Cape May: The Town
Cape May's brightly colored houses were built by nouveau riche Victorians with a healthy disrespect for subtlety. Cluttered with cupolas, gazebos, balconies and "widow's walks," the houses follow no architectural rules except excess. They were known as "patternbook homes," with designs and features chosen from catalogs and thrown together in accordance with the owner's taste. The Victorian obsession with the Orient is everywhere: Moorish arches and onion domes sit comfortably next to gingerbread- and Queen Anne-style turrets.The only old home open as a museum, the eighteen-room Emlen Physick House , 1048 Washington St (daily 10am-4pm; $8; tel 609/884-5404), was built by the popular Philadelphia architect Frank Furness. It has been restored to its 1879 glory, with whimsical "upside down" chimneys, a mock Tudor half-timbered facade, and much original furniture. Various B&Bs and hotels, given enough notice, also conduct informal tours of their premises: the Mainstay Inn , 635 Columbia Ave, was once an elaborate Italianate 1872 gambling club (main floor open for self-guided tours daily 11am-2pm; tel 609/884-8690), and the Abbey , Columbia Avenue and Gurney Street, is a Gothic mansion with a 60ft tower and blood-red etched windows (tours Tues, Thurs & Sat 4pm; $8; tel 609/884-4506).
West of town, where the Delaware Bay and the ocean meet, the 1859 Cape May Lighthouse , visible from 25 miles at sea, offers great views from a gallery below the lantern (199 steps up) and a small exhibit on its history at ground level (summer 9am-8pm, call for winter hours; $4; tel 609/884-8656). Three miles north of town on US-9, Historic Cold Spring Village , 735 Seashore Rd (June-Sept Tues-Sun 10am-4.30pm; $7; tel 609/898-2300), depicts a typical nineteenth-century south Jersey farming community. Restored buildings from the region house a jail, school, inn and shops, and there are various craft shows and special events.
Cape May's excellent beaches literally sparkle with quartz pebbles. Beach tags ($4 per day, $8 per week) must be worn from 10am until 6pm in the summer, and are available at the beach and from B&Bs, official vendors or from City Hall , 643 Washington St (tel 609/884-9525).
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