CAPTURING CAPE MAY’S ARCHITECTURE: The making of a National Historic Landmark ❧ G
An Exhibit in the Carroll allery at the Physick Estate • 2018 1048 Washington St., Cape May, NJ • capemaymac.org
Cape May is the popular, colorful, historic seaside town it is today thanks to the work of a small team of architects who, in the 1970s, captured in pen and ink drawings the most significant structures in “the best preserved late 19th century resort remaining in America.” These drawings, on exhibit for the first time here in the Carroll Gallery, were produced in a project called “Operation Gingerbread,” under the auspices of the Historic American Buildings Survey [HABS] of the National Park Service. The architects used pens thin as a hair, working in hot and humid or cold and windy weather, J B on drawing boards made of doors on saw horses, to document every inch of detail in 29 structures among Cape May’s 600 frame buildings which compose “the best textbook of Victoriana in the nation.” ay argmann
The buildings were first researched for their architectural merit, then documented in measurements, photographs and drawings-to-scale to be archived in perpetuity in the Library of Congress. This was the goal of architectural historian Carolyn Pitts, who organized the HABS teams primarily from her alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania. She feared, in the 1960s, after the devastating Ash Wednesday nor’easter of 1962, a reckless demolition of Cape May’s unique collection of architecture. During Urban Renewal efforts beginning in 1963, 68 buildings were bulldozed and others were targeted for relocation. Cape May’s vast collection of significant architecture resulted from its origins as the nation’s first seaside resort. Its geography along the Delaware Bay allowed access by steamboat to summer visitors from both the north and the south. Later, entrepreneurs built railroad connections, invested in large hotels and
provided incentives to build seaside mansions and cottages. Several of the most architecturally important houses were built by families whose fortunes were made during the Civil War. Disastrous fires swept through the heart of town in 1869 and 1878, resulting in large scale rebuilding efforts that, to this day, give Cape May its definitive Victorian sensibilities clustered in an intimate small town. It is because of this unique collection of frame buildings from a pre-automobile era, in essence frozen in time, that preservationists were propelled to commit the structures to pen and ink drawings. Among the first was the drawing of the 1879 Emlen Physick House, now home to the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities. Marked for destruction, it was not only saved but restored to serve as a vanguard for preservation efforts, culminating in 1976 when Cape May was designated a National Historic Landmark. The structures in the pen and ink drawings not only have survived 150 years of storms, fires and cultural tastes, but have been lovingly restored with updated amenities over the past 50 years, serving today as comfortable homes, hotels, B&B inns and businesses.
Welcome, and enjoy the skills of the architects who helped preserve the special buildings in this special place that is Cape May.
“Genius is defined as the capacity for taking infinite pains. It takes infinite pains to make a beautiful rendered drawing.� Van Buren
Hugh J. McCauley
H. Van Buren McGonigle, architect and author
A Salute to Carolyn Pitts Many preservation-minded people contributed to Cape May becoming a National Historic Landmark city. But it is Carolyn Pitts who grasped that Cape May’s past could be its future. Carolyn Pitts was an architectural historian who applied her passion and personal power to permanently record and register the town’s most significant buildings, not only to prevent their demolition, but to save them for another useful life. “Properties tell us where we’ve been and what we are,” she said, “and we ought to take care of them.” For Carolyn, capturing and preserving Cape May’s architectural gems was a lifelong pursuit. Born in 1923, she vacationed in Cape May as a child in the 1930s and fell in love with the town’s turrets, towers, gingerbread, gables, balustrades, balconies, shingles and shutters.
ACHIEVEMENTS
• She returned to study the various architectural styles in the 1940s and ‘50s. • She joined with other preservationists, including the Cape May Cottagers Association, in the 1960s to halt destruction of historic properties, and started the process of cataloging the city’s architectural treasures, resulting in a place on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. She achieved this goal working clandestinely against pro development politicians who read the news of the historic designation in a Philadelphia newspaper. • She established the Historic Buildings Survey [HABS] teams in the 1970s, producing the measured pen and ink drawings in this exhibit – culminating in Cape May becoming a National Historic Landmark city in 1976. She researched and authored Cape May’s nomination to become a historic landmark. • She collaborated with the HABS architectural teams to publish The Cape May Handbook in 1977 as a gift and guide to the citizens of Cape May, “the custodians of one of the largest collections of late 19th century frame buildings left in the United States.” The Handbook was designed as an aid to individual building owners in restoration and preservation efforts. • She was a founding member of the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC) which, for nearly half a century, has remained a primary force in the city and county’s tourism and community participation, touching the lives of more than 280,000 people annually. • She was among the first to give tours of Cape May’s significant architecture, hosting preservationists and architects from around the nation in the 1980s. • She became an architectural historian for the National Park Service in Washington, D.C. and, over a 30- year career, conducted research that resulted in landmarking hundreds of buildings, including icons like the Empire State Building. Carolyn Pitts died in Philadelphia in 2008, at age 82.
“There should be a bronze statue of Carolyn Pitts erected on the front lawn of Cape May City Hall.” Philadelphia Inquirer architectural writer Thomas Hine -- 1977
CAPE MAY HANDBOOK The HABS architectural drawing teams of 1973, ’74 and ’77 were composed of supervisor Hugh J. McCauley, Perry Benson, Dan B. Goodenow, Thomas Ewing, Gardner Cadwalader, H. Reed Longnecker, Daniel McCoubrey and Jay Bargmann. Their 36x24-inch renderings received praise for resulting in “some of the finest architectural drawings of the late 19th century ever done.”
The Cape May Survey Team: 1977 (Left to right) Mike Fish, Hugh McCauley, Carolyn Pitts, Trina Vaux, Tom Ewing, Dan Goodenow, Perry Benson, Susan Stein and Bernie Cleff. Shown at The Chalfonte Hotel, September 1977.
Carolyn Pitts, reflecting on the project, told Town & Country Magazine: “They are now safe at the Library of Congress. There, neither flood nor fire can ever destroy these records of important American buildings (in Cape May). They will never be forgotten.” As a gift and guide to the citizens of Cape May –“the custodians of one of the largest collection of late 19th century frame buildings remaining in the United States,” members of the HABS team published The Cape May Handbook in 1977. Carolyn Pitts wrote in the forward: “It is hoped the Handbook will aid individual building owners in restoration, and will be used as an integral part of a long-range preservation plan. Preservation of unique buildings in a setting that respects them enhances their economic usefulness and aesthetic attractiveness. It enriches the city, county and the state of New Jersey.”
