The Sea Gull Motel (with the Midway Apartments)

(A image of The Sea Gull Motel as it looks presently. This was added to our Facebook page by Virginia Nichols):



What began as the Sea Gull Lodge in the 1950's was one of the earlier Mid-Century Modern motels built on the island. Like some other motels in Wildwood, it grew over time into the larger form that it is best known for today. Though the Sea Gull's main components have stayed consistent for some time now, in its earlier years occasional growth was the constant.

(The Sea Gull in its original form as the Sea Gull Lodge, courtesy of the Doo Wop Preservation League - http://doowopusa.org/):



The Sea Gull started out as a two-floor structure, its entirity stretching from west to east, with all of its 24 units facing out southerly. Both the original form and full name of the Sea Gull would not make it to the next decade as the business was rechristened The Sea Gull Motel and expanded to add a six rooms at the east end of the building. This addition did not elongate the original building, but juts out at a right angle. Its units (3 on each level) face west, and the new wing also included a "TV Room" common area plus a sundeck surrounding it.

(The Sea Gull Motel's 1961 GWHM Accommodations Directory listing):



A detached lobby also came to the motel at the southwestern corner of the ground, and serves this purpose to the present time. The lobby building sits in the area where the original roadside sign once was and, until the motel added even more units, a newer Sea Gull Motel roadside sign replaced it which sat between the motel and the lobby, placed up against the lobby's extended, flat roof. The lobby's roof wasn't initially flat, but was instead "V" shaped, echoing the look of a sea gull's wings. The sign served as a divider of sorts to the driveway along its Atlantic Avenue entrance.

Back in the period when the Sea Gull's original structure was first built, and for years after, the Sea Gull did not have a pool. It was not totally uncommon for the motels built on the island during the earliest part of the Sea Gull's history to not have a pool, at least initially. This was possibly due travelers tastes of the time which still may have been used to older style hotels that did not have pools. However, general expectations for hotel/motel amenities from visitors was beginning to change around this time to where pools were expected at a beach motel. Some places like the Monaco and the (now demolished) Ebb Tide never added a pool, while others such as the Skylark and the Aztec added a pool later on. The Sea Gull was one of these, but didn't add their pool until 1968. With the passage of the last 40+ years though, it's hard to fathom the motel now without a pool.

(The Sea Gull in the late 1960's after the addition of its pool, from the motel's main site - http://www.seagull-motel.com/):



The largest and most dramatic expansion/changes to the Sea Gull came in 1971 with the addition of a third floor to the entire original building that added 12 units. A new wing was also added across the western end of the property bordering Atlantic Avenue that brought 8 new units. Four of these are placed on each of the second and third levels, and are built over the lobby and driveway. To not take away any units at that end from the original building, a gap was left between the two buildings here, with a balcony extension acting as a bridge between the two buildings - similar to what was done when the motel expanded to the east. These newer west side rooms have the additional feature of two balconies - the common one overlooking the pool used to enter/exit the units (leading to the rooms living room/kitchen areas), and a private balcony by these units' bedrooms, with a view of Atlantic Avenue. A new zig-zag up/down roofline sits above these added rooms, and has become one of the motel's defining stylistic features. Interestingly, the roof only overhangs a bit beyond the dividers between the units added above the original building, while the units in southwest wing have no dividers and not much in the way of a roof overhang over the units. Short, but sharply angled overhangs finish off the roofline. Two new facias, made of tan brick and white stucco, sit below the overhangs, with each containing new signage. These replaced the roadside sign that - due to its location - the western expansion necessitated removal of. The new signs consist of raised pieces with "Sea Gull" in blue and two gulls in black. Illumination behind them lights the name in red while the gulls glow white, to nice effect. The wall facing Atlantic Avenue has "Sea" above "Gull" with the birds hovering above to the side, while the sign towards Cresse Avenue has "Sea Gull" side by side between the birds. More of the brick surrounds the breezeway side of the west wing, and fills in the area between the private balconies.

(The Sea Gull's listing in the 1975 GWHM Accommodations Directory, courtesy Claudia Metcalfe - http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m193/claudiam1962/Wildwood%20Directory/Motels%20S-T-U-V/SeaGull.jpg):



