he was questioned and released. They seemed to have it in for him and later arrested Boynton on a charge of filing a pistol from a moving train and endangering the life of a woman who claimed the bullet just missed her head. The City of Cape May fined hm $5.00 and Peter Paul had enough with New Jersey and moved Coney Island where his reputation as a swimmer, showman and entrepreneur grew. Boynton broke numerous swimming records and is credited with developing a rubber diver suit used by the early Coast Guard.
More to come on this amazing individual.

The Last Days of Pompeii - Coney Island Style

Yes this is a blog about the Jersey Shore but from time to time I like to post something of interest from one of our sister resorts.

If I could turn the clock back I would love to have seen this display in 1885 at Manhattan Beach, Coney Island, NY. They did things up big at old Coney Island just the big apple today.

Every night during the summer season they would put on magnificent fireworks displays that were visible for miles.

They loved "historical tableaus" back in the day and this one; The Last Day of Pompeii, was a major attraction. There was an artificial lake in front of a monstrous stage setting. Live music played as actors played the hapless citizens of Pompeii before Vesuvius blew its top in 79 AD. Once the "eruption" began the actors would run for cover as the massive fireworks display represented the destruction of the city.

Gotta love it.

The Summer Station - Cape May, NJ

Wouldn't you love to get off a train and be facing the beautiful Cape May beach? Back in the day the City of Cape May had two stations and you could step off the train and be within walking distance to the surf. ( there was a second competing railroad line but it is not part of this post or story)

The Jackson Street Winter station, which was located in the vicinity of the current day strip mall near the eastern end of the Washington Street pedestrian mall, ran a spur to Grant Street and Beach Drive. The Grant Street Station or the Summer Station as it was known was in operation during the summer season until the early part of the twentieth century.

It was a bit complicated but when the powerful West Jersey and Seashore Railroad ( owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad ) took over control of major train service to Cape May they compensated the smaller Cape May, Delaware Bay and Sewell's Point Railroad by permitting them to run the 0.63 mile track connection between the Winter Station and the Summer Station on Grant Street at the beach. The Cape May, Delaware Bay and Sewell's Point Railroad owned and operated the electric trolley tracks that ran from the steamboat landing on Cape May Point ( Sunset Beach ), past the lighthouse, along the boardwalk to Sewell's Point in eastern Cape May. You can see the trolley and tracks in many vintage photos of the Cape May beach or boardwalk.

I am posting two great images here. The first is the actual Grant Street or Summer Station at the beach when it was in operation. The second is an aerial shot of Cape May from approximately 1926 where you can see the station near the beach in the lower center of the photograph. If you look carefully you can see the Winter Station in the center of the image and follow the tracks from one station to the other. Must have been something to experience.