WEST CAPE MAY — Broadway is the beating heart of West Cape May. Living along this road all but guarantees a certain kind of popularity.
To put it mildly: if you live here, they will come — in droves, to any party one might throw, but especially a party the night of the West Cape May Christmas Parade. One would expend more effort trying to keep them away.
The other 364 nights of the year are a bit calmer. West Cape May is known to be the chill, more relaxed sister of Cape May, mostly because the most demanding summer tourists seem to forget it exists.
Lovely beaches are all around this spot, yet most of the frantic summer traffic is focused farther east.
The borough retains that rarest of all amenities: a neighborhood that is an actual community, one that has resisted the undertow of commercial interests and seasonal mood swings.
After all, it’s no good being at odds with one’s neighbors when they’ll soon be dancing to a sudden outbreak of live music at the Farmers Market, or just as suddenly declared Queen of the Lima Bean Festival. (Although exactly what powers the Queen of Beans holds during her reign, none will say.)
These sweet-natured hoedowns are held just a few blocks away from the spot on Broadway between Third Avenue and the whimsically named Goldbeaten Alley, a location that could be considered the center of town.
As has been stated elsewhere, time changes us all, but that thief has been unusually respectful of the home at 222 Broadway, located right in that center.
Lots of people claim to love vintage charm, but then throw shiplap everywhere and bulldoze most of the genuine article; yet here at 222 Broadway, the home looks much like it did the day it was built for local physician Dr. Eldredge in 1905.
His growing practice was reflected in the location, a prime spot for patients and looky-loos to see how well he was doing. The home even included a separate entrance for his patients to step directly into his office, which is still there, by the way, as each owner since has loved the place enough to preserve the original details.
The current owners have been here since 1999, and they’ve carefully protected and maintained the home as it required, without resorting to flipper tactics to make a shiny, empty space where the home’s heart should be.
They did get down to brass tacks when it came time to pick the new roof, installed last year; the new baseboard heating system, installed in 2018; and the garage they added while surrounding the property with perennial flower beds and specimen trees bounded by a screening hedge.
The corner lot meant the side on Third Avenue offered the perfect chance for a short driveway and a spacious garage decked out to match the home’s color scheme and detailed trim. The backyard is a large green space, shaded by mature trees at midday, leading up to the home’s outdoor shower and entrance to the kitchen, which are shielded from street view. This home has perfected the balance between private spaces and street-level stagecraft.
Once inside, the treasures keep piling up: the gorgeous and well–preserved staircase is a showstopper in the Craftsman style, the gleaming hardwood floors run throughout, the wood trim around every door and window matches in both stain and style, the unusual hearth in the front room still offers a spot to sit and chat, and above all (quite literally above) the original lighting fixtures that pop up in many of the rooms are lovely without being too flashy.
This was, after all, the home of a serious man of science, as the masculine wood trim and deep stain can attest, but it was still softened a bit by the natural shapes and amber light above.
The doctor’s office is now a family room accessible from the front parlor and level with the old-fashioned, family-gathering dining room.
Behind these is the kitchen, which has colorful Corian countertops and a softer wood shade on the cabinets. The floors here are stone-looking tile, and made to last.
The laundry/mudroom separating the kitchen from the back entrance is a cheerful paneled room painted yellow, and features the ground-floor half-bathroom — a truly vintage touch fearlessly preserved, although it’s hidden behind a screen.
Upstairs, three spacious bedrooms perfectly encapsulate what made this era such a high-water mark for housing. These rooms are sunny, comfortable, wide enough to make it easy to care for one’s children as they fought off the multiple childhood menaces prevalent at the time, and with little alcoves for dressing or having a private chat.
It’s all been preserved perfectly, even with added closets, to offer that same feeling of enveloping safety and care. The full bathroom on this level is also comfortably sized, with a vintage tiled shower and shell-like pedestal sink.
Another staircase leads upward over the main stair to the finished third floor, which is a vast storage space beneath the peaked roof. Rather than forcing this angular space to be an office or a gym or 12 cramped bedrooms, this room is simply a flexible storage and craft space, probably the scene of countless rainy day games.
Again and again this home reminds us to slow down, stop panicking: there’s no prize for shoehorning 10 pounds of lard into a 5-pound bag, so enjoy each comfortable space for the refuge it is.
At the very opposite end of the house is another rare amenity on this island: a full basement, with easy access to all the utilities that run the place, including natural gas heat and city water.
This space has also been left to serve its original purpose very well, without a bizarre assortment of additions. It’s just a big, well-lit, non-spooky basement of the kind most islanders will envy.
Finally, the most important feature for any West Cape May home (and make that double if the home in question is on Broadway) — the front porch. This one looks down over the sidewalk and street at exactly the right height to see the tops of firetrucks but still talk to the crowds gathered alongside the curb.
It’s deep enough to offer shade in the summer but still visible enough to serve as both stage and party central during the holiday season, begging to be decorated or populated with revelers, from Halloween until New Year’s Day.
In the other three seasons it offers the perfect base camp for reading, people watching or gossiping with those who take their evening walks with more than just their health in mind.
With a porch like this, surrounded by flower beds and trimmed in bright colors, the best and most endearing aspects of island life will invite themselves.