Shown in front of The Baronet, their summer home and workshop, are (from left) Jay Bargmann, Carolyn Pitts and Hugh McCauley. Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Inquirer
The Handbook was authored by Carolyn Pitts, Michael Fish, Hugh J. McCauley AIA and Trina Vaux and published by the Athenaeum of Philadelphia.
THE ARCHITECTS
OF THE CAPE MAY HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY (HABS) The following architects have drawings represented in this exhibit: Jay D. Bargmann: AIA NCARB, Master’s in Architecture, University of Pennsylvania. Vice President and Managing Partner of Rafael Viñoly Architects in New York City, and has held a leadership position since the firm’s founding in 1983.
Dan B. Goodenow: RA, Penn State University, Boston Architectural College. Practicing architect in Gloucester and Boston, Massachusetts; served on the Rockport, Massachusetts, Historic District Commission.
Perry Benson, Jr.: Master’s in Architecture, University of Pennsylvania. Supervised three HABS projects in Washington, Kentucky, Bernville, Pennsylvania, and Niobrara, Nebraska. Project Designer with Hooper Shiles: Carambola Resort, St. Croix, USVI. Private practice: houses, condos in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Vermont, Maine. Currently, Jacobs Wyper Architects, Philadelphia.
H. Reed Longnecker: Master’s Degree in Architecture and MBA, University of Pennsylvania. Worked for architect Walter Durham. [Deceased: 1947-1987]
Gardner Cadwalader: Master’s Degree in Architecture, University of Pennsylvania. Later, Francis Cauffman Wilkinson & Pepper Architects, Philadelphia. Thomas Ewing: Bachelor’s in Architecture, University of Pennsylvania. Senior Director, Facilities Planning at Penn; developed numerous academic and research building projects over the past 32 years.
Hugh J. McCauley: AIA, Master’s Degree in Architecture, University of Pennsylvania. Supervising architect Cape May HABS projects. Sole proprietor Hugh J. McCauley Architect, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Daniel McCoubrey: Master’s Degree in Architecture, University of Pennsylania. President and principal VSBA (Venturi Scott Brown) Architects, Philadelphia.
Other Contributors Bernie Clef, photographer Michael Fish, historian 1974, 1977; retired from California Polytechnic University. Sam Maitin, artist Susan Stein, historian 1974, 1977; currently curator, Monticello, Charlottesville, Virginia George E. Thomas, historian 1973; currently author, lecturer in architecture, Harvard University. Marianna Thomas, student architect; currently Principal Marianna Thomas Architects, professor Temple University. Trina Vaux, editor, Cape May Handbook; currently researcher, writer Volunteer Assistants Katy Cadwalader Kaercher • Cathy B. McConnon • Beth Wickenden Sponsors of the Cape May Historic American Buildings survey teams Atlantic Richfield Foundation • The Athenaeum of Philadelphia • Barra Foundation Cape May Fire Department • City of Cape May Historic American Buildings Survey of the National Park Service National Endowment for the Arts • National Endowment for the Humanities
Atlantic Terrace House
20 Jackson St.
(Today, a private residence)
Atlantic Terrace House This house is one of seven almost identical structures built on Atlantic Terrace. The Atlantic Hotel, destroyed in the Great Fire of 1878, once stood on this site. Philadelphian Edward C. Knight owned the hotel, and commissioned popular architect Stephen Decatur Button to design this group of houses, called the “Seven Sisters.� On the beach-block, the structures are conservative in size and style, and have some unique features. Button fronted the houses on a court, with one street to rear entrances allowing for privacy. All are three stories plus a raised basement, which initially served as the kitchen. The first story has a front porch. The second story features oriel (a type of bay) windows capped by an ogee (curved) roof. The main roof is flat with elaborate chimney caps, a bracketed cornice and paneled frieze. Most of the wooden decoration on the houses remains intact. The homes remain in the courtyard configuration 125 years after their construction in 1892. They have been renovated, restored, and altered as private residences, condos and full house rentals.
There are folklore stories that the houses were built for seven sisters, but that is not true. They have the name because of their original, identical exterior design.
Photos by Christine Peck
-- HABS drawing by Gardener Cadwalader, July, 1974
Cape Island Baptist Church
Cape Island Baptist Church This building, originally the First Baptist Church, circa 1879, is Gothic Revival, quite elaborate considering it was built by local contractor Charles Shaw at a cost of $19,000. It was designed by architect Charles Brown, who used massive corner buttresses of wood planks and thick decorative wood frames around doors to give it bulk and strength. Arched windows and stained glass provided artful, generous light. The tower’s high spire was destroyed by lightning in the early 20th century. Though the church started out Baptist, the congregation moved in 1913 to its present location at Gurney and Columbia. The church then became home to an African American Methodist congregation until membership dwindled and it was sold. In 2006, the church underwent major renovation and became the Mid-Atlantic Center for Arts & Humanities’ Designer Show House. The building was redesigned into three luxury condominiums, reimaging its unique architectural elements: 15 to 27-foot high ceilings, Gothic archways and windows and stained glass, and utilized the bell tower as a library. Large wooden trusses that supported the ceiling provided interesting architectural detail in the redesign into modern living spaces. HABS drawing by Dan B. Goodenow, July, 1977
Photo by Christine Peck
715 Franklin St.
(Today, private condo residences)
The high spire bell tower was destroyed by lightning in the early 20th century..
Cape Island Presbyterian Church
417 Lafayette St.
(Today, Cape May Stage)
Cape Island Presbyterian Church What started in 1853 as the Cape Island Presbyterian Church has been home to Methodists, Episcopalians, a community center, a welcome center and, since 1994, Cape May Stage. Historians of the building believe that it was designed by Peter Hand, the local carpenter who built it. The building is eclectic, called Georgianvernacular. In the 1950s, then owned by the city, it was targeted for demolition for a parking lot, but was saved as a community center. Cape May Stage found it a suitable venue for its professional theatrical productions. A volunteer team of local, experienced historic preservationists completely restored the building into the now state-of-the-art Robert Shackleton Playhouse. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. The current gray and red paint combination, similar to its original colors, accent architectural features: tall windows, shutters, a double-arch front door, capped by an oval window and its 20-foot-tall belfry. HABS drawing by Daniel McCoubrey, September, 1973
Photo courtesy of Cape May Magazine
1973
The building is unusual for its Moorish style, expressed in an onion-shaped, cupola. Moorish elements became popular in the mid-1800s.
