Shipwreck Island Golf Goes Down for Walgreens

WILDWOOD — Demolition crews have torn down one of this city’s landmark family fun spots.
The Park Place Entertainment Center at the corner of Park and Hand avenues, next to the McDonalds on Rio Grande Avenue, was being leveled by Middle Township demolition company Albrecht and Heun.
For years, families have enjoyed playing miniature golf at the center’s jungle themed 36-hole Shipwreck Island’s Adventure Golf, hitting balls in the batting cages, playing video games in the arcade and finishing off the fun with a cone at the ice cream parlor.
But as they say, all good things must come to an end. Visitors will no longer see the site’s boulders, rope bridges or grounded ship as they enter Wildwood for their vacation.
Bulldozers and backhoes were making quick work of the facilities and dump trucks carried away loads of debris on Oct. 7 when the Herald noticed the work.
The demolition paves the way for a new Walgreens pharmacy store to move in just across the street from a CVS.
The Wildwood Zoning board approved the project last year. According to the principles in the project, the new Walgreens will be the only store in the country, out of 4500, to be doo-wop themed and designed.
Founded in 1901, Walgreens is not only the nation’s largest retail pharmacy chain, it is considered the leader in innovative
drugstore retailing, according to the company’s Web site.
Herald reporter Lauren Suit contributed to this story.