Doo Wop Motels: Architectural Treasures of the Wildwoods by Kirk Hastings

From Barnes & Noble

Some people might protest any link between the words "architectural treasures" and Wildwood, New Jersey, but this sassy pictorial has won us over. During the '50s and '60s, the sweeping angles, bright colors, jet-glass walls, and, of course, plastic palm trees of the "Doo Wop" style of architecture blossomed in Wildwood and Wildwood Crest. And who can forget the extreme pyramid facade of the much-mourned Casa Bahama Motel or the dizzying leans of the Ebb Tide? Doo Wop Motels brings back this entire plastic golden age with 130 color photos. Not just kitsch but cool.

From the Publisher

The three New Jersey beach resorts known collectively as The Wildwoods have recently been the subject of widespread notice for their unique concentration of mid-century commercial architecture. Known in The Wildwoods as Doo Wop, the style is mostly represented in the resorts' surviving motels, built between 1955 and 1970, and comes in a variety of forms: Modern, with jet-age glass walls; Vroom!, with thrusting pointed features; and Polynesian Pop, with thatched roofs and tiki torches. This fun, colorful book recounts the stories of the motels, describes their special features--from glorious neon signs to ubiquitous plastic palm trees--and covers the recent Neo-Doo Wop buildings that have risen in the wake of Doo Wop preservation.

About the Author:
Kirk Hastings lives in Somers Point, New Jersey, where he works as a graphic designer and freelance writer. He grew up in Wildwood Crest, near the large Doo Wop motel district, and is the president of the Wildwood Crest Historical Society and an associate board member of the Doo Wop Preservation League.

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