Out of Season: The Vanishing Architecture of the Wildwoods

For many working families in the Philadelphia region, the island of Wildwood, NJ, has been a favorite vacation destination. Midcentury modern hospitality architecture once dominated the area's coastline, but by the late 1990s, the iconic motels had fallen out of fashion. For more than a decade, photographer Havens has captured Wildwood's motels at the end of their summer seasons, desolate and many set for demolition, but with the lights still on. This monograph includes two introductory essays and 200-plus images. Architecture journalist and critic Joseph Giovannini's analytical piece discusses the development and ultimate demise of Wildwood's architecture, while Jamer Hunt (director, MFA transdisciplinary design, Parsons School of Design) reflects on the authenticity of the island's fabricated, exotic lifestyle as seen through Havens's lens. Hunt's thoughts on nostalgia and fantasy will resonate while viewing the photographs. The color images are in chronological order, from dawn to past dusk, serving as reminders of what is no longer.