26 Pictures of the Old, Glorious Neon Motel Signs in Wildwood Crest NJ

The only thing better than the iconic 1950s and 60s-era motels in Wildwood Crest are the glorious neon signs at those inns that act as beacons to not only today's vacationers but also to days gone by.

Should you not be familiar with the now-retro motel scene in the Wildwoods, here's an extremely short history that doesn't do it much justice but will at least provide some context to the pictures that are below.

Motels began being built in the Wildwoods in the late 1950s with some arguing that 1958 was a "banner year." While the construction boom would continue into the 70s, it's those 50s and 60s motels, complete with their famous plastic palm trees, that now stand-out as being cool and retro. And not built new to look old -- some of these structures are well over 50 or 60 years old, at least the ones that haven't been demolished in favor of giant condos or high-rises. Many have been saved but some no longer stand.

These 1950s and 1960s motels were built in all shapes and sizes in practically every color and theme imaginable. They're all a bit different but almost all of them have one thing in common: a glorious, big, bright neon sign.

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It's those terrific neon signs on top of all of those retro motels that combine beautifully with the area's branding as the "Doo Wop Capital of the World" to make the Wildwoods a destination and not just another beach town.

In my tour below, I focused specifically on Wildwood Crest as there is a concentration of neon practically everywhere you look.