John Philip Sousa and the Marine Corps Band, Cape May, ca. 1882.
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
Despite an increasingly quieter existence, there were a few bright spots for Cape May in the last two decades of the 19th century. A pier with an outdoor dance pavilion was added, and in 1882, John Philip Sousa, regular visitor to the resort, composed the “Congress Hall March” with the U.S. Marine Band, which he conducted on the hotel’s lawn that summer. Another important guest was the sitting president in 1891. Following in the footsteps of Franklin Pierce and Ulysses S. Grant, President Benjamin Harrison arrived in Cape May in 1891 while electricity was being added to the White House in Washington, D.C. While previous presidential visits had been brief vacations, or in the case of Grant, a stop before moving on to other coastal resorts, Harrison established Congress Hall as his Summer White House. Done in the interest of his wife’s health, Harrison’s visit ensured that Cape May was not completely forgotten in the public consciousness. Yet, the increasingly conservative politics of the city leaders in 1890s negated any publicity that had been gained. By 1900, gambling had been outlawed and city was now dry, causing many vacationers to seek out other, more exciting resorts.
Congress Hall and Cape May: New Jersey's First Resort 