MMM
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As noted above in the comparison to its “Court” era, the Mar-Lane is a two-floor Motel, and is L-shaped along the structure housing its rooms. I believe it has approximately 27 units spread across both floors - some of them face south to Montgomery, and the rest east to Atlantic. The structure is painted white, with the doors in a deep burgundy. These colors somewhat recall the Mar-Lane’s Court era, which had its walls in white, and its roof in a deep, somewhat blood red. Windows to the units are appx 2/3 view from the top down, with light green backed curtains. Lamps styled like lanterns are posted up high between each unit. Railings across the balcony, down the middle of the “L” staircase, and across the ground level outer perimeter appear vintage Mid-Century. They are of an interesting style that has a bunch of 90 degree angled twists and turns, with small, square flat centered portions. Nondescript white resin chairs are placed outside the units. A sundeck extends east from the Motel’s southwest end, and is accessible from the 2nd floor balcony. The deck doesn’t seem to be connected to the pool area,. Railings around the deck and pool area are metal, but plainer than the others, and consist of vertical bars. These obviously were added years after the other railings (though are still not “new” at this point), and, along with the deck not having its own staircase to the pool, leads me to believe the deck was added some years after the Mar-Lane transitioned from “Court” to “Motel”, and also that the pool likely spent some years unfenced from the Motel. The deck obscures something that likely stood out previously as a design feature - the southwest corner room on the 2nd floor “floats”, without a 1st floor unit below it. It is not a “no means of visible support” styled unit like the corner room in a similar position at the Eden Roc (it has a visible support pole to the ground), but still helps gives that corner, and the Motel overall, a little more distinction. The pool area is in the middle of the “L”. The pool itself is rectangular, with rounded corners, tile around the top of its walls, and a fenced off shallow portion for small children, using newer railings for it than elsewhere. White chairs, angled with a fan-shaped back, are around the pool, as are canvas loungers, with white & green striped fabric, which coordinate with the other colors on the Motel well. More lantern styled lamps are used around the pool and deck, though on posts. White flagcrete is below the outer perimeter railings, making a nice border to the parking area. Towards the northeast corner, a section in front of the 1st floor units was extended to form a patio-like area, with a steps and a ramp to help with accessibility. It has different railings than the rest of the grounds that are more countrified in style, and appear to be resin. In the same area, closer to the sidewalk, is a structure with a more house-like appearance than the main part of the Motel, and includes the use of shutters. A portion of this building is 3 stories, with a 1-story portion on the east end of it. At the least, it houses the office, and considering its height, possibly more (which I can’t confirm). The same white/burgundy used on the Motel continue here. Adjacent to this, street-side in the main Motel building, appears to be more “public” space, but I can’t identify it’s use either. An additional ground level section continues the countrified look, uses a sort of sage green, and contains the BBQ’s/grills + tables and chairs. At the southeast corner is a wooden roadside sign, with tall green posts, and tan/burgundy/green artwork. The sign says MarLane Lodging (rooms chambers), lit by more lantern style lights. A weathervane sits above it all, topped by a fish!
As you can probably tell from the above, the Mar-Lane’s look ends up being a bit of a mix – some genuine “Doo Wop”, some things with more traditional residential look, others with a country feel - neither of which have a trace of Mid-Century character whatsoever - and a few minor bits that don’t seem to belong to any of this (but overall aren’t of too much consequence). It also gives me mixed feelings about its appearance. When I look at parts of Mar-Lane, like its oldest railings, I see things to admire from a “Doo Wop” perspective. Then I look at other portions of it, like the more country styled stuff, and get the impression of a place that’s tried to get away from roots. At the same time, given it’s “Court” origins, the Mar-Lane got away from its real roots a long time ago. Perhaps the "house" portion is a nod to it's "Court" years. While most of its “country” touches do not give the feel of a potential new Doo-Wop “style” (Phonee Colonee, Tiki, etc.), they mostly aren’t executed in a sterile way, so the Mar-Lane overall still has charm. It also always looks very well kept, and has a great reputation in its TripAdvisor reviews – typically rated on their site #1 among all Motels in Wildwood proper. I believe we had a member on the Forum who recently stayed at the Mar-Lane and didn’t seem quite as impressed with it, but didn’t have anything negative to report either. Still, the top standing with TripAdvisor is a fine accomplishment, which I’m sure the Mar-Lane’s owners are proud of.
I welcome your thoughts on the Mar-Lane.
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Doo Wop Discussion #41 - Mar-Lane Motel (Read 3882 times)
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