Carroll Villa
203 Congress Place
(Operating as the Carroll Villa Hotel since 1882)
Carroll Villa
1974
The Carroll Villa, erected in 1882 by local builder Charles Shaw, is one of several American Bracketed Villa architectural structures in Cape May. It was commissioned by George Hildreth as a new rooming house to replace his cottage that had been destroyed in the 1878 inferno that incinerated a large part of town. Hildreth named his new building to attract a Baltimore clientele. He called it Carroll Villa in honor of Maryland’s Charles Carroll, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Some of the design is similar to the Chalfonte, which Shaw also built – a flat roof, large cupola, center bay and pillared porch. A larger porch was added in 1892 and a new wing in 1895. Hildreth was the former owner of the West End Hotel and the massive Columbia House hotel. During the Cape May renaissance of the 1970s, Philadelphian Harry Kulkowitz purchased Carroll Villa, restored and renovated it into a small hotel, and opened the Mad Batter Restaurant, one of the first in Cape May’s now famous gourmet dining scene. The Kulkowitz family is now in its third generation of operating the hotel and restaurant. In 2017, there was a major renovation including restoration of architecturally important elements of the front porch. HABS Drawing by Hugh J. McCauley, August, 1974
Photos by Christine Peck
George Hildreth was a Delaware River captain and developer. He expanded a portion of the town by infilling swamp, where he built the elegant Columbia House, between Decatur and Ocean Streets.
The Chalfonte Hotel
301 Howard St.
(Operating continuously since 1876)
1974
The Chalfonte Hotel The Chalfonte Hotel is the most ornate and oldest continuously operating hotel in Cape May. It was built in 1876 by Civil War hero Henry Sawyer [1829-1893]. Wounded at the battle of Brandywine Station, he was taken prisoner and jailed at Libby Prison. He faced death by firing squad in retaliation for the Union Army executing a Confederate soldier. His life was saved by his wife Harriet, a native of Cape May, due to her insistence that President Lincoln personally intervene. President Lincoln exchanged Sawyer for Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s imprisoned son.
A continuing tradition is the extended family of Virginia cooks who have been turning out “Soul food with its Sunday clothes on,” now in a fifth generation.
Sawyer is credited with turning in a fire alarm on Nov. 9, 1878, when he saw smoke coming from the Ocean House on Perry Street. Firefighting efforts failed and 11 hours later, 35 acres of hotels, homes and businesses lay in ruins. 2,000 hotel rooms were destroyed. The Chalfonte was beyond the fire boundary. The next year, Sawyer contracted with local builder D.D. Moore & Son to add a 100-foot wing on the Sewell Avenue side with a dining room and more guest rooms. In a strange quirk of fate, the Union Army hero’s hotel was purchased in 1911 by Susie Satterfield, daughter of Confederate General R. Lindsay Walker. The Satterfields of Virginia operated the hotel, with their special Southern hospitality, for 77 years. In 1982, school teachers and preservationists Anne LeDuc and Judy Bartella bought the hotel and ran it until 2008. It was purchased by the local Mullock family who, for the first time, installed air conditioning. HABS drawing by Perry Benson, July, 1974
Photo by Joe Evangelista
The three-story hotel, with signature cupola, is considered to be anAmerican Bracketed Villa, a stylistic hybrid. The style shares characteristics of Italian Villa and Renaissance Revival architecture, but is in a category of its own. Part of the Chalfonte’s charm is the descriptions it evokes – from an overgrown wedding cake to a Steamboat Gothic riverboat – with its vast stretches of jigsaw decorated pillars, porches, brackets and balustrades. There is no documentation of an architect. Newspapers in 1875 reported it would be built by Sawyer and local contractor Charles Shaw.
The Colonial Hotel
7 Ocean St.
(Today: The Inn of Cape May)
SOUTHEAST ELEVATION 7 OCEAN STREET
The Colonial Hotel The Colonial Hotel was designed and built in 1894-95 by West Cape May locals William and C.S. Church. Designed along Second Empire lines with four floors, it features a mansard roof with towers on the corners of the faรงade, and first and second story porches. The hotel originally had 60 rooms, with a center hall and tent roofs flanking the entrance. The south wing was added in 1905 with the same mansard style, and included a dining room.
Among the retained features of an earlier era is a 1900 vintage Otis elevator which continues in use.
1973
The Colonial was fitted with steam heat enabling it to remain open year-round. It featured gas lights and a guest bell system throughout. The Fite family purchased the hotel in 1928 from the original owners and operated it for several decades under the management of Robert Fite. The Colonial featured rental bathhouses along Beach Avenue into the 1960s, serving train day-trippers with showers, towels and bathing suits for rent. One of the bathhouses was preserved as a gift shop on Lafayette Street. The local Menz family bought the hotel in 1986 and changed the name to Inn of Cape May. HABS Drawing by Jay Bargmann, September, 1973 Photos by Christine Peck
Congress Hall Hotel
Congress Hall Hotel Congress Hall’s 200-year history began as a simple 1816 boarding house owned by Thomas Hughes. He called his large beachfront structure The Big House. Locals, believing it too big for success, nicknamed it Tommy’s Folly. When Hughes won a seat in Congress in 1828, the hotel was named Congress Hall in his honor. In 1854, then-owner Waters Burrows Miller added wings and tall columns giving it the southern plantation look it retains to this day. Jacob Cake bought the hotel in 1863, adding more rooms. Cape May’s worst fire in 1878 destroyed Congress Hall and other buildings in a 35-acre area. Edward C. Knight led a team of investors who rebuilt the hotel in brick, three stories, with a mansard roof and high verandas with columns. The plans were drawn by architect J. F. Meyer. The following year famous Philadelphia architect Stephen Decatur Button designed a 100-foot addition and a music pavilion. The L- shaped plan gives the maximum number of rooms with ocean views. The multi-storied colonnade screening the bulk of the building also was used on other Cape May Hotels: the Stockton, Lafayette and Chalfonte.
1974
Beach Avenue & Congress Place (Operating since 1816)
Five presidents visited Congress Hall: Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Ulysses Grant, Chester Arthur and Benjamin Harrison, who established his summer White House there in 1891.
