By Dennis Pierce

When it comes to the charm of older buildings versus new construction, people overwhelmingly prefer the older Wildwoods residential buildings. That is the consensus according to a survey put together by Preserving the WIldwoods in partnership with QuestionPro software.

The architectural survey contained 10 randomized questions each with two images. One image was of new residential construction built in the last 20 years. The other image was of residences built before the 1920s. Over 200 people completed the survey and the results showed that people preferred older buildings by a large majority: 88% to 12%.

The goal in creating this survey was to gather data on the type of building styles preferred by visitors, residents, and fans of the Wildwoods. We hear anecdotally that people are sad from the destruction of buildings on the island and are unhappy with the explosion of cookie-cutter new construction. Concepts such as charm and character have a subjective element, but the results from this survey provide objective data showing the beauty and uniqueness of older architectural styles are what the majority of people want in the Wildwoods. 

The results of our survey are in line with results found by a National Civic Art Society survey that showed the majority of Americans preferred classical architecture for government and federal buildings. Their survey found that more than 72% of people preferred the traditional architecture which is similar to our result of 88% preferring traditional Wildwoods architecture. Just as Americans prefer their courthouses to have the pleasing forms of classical columns and pediments and not be dreary concrete and glass bunkers, we also prefer the Wildwoods’ homes to evoke a simpler time of porches, greenspace, and more modest accommodations.

It’s clear that there is something special to these old homes that resonates with the public. Older homes provide us with a sense of place. Newer construction tends to fill up an entire lot to maximize square footage, creating a claustrophobic effect on the street. Compare this to the older homes which generally take up less of the lot so they provide some breathing room to pedestrians with trees, grass, and plants. 

Older construction also has quirkier elements such as turrets, unique facades with clapboards, stucco, brick, shingles, and interesting roof lines such as clipped gables, steeper roof angles, and dormers. These elements become part of the local flavor where people remember the “house with the witch’s hat turret” or the “house with the purple diamond shingles”. Newer construction leans more towards a boxy design using neutral colors to maximize a return on investment for developers. The modern style leads to the cookie-cutter mentality where it becomes difficult to tell if you are in Wildwood or Sea Isle City. 

With such a strong preference from the public, our recommendation is for developers, builders, and government officials to take more design guidelines from the past and incorporate them into new construction to maintain the distinctive character of the Wildwoods.

For more details on the survey results, please see the results here: https://www.preservingthewildwoods.com/blog/architecture-survey-results

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