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Some things are just a good idea. Take the Crest Beach Pier at the ocean and Heather Road in Wildwood Crest. Since 1917, it was the home of the Wildwood Crest Fishing Club, but was deserted and ramshackle since the beach got so wide about a decade ago that it was basically a pier to nowhere, not even reaching the water.
Now, after a major $670,000 renovation, which included a $400,000 grant from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, the 1,010-foot-long pier has been renamed the Crest Beach Pier and unofficially opened at the end of June. The official opening was July 11.
And it is really cool, even if it doesn’t reach the water. It is a great walk with stunning views of both the sea and shoreline. It’s about 20 feet high with a view you really can’t get anywhere else. As you walk out, the dunes are at eye level to the right and then fall away. Then it’s a bit like walking on air — and it’s not just a long, straight walk. There are decks off to the side every so often and the rails are both attractive and user-friendly. There are two big decks at the end to either gaze down on the sun-worshippers and out to sea or to turn around and get that great picture of the Crest, the white motels and condos marching off to the left and the Convention Center and wooden roller coaster to the right. It’s just so "shorey," you know?
Some mornings on my bike ride, I buy a banana from one of the kids who run the fruit trucks that cruise the island and take a walk on the pier. A few weeks ago, I saw a guy taking measurements of the old fishing clubhouse. He told me it was going to be completely rehabbed and leased as either a snack bar or ice cream parlor. He also said 10 "big lights" were going to be installed along the length of the pier. They’ll be photo-sensitive and go on when it’s dark, which means the pier will be open 24 hours.
The spot is being well-used. There are yoga, aerobics, toning, sculpting and Pilates classes out on the end four mornings a week and are well-attended.
There is community pride in the pier, too. Case in point: One morning in June, my pal Bobalew and I rode our bikes to the end despite the sign at the entrance that says no bikes. There wasn’t anybody else there, so we figured no harm, no foul. As we rode back, though, a family was walking out, and this little boy about 8 years old gave us a dirty look and piped up, "Hey! No bikes allowed!"
His parents gave us an embarrassed look, but I nodded to him and said, "You’re right. Sorry."
Last year, I did a story on the tramcars on the Boardwalk and a big part of that column was about John Giglio — Gigi — the 76-year-old tramcar honcho. Gigi said he got a lot of feedback from South Philly folks, which pleased him to no end.
Well, Gigi got pretty banged up about six weeks ago when he was hitching up an engine and it got stuck in reverse and squashed him against the first car. He was out of action for three weeks, but is back on the job now, chipper and tan as ever. Give him a welcome back when you see him. The trams just weren’t the same without him.
Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller, right) is in need of a hit. Joining him in the quest for box-office gold is Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel, center) and Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson).