Radio preacher Dr. Carl McIntire bought the hotel in 1967, closing it in 1991 due to the inability to meet fire codes. In 1995, his grandson, Curtis Bashaw, arranged financing to buy Congress Hall, but part of the deal was to tear down the massive brick 1908 Christian Admiral. Bashaw and his Cape Resorts group restored Congress Hall, reopening it in 2002. Cape Resorts has continuously upgraded the hotel and its amenities. HABS drawing by Gardner Cadwalader, August, 1974
Photos by Christine Peck
Edward C. Knight Cottage
Edward C. Knight Cottage This American Bracketed Villa was home to Edward Collins Knight, who oversaw the rebuilding of Congress Hall after the Great Fire of 1878. The new hotel was made of brick so it could be advertised as fireproof. It was built half the size of the former hotel, and closer to the beach. To raise money, a street -- Congress Place -- was cut through behind the hotel and lots were sold. Knight’s three-story home, with wrought iron widow’s walk, is almost identical on the exterior to the Evans Cottage next door. Both houses, built in 1882, are attributed to architect Stephen Decatur Button. The design is typical of Button: a symmetrical bracketed structure with strong horizontal lines expressed in two-story porches at the front and rear.
1977
203 Congress Place
(Today, a private residence)
Among Edward C. Knight Sr.’s accomplishments was the invention of a railroad sleeping car. He had a sleepless trip to New Orleans and, on returning, designed a triple bunk sleeping car. He later sold his company producing the cars to George Pullman for a reported two million dollars in 1868.
Knight started as a grocery clerk in Philadelphia and grew to be one of the richest men in the city, importing coffee and sugar. He owned ships and was involved in railroads which included service to Cape May. Knight died at his summer cottage in 1892 at the age of 71. His daughter, Annie Knight, took over ownership of Congress Hall from 1904 to 1941. She, too, lived at the cottage. Edward C. Knight, Jr. left Cape May to build a mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, and a hunting lodge in Corollo, North Carolina, because his wife was kicked out of a male-only hunting club. HABS drawing by Thomas Ewing, August, 1977
Photos by Christine Peck
Eldridge Johnson House
33 Perry St.
(Today: The Pink House) 1973
Eldridge Johnson House The Pink House, built in 1882, is described by the Historic American Buildings Survey as: “A tour de force in decorative millwork.” It is considered to have the most decorated porch in Cape May. Gingerbread details include intricate cutout designs in wooden balusters on the first and second floor porches. Slim columns support six filigreed spandrel arches on each porch. Decorative bargeboards project from the ends of the gable roof, accented by a finial on the front. Carved cornices border windows, with shutters, on all three floors. Third floor front windows are rounded with arched trim. Lattice panels infill porch ends. The Pink House originally stood at 225 Congress Place. Cape May businessman and civic leader Eldridge Johnson [1838-1929] built the house for his maiden daughters, Anna and Florence. They grew up in a similar cottage, the Johnson family home, now the Henry Sawyer Inn, at Columbia Avenue and Jefferson Street. Johnson bought the lot from his friend and civic colleague Henry Sawyer, the Civil War hero, who built the Chalfonte Hotel on the same block in 1876. In the late 1960s when Urban Renewal was underway in Cape May, The Pink House was targeted for demolition to make way for a parking lot. Tom Hand, editor of the local Star and Wave newspaper, bought the cottage for $1 and it moved next to his office where it stands today, at 33 Perry St. The cottage was restored; for many years was home to an antiques shop, and is now a woman’s boutique specializing in estate jewelry, owned by the local Papendick family. HABS drawing by Perry Benson, September, 1973
Legend is the house was first painted pink when located at Congress Place because a store had a large supply of pink paint ordered, but never picked up by another customer, and therefore was very inexpensive. Photo courtesy of Cape May Magazine
Emlen Physick House The Emlen Physick House, home of the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC), is an excellent example of Stick Style architecture. The design is attributed to famous Philadelphia architect Frank Furness, who was a Cape May cottager. The bold façade features steeply gabled roofs, tall proportions, an irregular silhouette and structural overlay. Typical Stick Style uses structural framing materials – studs and braces – over the siding to simulate the skeleton of the building. Other characteristics are its projecting bays, hooded jerkin-head dormers and large veranda. The giant upside-down brick chimneys are similar to those on other houses designed by Furness. The Physick House was constructed in 1878-79 by Charles Shaw, popular local contractor, who also built the Chalfonte, Carroll Villa, John Hildreth and Christopher Gallagher houses on Jackson Street. The Physick’s eight-acre estate was developed by Dr. Emlen Physick Jr. [1855-1916] after receiving his inheritance at age 21. He first built the Carriage House in 1876 from designs of A.M. Sidney, son of James C. Sidney, the designer of Cape May Point. Two years later, he built the mansion for his mother, Frances Ralston, and her two sisters, Emilie and Isabella Parmentier. Emlen Physick was a doctor, but never practiced medicine. He lived the life of a gentleman farmer on the estate, raising dogs and chickens and was among the first in town to own an automobile. He never married. The Physick estate fell into disrepair after the deaths of the family members and, in 1970, it was to be demolished to make way for a housing development. This news, plus the razing of the historic Hotel Lafayette, sparked a preservation effort. A small group led by architectural historian Carolyn Pitts, Housing and Urban Development official Ed Bramble of the Cape May Cottagers Association and television producer Bruce Minnix led a fight to save the Physick House and MAC was formed. Minnix ran for mayor on a preservation ticket and won in 1972. The city purchased the Physick Estate and leased it to MAC, which restored, maintains and operates the estate as a Victorian house museum. The organization remains a primary force in the city and county’s tourism and community involvement efforts. It has been growing and evolving for 47 years, now touching the lives of more than 280,000 people annually. HABS drawing by Hugh J. McCauley, August, 1973
(Today, a Victorian house museum)
1973
Emlen Physick Jr. came from a wealthy Philadelphia family – his grandfather Dr. Philip Syng Physick was known as the father of American surgery and inventor of medical instruments. His great-grandfather Philip Syng was a silversmith who designed the inkwell used by the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Photos courtesy Cape May Magazine
Emlen Physick Estate
1048 Washington St.
Fryer’s Cottage
Fryer’s Cottage
6 Perry St.
(Today, King’s Cottage B&B)
1977
Now a bed and breakfast inn, this building near the oceanfront is unusual for being primarily a Second Empire design with a Stick Style overlay. It was designed by famous Philadelphia architects Frank Furness and George Hewitt in 1871 at a cost of $6,000. It was rebuilt to the same specifications a year after it was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1878. Owners were wealthy Philadelphians MaryJane and George Fryer. Documents showing that Furness was the architect are on file at the Philadelphia Athenaeum. Furness also is credited with designing the Emlen Physick House, home of the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC). The cottage fell into disrepair over the years when it served as a boarding house. It was restored in the 1990s, including the original oak and chestnut wood paneling and shutters with Furness signatures: a bullseye on the banister and notches in woodwork. It was purchased in 2002 as a bed and breakfast and named King’s Cottage for the giant oak carved lions’ heads on the front door. HABS Drawing by Hugh J. McCauley, July, 1977
The unique blue and green ceramic tiles with flower and coin designs, set in the two-story porch railings, are described as having been part of the Japanese exhibition at the Philadelphia Centennial World’s Fair of 1876.
