Doo Wop Preservation League Designates
WILW (94.3) the voice of Doo Wop Worldwide 

Rick Rock (right) accepts release announcing WILW designation
as "The Official Voice of Doo Wop" from league president Dan MacElrevey (left)

 

On Friday, April 4, 2008 the Doo Wop Preservation League presented a framed press release to Rick Rock of WILW (94.3) announcing the station’s designation as the “Official Voice of Doo Wop in the Wildwoods By-the-Sea, NJ.” Rick is one of southern New Jersey’s favorite radio celebrities and Programming Director at WILW. The designation was made at the Doo Wop organization’s recent board of directors meeting. 

As stated in the resolution approved unanimously by the organization’s board and League members attending the meeting, WILW has taken information about the resort and its mid-century family based “fun lifestyle” worldwide through both their daily broadcasts and their very popular on-line Website. 

“We receive Email from throughout the United States and, in fact, from all over the world on the Doo Wop Preservation League Website (www.doowopusa.org),” said Mike D’Angelo of Vernal Media, the League’s Webmaster, site designer and Internet host.

“Listeners and fans of the Wildwoods By-the-Sea and the resort’s Doo Wop architecture and lifestyle write us almost daily about the station format, the music, and activities in the resort that are publicized by WILW,” Mike noted. 

At the recent meeting, board members were pleased to hear that WILW will be broadcasting from the Doo Wop Experience during both special events at the Greater Wildwoods Convention Center and in Fox Park. These broadcasts bring provide additional support for both the Doo Wop theme and the expanding Wildwoods By-the-Sea tourism industry. WILW executives and radio personalities Bill Huf and Rick Rock have also shown their strong support of the Doo Wop theme by serving as League board members. All board members agreed the station and the Doo Wop Preservation League are inherently linked and the designation is past due. 

“WILW is always ready to support all the activities in the resort including the Doo Wop programs, the weekends, the growing Experience exhibits, and the weekly Doo Wop bus tours that become more popular each season,”said League president Dan MacElrevey when the resolution was announced. “The League receives great press, TV and radio coverage from throughout the United States and Canada,” Dan noted, “thanks to the support we receive from our local station.” 

As the station’s personalities say all through the day, WILW broadcasts “Doo Wop, Soul, and good time Rock and Roll from the Wildwoods By-the-Sea, the Doo Wop Capital of the World.” 

Now, by unanimous vote, WILW is the official voice of the resort’s Doo Wop theme and the Doo Wop Preservation League. 

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November 27, 2007   

 

Doo Wop Guidebook receives honor award from Philadelphia AIA

Doo Wop Preservation League Board members Anthony J. Bracali, AIA, Michael L. Hirsch, MCP, Richard A. Stokes AIA, and publisher Jack Wright received an Honor Award in Philadelphia, PA last Thursday, November 15, 2007 for the publication “How to Doo Wop: Wildwoods-by-the-Sea Handbook of Design Guidelines”. 

The AIA (American Institute of Architects) Philadelphia 2007 Awards for Design Excellence were held at Loews Philadelphia Hotel. The award was given for Urban Planning / Community Design. Over 200 projects were submitted for consideration by AIA Philadelphia’s member firms. Shalom Baranes, FAIA who announced the award said he commended use of “the sense of humor and the Doo Wop ‘schtick’” in creation of the Guidelines. 

The Doo Wop Handbook was created in 2003 and published by Exit Zero Publishing in 2004 with funding from one of the Wildwoods’ strongest supporters, The Byrne Fund for the Wildwoods, Inc. The City of Wildwood By-the-Sea has adopted the Guidebook in its development ordinances to enhance the community much as Miami Beach has adopted Art Deco design as a theme for that community. The other municipalities in the resort are planning to follow Wildwood’s lead. 

The handbook’s “Doo Be Do” influence can be seen throughout the resort including the new Acme market, the Commerce Bank’s groovy sign, the Wawa design that even makes purchasing gas fun, and the retro cool Marvis Diner. Other Doo Wop buildings include the interior of McDonalds, the Harley Davidson building, the Subway sign, the Shalimar and Starlux motels, and many of the other enhanced motels, clubs and retail stores spreading throughout the Wildwoods By-the-Sea. 