The pool area is situated towards the east end of the grounds, near the sundeck. The main part of the pool is rectangular, with a divided portion for small children extending out to one side at the shallow end, and an 8 foot deep end. Dark blue tile borders the pools interior, and also accent the steps into it. A mixture of upright and lounge chairs surround the pool area. While they have a hard surface, each of these have cushions. On the deck are more of these chairs, plus some vinyl strap loungers and umbrella covered tables and benches. More vinyl strap chairs are used outside the units - both upright and lounges. The wide balconies allow for the lounge chairs to sit comfortably outside the units without getting in the way of people walking. Room doors are a medium, powdery/soft blue. Trim and other surfaces are white. Room numbers are placed high on each entrance door, with a seagull taking the numbers' place on the private balconies doors. Simple, but neat rounded flush lights mounted to the ceilings above each unit for illumination. Railings vary a bit depending on floor and location, but all are based mostly on a look of narrow vertical bars in a silver finish. The eight private balconies have solid masonry side walls, making them quite private while seated. Tall panes of glass provide good views from within each unit. In the early days of the motel, a divided section was at the very top. Third floor units have their irregular roofline filled in above the windows and doors, but their interior ceilings are angled - the zig-zag roof above is not edge ornamentation. An interesting detail from the original design are the two open squares placed in the dividers between each unit. These got replicated when the eastern expansion was built, but not in the 1971 additions for whatever reason.

(The Midway Apartments' 1975 GWHM Accommodations Directory listing, also courtesy Claudia Metcalfe - http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m193/claudiam1962/Wildwood%20Directory/Motels%20M-N-O/Midway.jpg):


(The Sea Gull's Midway building as it looks today, from the Motel's Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sea-Gull-Motel/109110302486387):



At the corner of Ocean and Cresse Avenues is another structure which was originally called Midway Apartments. The family who has owned the Sea Gull since 1964 has also owned the Midway Apartments for quite some time, and have used it as an annex of sorts to the Sea Gull. For years the two names were kept distinct, but since (I believe) the late-90's the Midway building took on the Sea Gull name on its exterior. The old name lives on in descriptions for the room types there. The change in name outside necessitated a new sign, and a coloful neon rooftop sign now sits on its eastern end, sloping down the sidewall a bit, pointing guests to the office in the main Sea Gull complex. The neon is quite different than the rather plain, flush black lettering that was once used across the front to identify the building. The Midway's basic form has stayed constant over the years, but changes to facia, railings, etc. have given it a somewhat different feel. Completing the Sea Gull complex is a house between these buildings, towards the back of the property.

(The Sea Gull's 1994 GWCOC Lodging, Business & Vacation Guide listing):


(The 1995 GWHM Visitors Guide listing for the Sea Gull):



My thanks to Virginia Nichols for her feedback, information on, and dedication to the Sea Gull.

Comments are welcome in the comments section here or on our Facebook page.

The American Inn (formerly the Lou Booth Motel)

(A image of the American Inn, courtesy of TripAdvisor - http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotos-g46686-d1782806-American_Inn_Motel-North_Wildwood_New_Jersey.html#25831625):



What has been known now for most of its life as the American Inn of North Wildwood began with a different name - the Lou Booth Motel. Lou (Louise) was a local to Wildwood businesswoman who owned "Lou Booth's Chateau Monterey" at 18th and Surf, which was built before her namesake motel. Towards the latter part of its life the Chateau was called Carroll's Club 18. The club has since been demolished, with multifamily development currently sitting in its place.

(A vintage post card with an artist's rendering of Lou Booth's Chateau Monterey, image courtesy of Mark Peyko - http://www.metromonthly.net/):


(A photo of Club 18 in its later years, image courtesy of 'Pentax Travels' - http://www.flickr.com/photos/47730261@N07/4650163586/):



Sometime around 1970, Lou had her namesake motel - the "Lou Booth Motel" - built beachfront between 13th and 14th Avenues in North Wildwood. Like the nearby Matador, it is one of a very few truly beachfront motels in North Wildwood with neither a street nor boardwalk between it and the beach. Around 1974/75 she had a companion motel - the Lou Booth II - built next door, immediately to its south. The "II" version shared quite a bit in common with the original, though her original motel ended up being more attractive to my eye. For a few years the two motels were marketed together, but sometime before 1980 Lou sold the original motel and it became the American Inn. This name has remained to the present time. Lou kept the newer motel for some years, but dropped the "II" from its name after her first motel became the American Inn. This second motel lives on as "Le Boot" condotel.

(A listing for the Lou Booth Motel from my 1973 GWCOC Accommodations Directory - note the image of the motel is reversed, but the rooftop "Lou Booth" sign reads clearly):


(A listing for the Lou Booth Motel and its companion Lou Booth II from the 1975 GWCOC Accommodations Directory, courtesy Claudia Matacalfe - http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m193/claudiam1962/Wildwood%20Directory/Motels%20J-K-L/LouBooth.jpg):



The American Inn is a 3 story motel with a somewhat irregular shape. Most of its units stretch across the main wing of the motel which is situated from north to south, with the rooms facing the beach and ocean. Each end of the main wing has a cantilevered section where the last column of units "float" above the ground, which also frees up some needed space on the ground but utilizes it in the air. A rooftop sign was placed atop the north end of the main wing facing Ocean Avenue, but has been removed.