Photo by Joe Evangelista
George Allen House
George Allen House The George Allen House, now The Southern Mansion, was designed by famous Philadelphia architect Samuel Sloan. It was built in 1863-64 during the Civil War for Allen, wealthy owner of a Philadelphia women’s apparel store that expanded into department stores. The large, Italianate house, surrounded by gardens, is set back from the street showing off its richly bracketed, symmetrical facades capped by a large cupola. High porches surround three sides. The interior, designed for large- scale entertaining, features expansive formal rooms with marble fireplaces. The Allen family used the property as a seaside-country retreat for 80 years. Dan and Mary Crilly purchased the property, including period furniture, in 1946 for $7,000. They rented rooms under the name Victorian House. On vacation in 1995, the Barbara Bray Wilde family was fascinated with the derelict property. They bought it, completely restored it, adding a wing complementing the original design, for parties and receptions. The renewed property with restored gardens opened in 1998 as the Southern Mansion. The name Southern Mansion is taken from the title of a sketch of architect Sloan’s which precisely depicts the house. HABS drawing by Hugh J. McCauley, August, 1974
720 Washington St.
(Today, The Southern Mansion)
Much of the original furniture was saved, restored and now graces the Southern Mansion which will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2018.
Photo compliments of Cape May Magazine
1974
George W. Boyd House
1501 Beach Ave.
(Today: Sanderling, a private residence)
George W. Boyd House Construction of the beachfront George W. Boyd House began in 1911. It was located across the street from the massive brick 1908 Hotel Cape May [later the Christian Admiral], the centerpiece of the East Cape May Development. The classic Georgian Revival mansion was designed by architect Frank Seeburger. He had an office in the same Philadelphia building as George W. Boyd, who was general passenger agent for the Pennsylvania Railroad, which was instrumental in the East Cape May Development. The three-story Boyd House is distinguished by its double, two-story wrap-around porches, hip roof and third floor dormers. There are 41 round and eight square columns, free standing, supporting the porches. The front entrance, with fanlight and sidelights, features a one-story Doric portico with balustrade. The property is elevated, framed with a street level brick wall that matches the brick foundation. There is a two-story rear wing, also with a porch. The home is unusual in Cape May for its restrained classical symmetry in a town where houses are more typically Victorian and fanciful. The interior is expansive for large-scale entertaining. A wide center hall leads to a library, a dining room and parlor, both with large bay windows and fireplaces. The Boyd house is a meticulously maintained private residence with a garden of hydrangeas surrounding the porches. HABS Drawing by Perry Benson, August, 1974
1974
George Boyd also contracted Seeburger to design a home for his daughter on New Jersey Avenue at the rear of his oceanfront mansion. His son Crosby Noyes Boyd lived in the New Jersey Avenue house for many years. Crosby Boyd served as president and chairman of the now defunct Washington Star Newspaper Company.
Photos by Christine Peck
George Hildreth Cottage
17 Jackson St.
(Today, a private residence)
George Hildreth Cottage This fancy cottage is Second Empire, a favorite architectural style in Cape May. It was built in 1882 by Charles Shaw, a local contractor who constructed some of the town’s most important and lasting architectural gems. Owner George Hildreth [1822-1897], a ship captain, oversaw construction of several projects in Cape May: the huge Columbia House hotel, the Carroll Villa, and his previous cottage, all of which were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1878. Charles Shaw rebuilt the Carroll Villa at the same time this house was under construction for Captain Hildreth. Outstanding features are two-story porches with ornate millwork trim, bracketed cornices with pierced wood friezes, bay windows on both stories, and gabled dormers within the mansard roof. The property became the Poor Richard’s Inn bed and breakfast in 1977. It was restored throughout and operated by the Harriett Sosson family until recently. It is now a private residence. HABS drawing by Perry Benson, October, 1974
1974
This building is described as the model for the Christopher Gallagher House of the same era at 45 Jackson St., the oldest street in town, with several important historic houses.
Photos by Christine Peck
Dr. Henry F. Hunt Cottage
Dr. Henry Hunt Cottage
209 Congress Place
(Today, a private residence)
1977
This house is one of the more fanciful ones in Cape May. It was built in 1881 by Joseph Stretch and designed by architect J.E. Thomson. Renovations were made in 1890s. It is Queen Anne style, or called Medieval Revival, taking design cues from rural houses in England. The roofs are steep, facades vertical and irregular. Towers and prominent chimneys are typical. There is variation in building materials: brick, stone, clapboard and shingles. Some structures of this style are restrained, others “exuberant,� as is the Hunt Cottage, a favorite of photographers. Once painted white, as most of the gingerbread houses were in the Victorian era, there was a return to a Victorian palette of bold colors during the Cape May renaissance in the 1970s and 1980s. The stronger colors accentuate the fancy details of this house with its turret with pillars, a variety of shingles and wood cutouts. A giant scissors truss infills the main peaked gable, and is repeated more openly on porch brackets. Dr. Hunt purchased the lot from Edward C. Knight, former owner of Congress Hall, whose cottage also was built on Congress Place. HABS drawing by Hugh J. McCauley, August, 1977
The Dr. Henry F. Hunt Cottage and its neighboring houses on Congress Place were built after the devastating fire in 1878 that burned hotels, businesses and homes, consuming more than 35 acres.
