TheTravel.com just released their "Springtime Guide to America's Quirkiest Hotspots" list and in the Northeast section, both winners are found at the south Jersey Shore!
There is no shortage of quirky roadside attractions in the US. And the history of roadside attractions runs parallel to the history of car culture. Starting in the 1920s, automobiles launched an entirely new infrastructure, one that was as reliant on interstate planning and technology as it was on the charismatic spontaneity of vagabonds hitting the road, intoxicated by wanderlust and the smell of gasoline. Driving became as much a pastime as a necessity, and quirky attractions and novelty architecture popped up like daisies along the road. Some attractions existed to fulfill a need; others were born out of an unapologetic desire to create something epochal and irresistible, something that was Polaroid-perfect and memory-friendly.
Ultimately, Americans are nothing if not eccentric, and the hotels, motels, statues, and shops alongside the highways, byways, interstates, and country roads are testaments to that eccentricity.
Lucy The Elephant, New Jersey
Sandwiched between vendors selling saltwater taffy and those tempting customers with the scent of sticky-sweet funnel cakes, Lucy the Elephant rises like a kitschy deity amid sun-worshippers. Standing 6 stories tall and weighing about 90 tons, a million pieces of wood went into her creation in 1881. Why? As a gimmick to coerce buyers into spending money on land and development, of course. And it worked. Hotels sprang up like mushrooms around Lucy, and the rest is history.
Hours: Summer touring hours start June 19th and are 10 am to 8 pm Monday through Saturday; 10 am to 5 pm Sunday; Hours the rest of the year vary but are available on the website
Prices: Children 3 -12 are $4; Adults 13 and up are $8.50
The Wildwoods, New Jersey
Another Jersey Shore gem that offers entire streets of roadside attractions is Wildwood, NJ where Doo Wop Architecture dominates as far as the eye can see. The garish Atomic Age construction sits aplomb in a town where one can do anything from breakfast atop a Ferris wheel in Wildwood to watching vintage cars and motorcycles compete in the Race of Gentlemen.
The way Cape May has embraced its Victorian buildings, so too has Wildwood championed its 1950s architectonics, all of which was built with the 1950s sensibility that worshiped the Space Age and cherished campy themes that exploited a landlocked person’s understanding of the tropics. To give a sense of history, it’s important to remember that Wildwood is sacred in rockabilly history, with Chubby Checker and Bill Haley and the Comets performing their epic songs and dance numbers for the first time in the town.
(A mural along Pacific Ave, where Checker and others once performed)
Like other shore towns, Wildwood exploded in the wake of World War II as the concept of ‘vacationing’ had a socio-economic shift. No longer were vacations an elite luxury; now they were a ritual to be enjoyed by all. Despite the democratization of vacation culture, however, most families still couldn’t afford island getaways, and so Wildwood offered a superb substitute in the form of hotels thematically fashioned - in their ‘50s sort of way - in a hodgepodge of tropical styles such as Polynesian and Hawaiian. Under this umbrella is the Caribbean Motel, which opened in 1957 and has since been named a National Historic Landmark. With a lemon-and-lime-and-coconut exterior, its plastic palm trees were de rigueur for the tropical vibe.
Astronomy was in vogue 1950s thanks to the Space Race, the battle between America and the Soviet Union to put a man on the moon. Even with eyes cast upwards, Wildwood hotels and motels catered to this zeal, providing accommodations to appease any cosmophile or astrophile.
Motels like the Starlux Boutique Motel have continued to cosmically beckon from the road with its neon blue sign. From the road, the beveled roofs and neon signage with its jagged letters all contribute to the spacey theme. Inside, amenities include an all-glass Astro lounge with a fireplace and in-room lava lamps. Also, the hotel has its now 27-hole mini golf course and onsite ice cream parlor.
