Wildwood, New Jersey is a popular shore destination, best known for its retro Doo Wop-style architecture. As long as I can personally remember, a visit to Wildwood has been a blast from the past, a trip back in time – particularly the 1950s and ’60s. While these decades are when the area really started to boom, it was a beachfront resort beginning all the way back in the 1890s.

A boardwalk was built along what is now Atlantic Avenue and several decades later it was rebuilt in its present location. Before the Morey brothers built their “Boardwalk Empire,” visitors enjoyed Fun Chase Pier, the Starlight Ballroom and Blaker’s Pavillion at Cedar Avenue. Few of us remember what Wildwood was like before the Garden State Parkway made it more accessible in 1955, but it was as beautiful and bustling as ever. Here’s a peek at Wildwood life in 1915:

This is believed to be the oldest video of Wildwood, New Jersey. A few years after this footage was filmed, Prohibition began. Fun fact: Wildwood was far from dry during Prohibition, some considered it a bootleggers paradise. To learn more about the wonderful history of a Jersey Shore favorite, visit The Wildwood Archive. For more New Jersey history, check out this article on some of our oldest towns.

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