Photo by Christine Peck
Herzberg Family Cottage
Herzberg Family Cottage
8 Broadway
(Today: A private residence)
1977
Originally called the Wilmon Whilldin Cottage, this house was built in 1883 by Mr. Whilldin, a Mayflower descendant of one of the early families of Cape May County. The house was constructed in nearby Cold Spring on the Whilldin family farm at a cost of $4,000. It was moved to its current location in 1900 by Max Herzberg, who purchased the house in 1899. The wide, tall windows provide maximum coolness and ventilation. Key features are the grand wrap-around porch, decorative finials, and generous Victorian lace woodwork on gable ends and along the roof lines.
The cottage underwent a major renovation and restoration in 1999. It is beautifully maintained, fenced in with a large lawn and garden, as a private home. HABS drawing by Dan B. Goodenow, August, 1977
Wilmon Whilldin designed this house after cottages he admired while on vacation in Orlando, Florida.
Photo by Joe Evangelista
The cottage is considered Bungalow style, popular from 1890 to 1940. The style originated in the British West Indies, initially designed as way stations for travelers. The design was economical to build and maintain, and suited to seaside resort lifestyles.
J. Stratton Ware House
J. Stratton Ware House
655 Hughes St.
(Today, a private residence)
1977
The J. Stratton Ware House, circa 1872, is described as “a triumph of carpenter’s work, and one of Cape May’s masterpieces of folk art. The decoration is the most spectacular in town… the best the town has to offer.” This is a Gothic cottage with multiple overlays of various ornamental styles on the facade and porch of the house. The bargeboards are elaborate and ornately carved, with infilled king-post [vertical] trusses. The center gable is accented with pierced panels, saw-tooth pieces of wood and other scroll saw art. The side dormers repeat elements of the centerpiece. J. Stratton Ware was a popular Cape May builder, a partner in the Ware-Eldredge contracting firm. No architect is listed. The house was perhaps designed from pattern books, popular at the time and used extensively by local builders. In 1871, Dr. Samuel Fithian Ware married Louisa Sawyer, daughter of Chalfonte Hotel founder and Civil War hero Henry Sawyer. Dr. Ware and his bride lived in the house, as did their daughter Louise Ware Campbell, who owned the property into the 1950s. Members of the Ware family, including Louise’s daughter Clara, frequently gathered at the house for summer get-togethers. HABS drawing by Thomas Ewing, September, 1977
H. Giles Knight, Henry Sawyer’s great-great grandson, remembers visiting the cottage as a boy, and exploring the Chalfonte where his great-grandmother, Louise Sawyer Ware, was born.
Photo by Je Evangelista
Jackson’s Clubhouse
Jackson Clubhouse Formerly known as Jackson’s Clubhouse, The Mainstay Inn is one of the most beloved and best known structures in Cape May. It was built in 1872 by Philadelphians Charles Jackson and Robert Lear as a gentleman’s club and named Jackson’s Clubhouse. The Cape May Ocean Wave reported in March 1872 that famous Victorian architect Stephen Decatur Button had been hired to draw the plans. Local builders Hand and Ware were the contractors.
635 Columbia Ave.
(Today, The Mainstay Bed & Breakfast)
When Jackson’s Clubhouse was being built, local newspapers praised its fine architecture; the Ocean Wave wrote it was “unlike mansions of the shoddy order.”
1973
It is classic Italianate architecture with pilastered cupola and tall, stately, wrap-around bracketed porches supported by a variety of columns. It is reminiscent of antebellum design, which is credited with attracting southern gentlemen who favored Cape May as a summer resort. The Clubhouse, as it was called, operated for about 20 years as “a pleasure palace where gentlemen gathered in an elegant setting for gambling and other pleasures.” Remarkably, at 146 years old, the building is well-preserved, and still features many of the original furnishings. It has been the popular, award-winning Mainstay Inn bed and breakfast since 1977, when Tom and Sue Carroll purchased the building and began an extensive restoration project. They pioneered the B&B movement not only in Cape May, but around the nation. The Carrolls operated the Mainstay until 2004; It is now owned by Pete and Esther Scalone. HABS drawing by Daniel McCoubrey, September, 1973
Photo by Christine Peck
John McConnell House
John McConnell House After the Great Fire of 1878, John McConnell and his brother, Alexander, owned lots on the east side of Jackson Street. Records show Alexander McConnell owned the Ebbitt House, circa 1879, now the Virginia Hotel at 25 Jackson St.
15 Jackson St.
(Today, a private residence)
Legend claims the McConnell House is haunted by several ghosts including Miss Helen Park, a school teacher who lived there for many years, until 1981. She is remembered for wearing white linen suits and using a push mower to cut her grass.
1974
John McConnell built this large Queen Anne style house in 1883 for his family. It is architecturally significant for its varied surface textures, half-timber overlays and asymmetry, most notably the large wrap-around porch on one side of the house and an off-center porch on the second story. The house has been carefully restored, its once white paint replaced with soft greens that highlight its unique architectural features. The McConnell House was built at the site of the old Knickerbocker Hotel which burned in the 1878 fire. The house is located next door to another architectural gem, the John Hildreth House. On the other side was the turreted 1892 Baltimore Inn, which was razed in 1962 during urban renewal.   HABS drawing by Hugh J. McCauley, October, 1974 Photo by Joe Evangelista
John B. McCreary House
John B. McCreary House The John B. McCreary House was built in 1869 for State Senator John B. McCreary, a Pennsylvania coal baron. It is a Gothic Revival villa with elaborate trim, designed by famous Philadelphia architect Stephen Decatur Button. The entrance tower is four stories, 60-feet high, with etched ruby glass windows and ornamental railing.
34 Gurney St.
(Today, The Abbey)
A newspaper reported in 1870 that the grandest house opening for the season was the John B. McCreary “marine residence,� built at a cost of $20,000.
1973
The house features lancet-arched windows, square casements, polygonal bay window, rectangular windows, Tudor-arched entrances, elaborate bargeboards, patterned shingles and siding on gable ends. The invention of the jigsaw allowed the mass production of fancy wooden details, creating a popular demand for this type of Carpenter Gothic. Originally the McCreary House was painted various colors to accentuate its building material textures. After the turn of the century, the colorful Cape May Victorians were painted all white, including the McCreary House. It became a boarding house and, in 1945, the Christian Science Reading Room. Restored by chemists Marianne and Jay Schatz, it opened in 1980 as the luxury Abbey Bed & Breakfast, once again painted multiple colors of greens, cream and red. The Abbey was sold after 26 years as a B&B, and is now a whole house vacation rental, newly-painted, with updated amenities. HABS Drawing by Dan B. Goodenow, September, 1973
Photo courtesy Cape May Magazine
Joseph R. Evans Cottage
Joseph R. Evans Cottage The Joseph R. Evans Cottage is similar on the exterior to the Edward C. Knight Cottage located next door, but the interiors are very different. Both are attributed to architect Stephen Decatur Button and both were built in 1882. Button’s American Bracketed Villa style remained popular with wealthy businessmen building homes in Cape May after the Great Fire of 1878 and helped give Cape May its broad Victorian feel today. The style had fallen out of favor in other seaside resorts.
