Introduction to visiting Cape May, New Jersey

Located at Exit Zero on the Garden State Parkway, at the southernmost point of New Jersey's Atlantic shore and below the Mason-Dixon line, Cape May is America’s oldest seaside resort.  Cape May was once home to the summer White House and also was once the capitol for lima beans.  Now more famous for its Victorian architecture and pristine beaches, the entire town is a National Historic Landmark. 

Inn of Cape May in Cape May, New Jersey

The historic area is spread along the streets heading inland.  Measuring two blocks deep by six blocks long, it is an impressive collection of more than 600 authentically restored and preserved structures from the Victorian period of 1840 through 1912—indeed, it has the largest concentration of Victorian structures outside of San Francisco.  Among their lavish ornamentation are latticework, scrolls, frets, brackets, bargeboards, and plenty of stained glass.  Features include original detached kitchens that are converted to garages, and wrap-around porches with rocking chairs and hammocks, but no widow walks--because the town has no harbor.  Natural cedar shakes are popular on outside walls because salty sea air otherwise makes it necessary to repaint every five years or so.  Some houses resemble San Francisco’s “painted ladies,” but most are in lower-key traditional East Coast colors of white or grey.  Gardens bloom with colorful flowers, and at night the area is lit to a glow by the town’s original gas lamps.

Cape May is third in the nation for weddings (behind Las Vegas and Disney World)--more than 400 are held here each year—and it is a fabulous place for families, indeed for everyone, to get away—think noisy lobster restaurants, fresh saltwater taffy, and an immaculately clean beach. 

Originally a peninsula, it is now an island.  A drive along Beach Avenue provides a good orientation and a view of the plethora of lodging options, both vintage and contemporary.  In spring and fall the area attracts migrations of birds and butterflies.




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images c2013 Carole Terwilliger Meyers