Long known as one of the top vacation destinations on the East Coast, Wildwood, New Jersey has an abundance of attractions and activities that continue to satisfy and please visitors year after year. The city was founded at the end of the 19th century and almost immediately became a popular tourist destination. With its many hotels, many of which still display their original doo-wop architectural style, and the famous boardwalk, Wildwood is uniquely outfitted with not only the normal trappings one would find in a beachfront resort community, but also with the extra things that make a vacation really special. Here are ten little-known facts about Wildwood, New Jersey.
1. Morey’s Piers is one of the most famous attractions in the city of Wildwood. It features over a hundred rides and attractions including roller coasters, the tallest Ferris wheel on the East Coast, and more.
2. Since 1970, the area has been the site of the New Jersey State Firefighters’ Convention.
3. Before incorporating as a city in 1912, the area now known as Wildwood was a New Jersey district known as Holly Beach City.
4. The community high school athletic teams are known as the Wildwood Warriors.
5. Wildwood’s famous boardwalk has an equally famous trolley because it runs its entire length linking the community to North Wildwood. The tram, as it is known, is a trackless train that was first established in the early 1950s.
6. The boardwalk that runs along the city’s ocean shoreline is home to a chapel that holds nightly services that are open to all travelers to the area throughout the summer.
7. Pop singer Bobby Rydell sings a song called Wildwood Days that is about community.
8. The city’s off-season population is just over 5,000 permanent residents, during the summer months it’s not uncommon for over 200,000 people to fill it up.
9. Wildwood’s claim as the birthplace of rock and roll stems from its being the first venue where Bill Haley & His Comets performed what is considered the first rock and roll song, Rock Around the Clock. This happened over Memorial Day weekend in 1954 at the HofBrau Hotel.
10. One of the largest and most famous Ultimate Frisbee beach tournaments takes place every year on the boardwalk in Wildwood, New Jersey.
With just one visit to this Atlantic Ocean community, it’s easy to see why Wildwood has maintained its high level of popularity with vacationers for over a hundred years. The city offers a great mix of nostalgia as well as modern tourist attractions and features in a way that is sure to satisfy anyone lucky enough to plan a trip there in the near future. Wildwood, New Jersey is truly one of the Northeast’s true vacation treasures.