207 Congress Place
(Today, a private residence)
The Evans Cottage is one of the few grand Victorians in Cape May to remain a single family home. For most of its history, it has been owned by just two families: the McMullens in 1880s and the Lessers in 1942. William McMullen was owner of the Fun House, a large amusement park at Sewell’s Point.
1977
The Evans Cottage’s two-story front verandas, each with five decorative wooden arches and balustrades, overlook the ocean. The rear porch has views of a private garden. The hip roof, large brackets supporting the eaves and two-story side bay windows are typical of American Bracketed Villa designs. The interior rooms off a wide center hall are spacious for entertaining with tall shuttered French doors for views and ventilation. Mr. Evans’ name is burned into some of the original furniture remaining in the house. In the late 1990s, Congress Hall had plans to expand and build a convention structure in the area in front of the Evans and Knight cottages. A small group went to court to fight the proposal on historic preservation grounds, and won, keeping the ocean view open for these architecturally significant Victorian homes. HABS drawing by Thomas Ewing, August, 1977
Photo by Christine Peck
Joseph Hall Cottage
Joseph Hall Cottage This Carpenter Gothic house was built for Joseph Hall, a contractor and builder of West Cape May. Records show that in 1868 Elizabeth Hall paid Eveline Hughes $1,200 for the lot. The name J. Hall remains in a decorative wood cutout on the front door.
The house was one of the first to be repainted in multiple Victorian colors during the city’s preservation renaissance in the 1970s-80s.
HABS drawing by Hugh J. McCauley, September, 1977
(Today, a private residence)
The cottage was interpreted on canvas by famous painter Thomas Kinkade who said, “When I visited charming Cape May, I felt as if I’d stepped into one of my own romantic paintings.”
The elaborate scroll saw work is unique. The architectural rinceaux, [French for branch with foliage] is prolific, with wavy stem-like motifs on the front porch and second floor dormers. There are cut-out, stylized leaves over the windows and twining leaves repeat on the central gable, which is topped by an acroterian, a decorative peak which in Greek means “summit.” The porch pillars are unusual for their complexity, in-filled with intricate cipher patterns and foliate spandrel ornamentation.
Joseph Hall Cottage has been carefully restored in recent years and is beautifully preserved at almost 150 years old.
645 Hughes St.
Photo by Joe Evangelista
1974
Joseph Lewis House
Joseph Lewis House The oceanfront Joseph Lewis House is described as a fine example of Cape May’s less pretentious beach residences. It was built in 1870, architect unknown, and expanded in 1905. Porches were added with Doric columns and balustrades. Its style is Eclectic, with gabled roof, dormers and over-hanging eaves.
819 Beach Ave.
(Today: The Baronet)
1976
The 1905 renovations included raising the entire house and adding a stone foundation for elevation.
Called The Baronet, the two and a half story house served as the headquarters for the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) teams of the 1970s. The architects set up studios on the first floor of the Victorian mansion. Drafting tables made from doors on sawhorses and a darkroom occupied the parlor. Drawings, photographs and research papers filled the dining room. The living room was an office/library with one telephone. Sleeping quarters were upstairs. Most dining was done on the front porch. The HABS project was to document every fraction of an inch of the architecturally significant buildings in Cape May. It is here at The Baronet where the architects, using pen and ink, drafted the measured drawings of this exhibit. The drawings were instrumental in Cape May becoming a National Historic Landmark city in 1976. The Baronet was subsequently renovated, updated, and converted into condominiums. HABS drawing Hugh J. McCauley, July, 1976
Photo by Joe Evangelista
Macomber Hotel
72 Beach Ave.
(In operation since 1919-1920)
The Macomber Hotel The Macomber Hotel is distinguished for being the last of the Historic Landmark structures to be erected in Cape May. It is circa 1918, built after a long history of dozens of hotels constructed in this seaside resort beginning in early 1800s. No new hotels were built after the Macomber until a modern building era that followed the 1962 nor’easter. The Macomber is located on a corner of the site of the once-mammoth Stockton Hotel that was demolished in 1911. Land for the Macomber was purchased in 1918 by Sara Davis. The hotel was built shortly thereafter. There is no record of the architect or builder. It is a good example of Shingle-style, which first appeared in the 1880s and became popular in New England and at beach communities on both coasts. The unpainted exterior wooden shingles and unadorned plain style, developed from Queen Anne architecture, marries well with sea, sky and sand. The Macomber today retains its original unpainted shingle appearance, and is operated as a hotel and restaurant by the local Hardin family. HABS drawing by Hugh J. McCauley, September, 1974
The Shingle style, casual appearance was in vogue in the more relaxed 1920s when the dress-up days of Victorian and Edwardian seashore life had become history.
Photo by Joe Evangelista
Neafie-Levy House
28-30 Congress Place (Today, the Skinner House)
Neafie-Levy House
The property is the last intact Victorian family estate in Cape May including stables, vintage fencing and gardens.
The Neafie-Levy House was built over the winter of 1865, the year the Civil War ended. Jacob G. Neafie and John P. Levy were Philadelphia shipbuilders who prospered during the war. The house is described as a textbook example of the style of Cape May cottages built by wealthy Philadelphians in the years after the Civil War. The sharp lines of the faรงade are softened by twin two-story porches. The spandrel brackets differ from floor to floor. The porch railings are ship railings. Pendant fringe along the cornice and on the cupola create a delicate web of light and shadow. Tall walk-out windows provide for ventilation, as does the cupola which acts as a vent when the windows are open, pulling ocean air upwards. The property has been in the Skinner family for five generations. It was the property of Jacob Snare, a Philadelphia lawyer and uncle of George W.T. Skinner, who purchased the twin houses from the Snare estate in the 1930s. There also are twin stables at the rear of the property which have been made into apartments. HABS drawing by Dan Goodenow, September, 1977
Photo courtesy of Cape May Magazine
NJ Trust & Safe Deposit Co.