This award winning Handbook can be purchased on the Doo Wop Preservation League’s on-line store: www.doowopusa.org/shop/. Several thousand copies of the Handbook have been distributed throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe as the Wildwoods’ culture is recognized on an international level. The Handbook has been a major contributor to that recognition and development.

Anthony Bracali, AIA, is a Principal at Friday Architects/Planners, Inc. in Philadelphia. Michael L. Hirsch, MCP is a Design Architect/Urban Planner at Arquitectonica International Corporation in New York City. Richard A. Stokes AIA is owner and principal architect of Stokes Architecture in Philadelphia. Jack Wright is the owner of Exit Zero Publishing of Cape May. 

The Doo Wop Preservation League is quite proud that this team of dedicated professionals is being recognized for their very significant contribution to the design renaissance taking root in the Wildwoods By-the-Sea. They spent literally hundreds of hours creating a publication that fulfills the League’s commitment to excellence for a future resort built on the best of its past. Their Handbook is unique, authoritative and fun to read. 

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October 28 , 2006

Lollipop Condotel Receives 2006 Doo Wop Award 
The Lollipop Condotel, 2301 Atlantic Avenue in North Wildwood, NJ, received the third annual Fabulous Fifties Award as the Doo Wop property of the year at the North Wildwood Street Fair on Sunday October 26, 2006. The award is presented each year to a motel that renovates, expands or upgrades a Wildwoods property and property services while maintaining its nationally famous Doo Wop design. The Lollipop Condotel was converted from a classic motel to its present condominium owned motel operation by Craig and Scott Nurrick, strong supporters of the Wildwoods and the Doo Wop movement. Management transitioned from the developer to the Lollipop Condominium Association while continuing a long-standing tradition of quality services to vacationers in the Wildwoods By-the-Sea. 

Paul Russo, organizer of the Sunday event, presented the award to the Lollipop Motel together with Dan MacElrevey, president of the Doo Wop Preservation League. Patricia Reilley, secretary of the Lollipop Condominium Association, received the award on behalf of the Board of Directors and all Lollipop owners. She was joined by Cheryl Eyler, manager of the Lollipop since it reopened after an extensive renovation that included new furnishings and building upgrades. Cheryl told the Doo Wop League after the presentation that the specially designed plaque featuring the motel’s famous multi-color sign and doors will be displayed proudly in the motel office. 

This has been a big year for the Lollipop. The building was a featured property when the National Historic Trust selected the famous Wildwoods By-the-Sea Doo Wop motels as one of the “Eleven Most Endangered Historic Sites” in the United States in 2006. This prestigious award recognized the historic value of these buildings when they were grouped with some of the most famous historic sites in America. The Lollipop was featured in several local and national magazines, the NBC-10 special titled Wildwood By-the-Sea, and in national and international newspapers including the Sydney, Australia Morning Courier. Manager Eyler notes that all this great Doo Wop publicity increased motel occupancy significantly as the motel was full or nearly full all through the summer. Cheryl said,” People call from the west coast and Florida to inquire about vacancies after seeing the documentaries and the publications.” 

The property is managed by Ocean Property Management Corporation, a Wildwoods based New Jersey management company that specializes in the management of motels, condotels and condominiums. The condotel type lodging property is very common in Florida and the southern states and, in the past decade, condotels have also become a preferred form of lodging property ownership throughout southern New Jersey. The condotel is often the most profitable form of operation for classic Doo Wop style motels, rather than being converted to residential units for rental in a limited and shrinking weekly rental market. The higher profitability provides an incentive for owners to preserve these motels. For this reason, the Doo Wop Preservation League supports condotel development as an important tool for maintaining and operating these classic and much loved properties. The Lollipop is an outstanding example of how this development and operation can work for owners and the Wildwoods By-the-Sea. 

The Lollipop sign and the multi-colored doors are probably the motel’s best-known features. They have been enjoyed by generations of visitors to the resort. The sign appears in magazines and newspapers almost monthly. “That wonderful sign is an excellent example of the “fun” designs that make the Wildwoods unique,” said Dan MacElrevey while discussing the Lollipop with Paul Russo who also serves as a Doo Wop Preservation League board member. 

“The Lollipop board appreciates this award and the community’s recognition of our efforts,” said Lollipop Condominium Association secretary, Pat Reilly. We will work hard to maintain the Lollipop as a favorite Doo Wop style family motel in the Wildwoods By-the-Sea.” 

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