Wildwood Doo Wop.com

Heralded today as the Wildwoods' quintessential "Doo Wop" icon, the Caribbean was designed and built by the legendary Lou Morey in 1958.

From the Wildwoods Shore Resort Historic District Report:

Built in 1958, the Caribbean is a flat-roofed, two-story, J-shaped motel with no visible means of support for the continuous balconies. The south wing contains 10 bays facing north. The east bay contains one bay with the office on the first floor and a game room on the second floor. The glass walls of the game room angle in to the center and out to the roofline. The roofline of the game room extends north as a wood lattice over the sundeck underneath. The second floor of the east wing is wider than the first, creating a carport supported by slender poles on the first floor. An unsupported, curved concrete ramp connects the first floor to the sundeck on the second. The west wing contains four bays on each floor, facing east. The U-shaped pool is located in the center of the "J" and is protected from the street by low shrubbery and parking. The motel is clad in light yellow stucco with the edges of the balconies slanted in and out, with staggered lights on each side. A neon sign mounted to the roof of the east wing, facing north, provides signage for the motel.

• The Caribbean's original owners were Dominick and Julia Rossi.
• 1958 was a banner year for motel construction in the Crest. Along with the Caribbean, the El Reno Motel (later South Beach Motel), Sand Castle Motel, Satellite Motel, Swan Motel and Tangiers Motel all opened for business. The Rio Motel, in Wildwood proper, also made its debut that spring.
• The western wing of the motel was added in 1959.
• The Caribbean was the first motel in the Wildwoods to feature the decorative use of plastic palm trees, kicking off a celebrated tradition that continues today, island-wide.
• The Caribbean celebrated its 50th season of operation in 2007.
• Named a past Doo Wop Hero for keeping Doo Wop spirit alive!
• Significance: Well-preserved Wildwood motel with distinctive original 1950s architectural features: "levitating" concrete ramp, lean in/lean out glass walls on the second-floor lounge, colorful lighting, c-shaped swimming pool, and a large neon sign which required liberalizing town ordinances. The first owner also claim to have originated fake palm trees in the Wildwoods.  - From Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)
  

Listed on National Registry 8/24/2005, also listed  Motels of the Wildwoods MPDF S.R. 1/16/2004.

Library of Congress Historic Building Survey

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