New Jersey Trust & Safe Deposit Co. The New Jersey Trust & Safe Deposit Company was built in 1895. Its architecture is Renaissance Revival, taking cues from 16th and 17th century Italian palaces. The design, formal and symmetrical with limited ornamentation, lent itself to commercial buildings. As seen in this brick building, plain facades often were broken by multiple large windows with minimal trim that was repeated in cornices.
520 Washington St.
(Today, Winterwood Gift Shop)
The massive vault, window grills and iron gates were removed when the building served for a time as Cape May City Hall.
Thomas Stevens of Camden, New Jersey, was the architect. The main entrance was angled to respond to pedestrian and vehicular traffic at Washington and Ocean Streets. The arched entrance features an elaborate limestone archivolt – a medieval design element created by bands of moldings surrounding an arched entry. Originally the building was one large banking room with a sizable vault, offices and a balcony. For years, it has been a gift and collectibles shop, most recently the Winterwood Gift & Christmas Shoppe. HABS drawing by H. Reed Longnecker, November, 1973
1973 Photo by Christine Peck
St. John’s Church
St. John’s Church The Episcopal Church of the Advent/St. John’s Chapel was built in 1867. It is Carpenter Gothic style with classic elements of that style: board and batten siding, steep hip roofs, lancet windows in stained glass, chimney pot and bargeboard.
Washington & Franklin Streets
(Today, Episcopal Church of the Advent)
Now delicate greens with creamy white trim, the church was originally painted chocolate brown! The church celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2017.
It was designed by Philadelphia architect Henry Sims and built by Richard Soder as St. John’s summer chapel. Sims designed a Greek cross plan, “remarkable for delicate interior trusses…and light and airy for a small church.” In 1950, St. John’s merged with the Episcopal Church of the Advent, which had been formed in 1899 to serve the needs of local Episcopalians during the three seasons of the year other than summer. The new congregation took the name Episcopal Church of the Advent/St. John’s Chapel. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. HABS drawing by Gardener Cadwalader, August, 1974
Photo by Joe Evangelista
1974
Stockton Cottage
26 Gurney St.
(Today, a private residence) 1973
Stockton Cottage This is one of eight identical Carpenter Gothic cottages that were built in 1870-71 on Gurney Street, across from the massive 475-room Stockton Hotel. The hotel and the cottages were designed by architect Stephen Decatur Button. The frame of the cottages and interiors are quite simple and utilitarian. It is the abundance of wood ornamentation that makes this row of cottages special. Each has wood cutout gingerbread on gables, porches and windows that are individually unique. The Stockton Hotel and Stockton Row Cottages were developed with Pennsylvania/West Jersey Railroad money under the direction of wealthy Philadelphia attorney John C. Bullitt. The cottages were part of Bullitt’s expansion of Cape May to the east of downtown. The railroad offered free transportation to and from Cape May for three years with the purchase of a cottage. The cottages were strictly summer retreats offering no heat. The cottages followed the same 25-foot setback from the street as Button’s architectural jewel, the John McGreary House, in the same block of Gurney at Columbia Avenue. The cottages survived the Great Fire of 1878, as did the 1869 Stockton Hotel which was torn down in 1911. Today the well-preserved cottages, private residences and B&B inns, create a unique streetscape of colorful Victoriana. Each is topped with a giant wooden petal-shaped acroterion – Greek for rooftop ornamentation. HABS drawing by Perry Benson, September, 1973
Architect Stephen Decatur Button designed more than 30 building in Cape May. His Victorian sensibilities are a large part of the historic feel we enjoy today. Photo by Christine Peck
William Weightman Cottage
William Weightman Cottage William Weightman, known as the Quinine King, was among the first of the wealthy Philadelphians to build a summer home in Cape May. He became one of the richest men in America during the Civil War for perfecting the mass production of quinine, used in vast quantities to combat malaria in both Confederate and Union armies.
5 Trenton Ave.
(Today, Angel of the Sea B&B)
The measured drawing of Weightman Cottage was rendered by his great-great grandson, architect Perry Benson.
1977
Constructed in the late 1850s, Weightman Cottage was a huge, Second Empire structure with some Queen Anne detail. In the 1880s, it was split in two, and angled to provide better ocean views at its site at Ocean Street and Beach Avenue. Local builders Ware and Eldredge are credited with adding towers, long verandas, lacy railings, pillars and bric-a-brac befitting the fancy Victorian style sweeping Cape May. The Weightman family summered at the property into the 1920s. The 1962 Ash Wednesday nor’easter severely damaged the buildings, which had been in use as the Sea View Hotel and Restaurant. Radio preacher Carl McIntire purchased the structures for dormitories for his Shelton College, moving them by flatbed truck to their current location in 1967. The buildings became vacant and vandalized after the college closed in the mid-1980s. Developer John Girton and his wife, Barbara, were intrigued with the architecture, purchased the property and renovated and redesigned the buildings, opening in 1989 as a luxurious, award-winning bed and breakfast -- Angel of the Sea. The B&B continues in operation, under different ownership, and will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2019. HABS drawing by Perry Benson, October,1977
Photo by Joe Evangelista
THANKS
We would like to thank the following for their contributions to the exhibit:
Karen Fox • Curator Jean Barraclough • Exhibit Designer Perry Benson
For providing a wealth of old photos of the architects at work and the tools of the trade shown in this exhibit Mary Stewart For coordinating the present-day photography
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Evangelista Photography Christine Peck Fine Art Photography Cape May Magazine MAC STAFF Dave Adams, John Adams, Susan Krysiak, Eliza Lotozo, Emily McLaughlin, Melissa Payne, Paul Smargiassi, Mary Stewart and Michael Zuckerman SOURCES: Capemay.com and Cape May Magazine • Bernard G. Haas, Publisher “Cape May- Queen of Seaside Resorts” by George E. Thomas and Carl Doebley Cape May Star and Wave archives • Cape May County Library • Cape May County Clerk’s Office Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) archives, Library of Congress “The Cape May Handbook” by Carolyn Pitts, Michael Fish, Hugh J. McCauley AIA and Trina Vaux “The First Resort” by Ben Miller “Historic Cape May, New Jersey - The Summer City by the Sea” by Emil R. Salvini “Tommy’s Folly” by Jack Wright Special thanks to the Cape May County Culture & Heritage Commission for the loan of a display case New Jersey Historical Commission in the Department of State