What is Cape May about?
” I answered without hesitation. “Victorian architecture. Victorian life.” Its about taking a hundred- or even two hundred- year-old building and saving it from the wrecking crew. Cape May is about a community preserving the remnants of a life gone by so it will not be forgotten. But what exactly is Victorian architecture? What exactly are we looking at when we see one of those stately houses? A publication recently issued by the citys Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) answers these questions in precise detail. Cape Mays architectural heritage rose like the Phoenix from the ashes of a great fire on November 9, 1878 which destroyed 35 acres of the existing town. Seven hotels were lost including the original Congress Hall. More than 30 “cottages” and boarding houses were destroyed. As a result of reconstruction in the last quarter of the 19th century, Cape May became a virtual museum of Victorian architecture. In 1976, the entire city of Cape May was declared a National Historic Lan
