Official opening of the Garden State Parkway, 1958. Courtesy of Cape Resorts.
Whereas railroads had dominated 19th century Cape May, by the 1920s the automobile became the primary method of travel for visitors to Cape May. In 1926, the Philadelphia and Camden Bridge (now known as the Ben Franklin Bridge) was completed, effectively ending the influence of the railroad in Cape May. Though more people were travelling to Cape May by car, it was not an easy or quick journey. In 1950, the drive from Northern New Jersey to Cape May took six hours as drivers inched their way along routes 3, 4, or 9. By 1946, the New Jersey Department of Transportation oversaw the beginning of construction on the Garden State Parkway. First conceived of in 1909, the parkway would connect Northern metropolitan centers to the shore resorts. The Parkway officially opened in 1957, finally establishing a quicker and more straightforward route to New Jersey’s coast.
Brochure for Garden State Parkway, ca. 1950s. Courtesy of Cape Resorts.
Attempting to capitalize on the car culture of the 1950s and the opening of the Parkway, Congress Hall debuted an advertising campaign centered on Cape May’s location as the last exit on the highway. In spite of these efforts, vacationers were not inclined to drive the length of Parkway to visit a city virtually stuck in time. Rather, the glamour of Atlantic City and Wildwood, with their cabaret lounges and boardwalks, were more enticing to visitors. On its completion, Cape May was virtually unaffected by the opening of the Garden State Parkway, but decades later, it would finally capitalize on its position at the end of the highway. Today, bumper stickers, t-shirts, and a magazine all prominently feature the “Exit Zero” sign.
Congress Hall and Cape May: New Jersey's First Resort 