During its beginning as a coastal getaway not for New Jerseyans but for Philadelphians, middle-class families would endure the two-day journey to the site then known as Cape Island. With the advent of the steamboat and the railroad, the Cape became the premier destination for vacationers from surrounding areas.
In the 1880s, however, traffic slowed and the city entered a period of decline. Subsequent attempts at modernization failed, which actually saved the quaint wooden village that is visited by so many today.
Eventually, residents realized that the future of the Cape lay in the past. Preservation advocates succeeded in reviving interest in the resort, resulting in Cape May being designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.
Readers of The Summer City by the Sea will be tempted to take the last exit off the Garden State Parkway. While fashionable resorts come and go, Cape May endures, a tribute to its tenacity and tradition.
