Doo Wop Motels: Architectural Treasures of the Wildwoods Book

I read this while at my parents' house. My summers growing up were spent visiting relatives in Wildwood, and I used to love the old hotels we drove by on the island. I never realized they were unique to the area, of course ~ they were just part of the whole summer experience for me, part of the appeal. Though it's sad to know many of them have been lost or destroyed, I'm glad to know there are some being preserved now, as that era is definitely a part of history which I'd hate to see lost for good.

The pictures in this book are fantastic. Full color photos in most cases, with postcards and promotional images when actual photographs were unavailable. The only drawback I found was that the text is a bit boring at times. It's very much a timeline of what hotels went up on the island when and not so much a historical look at the era itself. I would have liked more detail on the reasons behind the architecture features associated with the "doo wop" era, or more history behind the individuals who ran the establishments, and not so much just a physical description of each hotel, when it was constructed, and where.

Still, this is a great introduction to the motels in the Wildwoods. If you're a fan of this sort of architecture and/or are familiar with the island at all, definitely check it out!