The rest of the units are in an east-west wing that juts out near (but not quite at) from the main wing's northern end. The east/west wing also contains the office/lobby and three sundecks. The rooftop sundeck expands out from the north end of the 3rd floor balcony, and takes up the whole rooftop area of the east-west wing. Two smaller decks are on the second floor - one overlooking the pool/facing south, and its north facing twin - both at the beach end of the building.

All units utilize common balconies with shallow dividers placed between the units and have floor to ceiling glass. Oceanfront and south-facing/poolside units have red louvered outer doors, while the northern facing rooms have white doors. Original, curved railings in white stretch across both wings, in front of the units and also the decks. Off-white flagcrete is used around the motel base, and clad the short dividers placed between units. Non-'creted areas are painted white. More flagcrete also surrounds posts that are interspersed in the rooftop deck railings, with a light atop each. Originally, the exterior lamps here and also around the pool area had relatively flat circular fixtures. Over time the post lamps surrounding the rooftop deck changed to a lantern style fixture while the poolside lighting remained original. More recently all these fixtures turned to a round globe shape, similar to the lights near the doorway of each unit. While the current lighting looks fine, the original circular lighting was most distinctive of all.

The pool area is located at the southeastern corner of the grounds. It includes a large rectangular pool, with its most shallow end fenced off for small children. A slide was near the pool's midpoint, and a diving board was at the deep end - both removed like many motels on the island nowadays. The pool has a tile border around the top of its interior perimeter. White railings - made up of mainly vertical bars, with a short horizontal section at the top - mostly surround the pool area. At first glance these appear to be fairly new, but these railings seem to date back to at the least the early days of the motel becoming the American Inn, and possibly back to the Lou Booth days. Parking is available at both the north and south ends of the property, and also behind the motel. The lobby is accessible by either by way of a door connecting it to the pool area (with a sign at the motel's southeast corner pointing to the office, and a vintage "OFFICE" sign hung nearby the doorway) and also streetside by 13th Avenue.

The colors of the motel when it was the Lou Booth lent themselves pretty well to conversion to an American themed motel. The red and white look was there from the start (basically as it is currently), and it even had blue chairs outside. A little more blue, and the "American" theme was reinforced. Red, white and blue USA flag style pattern are now used on umbrellas by the pool and decks. In the Lou Booth era, the umbrellas were a warm toned pattern, but turned to light solid blue in the early "American Inn" days.

(A listing for the American Inn from my 1980 GWHM Accommodations Directory):



Both the north and south ends of the motel's main wing have wall mounted, backlit signs - "American" in red, with the 'i' dotted with a star. A red, white and blue shield with the motel's name and three stars sits below. The use of a star dotting the 'i' goes back many years to the early ads placed for the motel after becoming the American Inn. Another backlit sign - this one at the top of the elevator tower centrally located in the main wing - notes the motel's name in red, with a white background and a blue decorative stripe near the top. Relatively new curved awnings (which don't quite work stylistically) border the overhang to the 13th Ave. office entrance, with a longer, similar awning hanging over the planter below the lobby's beach facing windows. These awnings are both mostly red, with the motel's name in dark blue on a white background, and are lit within at night. Vinyl strap chairs are used throughout the exterior - upright outside the units, with lounges on the decks and around the pool area. The chairs have mostly blue straps, with some red and white straps for accent, and white frames. These style chairs are a nice feature both as a good match for a Mid-Century styled motel and also for comfort. The colors chosen for the outdoor seating also compliment the theme.

(A listing for the Matador Motel from the 1975 GWCOC Accommodations Directory, also courtesy Claudia Matacalfe - http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m193/claudiam1962/Wildwood%20Directory/Motels%20M-N-O/Matador.jpg):



The American Inn shares some similarities with the Matador two blocks down. These are not enough where the motels lose distinction between each other, but given their proximity/locations and both being originally built around the same time suggest the same builder and/or architect(s) at the least contributed to both motels. Interestingly, some of the changes made to the Matador over time ended up making its look more like the American Inn than it had been when it had its complete original design. Two changes to the Matador did this: the rooftop deck that has become one of the many great features of the Matador was an original amenity of the Lou Booth, but the Matador's rooftop deck did not come until many years later when its main wing grew a floor higher. That addition to the Matador also brought its proportions/look to be more like the American's - both wings of the Matador were initially at the same height, while the Lou Booth always had its main wing one level higher than its east-west wing, like the Matador became after its expansion. The Matador was initially three floors high all around, and its expansion made both of its respective wings each one floor higher than the American's.


Comments are welcome here or on our Facebook wall:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wildwood-Motels-Yesterday-Today-Forever/238199252907548