Ten Little-Known Facts About the Wildwood, NJ Vacation Hot Spot
Long known as one of the top vacation destinations on the East Coast, Wildwood, New Jersey has a host of attractions and activities that continue to satisfy and delight visitors year after year. The city was founded in the late 19th century and almost immediately became a popular tourist destination. With its many hotels, many still displaying their original doo-wop architectural style, and the famous boardwalk, Wildwood is uniquely outfitted with not only the normal trimmings one would find in a beachfront resort community, but also with the extras that make a vacation truly special. Here are ten little-known facts about Wildwood, New Jersey.
1. Morey’s Piers is one of the most famous attractions in the town of Wildwood. It features over a hundred amusement park rides and attractions, including roller coasters, the tallest Ferris wheel on the East Coast, and more.
2. Since 1970, the area has hosted the New Jersey State Firefighters Convention.
3. Before it was incorporated as a city in 1912, the area now known as Wildwood was a district of New Jersey known as Holly Beach City.
4. Community high school sports teams are known as Wildwood Warriors.
5. Wildwood’s famous boardwalk has an equally famous streetcar that runs its full 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 houses a chapel that offers 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 population in the off-season is just over 5,000 permanent residents, during the summer months it is not uncommon for more than 200,000 people to fill it.
9. Wildwood’s claim as the birthplace of rock and roll stems from it being the first place Bill Haley & His Comets performed what is believed to be the first rock and roll song, Rock Around the Clock. This happened on Memorial Day weekend in 1954 at the HofBrau Hotel.
10. Each year one of the largest and most famous Ultimate Frisbee beach tournaments is held on the boardwalk in Wildwood, NJ.
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 true vacation treasures of the Northeast.
