Number 13 not unlucky for Victorian Cape May

No one in Cape May, NJ, is superstitious these days about the number 13. In fact, it’s safe to say that everyone thinks it’s their lucky number after their resort town was named one of 13 places worldwide as the top destinations for travelers in 2008. The list was announced by Frommer’s, a New Jersey-based travel guide publisher, in early December, just in time to make it the perfect holiday gift for America’s First Seashore Resort.

“Cape May’s laid back Victorian charm is minutes (and generations) away from Wildwood’s go-go ’50s-style architecture,” noted the editors at Frommer’s, telling anyone who has ever spent time in Cape May something they already know.

Cape May has long been a favorite of vacationers. Steamboats brought visitors from Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. to enjoy the cool sea breezes, the refreshing ocean waters and the leisurely lifestyle. Later, during the heyday of the railroads, tourists thronged to the seaside resort for the day, the week or even the summer.

Presidents Harrison, Pierce, Grant and Buchanan vacationed here, John Philip Sousa played at Congress Hall and Henry Clay visited for several weeks in 1847, reinforcing the town’s position as the major seaside retreat in the country, the Queen of the Seaside Resorts.

Cape May’s popularity is actually linked to several devastating fires in the 19th century that destroyed huge hotels, homes and businesses. After the Great Fire of 1878, the town was rebuilt in the Queen Anne, Gothic, Victorian and American bracketed styles of architecture For a generation or two, these magnificent, ornate cottages, as they were often called, were the summer homes of coal barons, titans of industry and wealthy families from Philadelphia and other cities.

After a period of decline, a renaissance started when a group of concerned citizens rallied to save an aging and decaying landmark, the Physick Estate, from demolition. The group coalesced in the Mid- Atlantic Center for the Arts and became the touch stone for an amazing revitalization.

In the early 1970s the entire town was listed on the federal government’s National Register of Historic Places and in 1976 Cape May was named a National Historic Landmark City, one of only five such designations in the country. Huge Victorian homes that might have faced the same fate as once awaited the Physick Estate were purchased, refurbished, and opened as bed and breakfast inns, shops and restaurants, adding to the town’s Victorian ambiance.

Today, over 30 years later, the restored Physick Estate is the home of the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts, which – as the name implies – has also been the motivation behind an arts movement that includes a six-week music festival each year, two equity theater companies, jazz and film festivals and a full calendar of cultural events as well as historic preservation.

In the 1970s a four-block pedestrian mall opened, adding yet another attraction to the beaches, the Victorian architecture and ambiance of this seashore resort. Currently, Washington Street Mall is undergoing a massive restoration project to replace pavement, replant trees, and update services to make the mall more attractive and appealing to residents and visitors. The city also has plans to replace town’s aging convention hall on the Promenade with a structure that will replicate the ornate design of the original convention hall that was destroyed in a massive coastal storm in March 1962.

Cape May continues to be a vacation destination with beautiful beaches and its collection of restored Victorian buildings, gourmet restaurants and nearly year-round activities. The area is also one of the most popular birding spots in the United States. Accommodations range from beachfront hotels to luxurious rentals, guesthouses, and bed and breakfast inns.

Cape May is easily reached from points south by the Cape May Lewes Ferry across Delaware Bay or from the north via the Garden State at exit zero, the actual location noted in Frommer’s list, a name used by most local people that has become synonymous with Cape May.

Each year, Frommer’s editorial staff ferrets out places around the world that are worthy of a traveler’s attention. A location is selected for what it has to offer or simply the fact that it often falls under the radar and deserves a little attention.

The other 12 places, in no particular order according to Frommer’s, are Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; New Orleans; the American Whiskey Trail from Mount Vernon, Virginia, through Tennessee, Kentucky and Pennsylvania; Denver; Essaouira, Morocco; Cardiff, Wales; St. Lucia; Quito, Ecuador; Romania; Seoul, South Korea; Bras d’Or Lakes, Nova Scotia and Kosrae, Micronesia.

Courtesy of grouptravelblog.com