Another Iconic North Wildwood Motel Sells

There have been countless articles written in the past few weeks talking about the increase of Doo-Wop motels that are being put up for sale in the Wildwoods.

The Wildwoods are known as the Doo-Wop Capital of the world due to their large collection of Mid-Century motels and their significance in the 1950s and 1960s pop culture.

Great architects and builders such as Lou & Will Morey, Harry Lanza, and the Buckingham brothers took inspiration from the jet age and built some of the iconic motels such as the Caribbean, the Satellite, the Rio, and the Casa Bahama.

These motels helped shaped who the Wildwoods are.

In recent years we have seen a major decline in these motels since most of the owners have been running these businesses since they first opened and are looking to retire.

Real estate developers, for example, see the potential for redevelopment of the sites into more modern, upscale accommodations that can better meet the needs of today’s travelers.

In 2005, we saw the condo exposition which saw 50+ motels torn down to make way for condos.

In 2018 we saw a new trend, a Condo-tel. This is an adaptive-reuse approach that keeps the building intact but the motel rooms are remodeled and sold off as units.

As the Wildwoods are known for their motels, the adaptive-reuse architecture is the preferred method as it keeps the Doo-Wop atmosphere alive.

For the past few weeks, rumors were circulating that one of these Doo-Wop motels, the Panoramic Motel & Apartments, was going to sell and become condos.

Located at 2101 Surf Avenue in North Wildwood, the Panoramic Motel & Apartments was built by the Buckingham Brothers in 1964 and its theme hadn’t really hasn’t been changed since it was built. It stands as one of the best examples of a Doo-Wop motel.

Also See: Massive Construction on Morey’s Adventure Pier

In a post on Facebook, the owners announced that the motel has sold.

Their message went on to say, “We are pleased to announce the sale of the Panoramic Motel! Thank you to all of our loyal customers who we have gotten to know over the past 36 years – we have formed many friendships and a lot of you have become like family. We will miss you!”

The Panoramic Motel & Apartments Owners were also the owners of Ivanhoe Motel & Apartments just next door.

The Wildwood Video Archive broke the news that the Ivanhoe had sold back on December 9th. It is unclear if the new owners had purchased both or if they were sold to separate LLCs.

The good news is that, according to the old owners, the new owners will be keeping the Panoramic Motel & Apartments running as a motel and will be accepting new reservations shortly for summer 2023.

No word yet on the Ivanhoe.

We want to wish the new owners of the Panoramic the best of luck with the motel and also a happy retirement to the previous Panoramic owners.

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