A Memorial to the Christian Admiral in Cape May, NJ

Opened in 1908, as the Hotel Cape May, the ornate hotel was abandoned five years later due to bankruptcy. It was then sold at a Sheriff's sale. The hotel was leased by the War Department as a hospital from 1918-1919 during WWI. Afterwards, it was again abandoned. In 1932, the Admiral Hotel company purchased it and renamed it the Admiral Hotel. They too went bankrupt in 1940. The military returned for WWII from 1941 to 1945 and afterwards it was once more sold at Sheriff's sale. It opened and closed multiple times before being abandoned again in the 1950s. Reverend McIntire saved it from demolition in 1963, and operated it until his organization too, went bankrupt. Reverend McIntire's Christian Beacon Press operated the hotel longer than any previous owner.
The Christian Admiral never made a profit for any of its owners and was the cause of six bankruptcies. Nonetheless, it was a gorgeous hotel and one of the most recognizable and beloved buildings in Cape May. The people who liquidated McIntire's organization shopped the hotel around, but it was deemed too far gone to save. Engineer estimates were $20 million and above, just to make it structurally sound and from $60-$80 million to restore it.
The hotel was razed in 1996.
To see more pictures, videos and stories, come check out Cape May's unofficial Facebook page, / coolcapemay
Picture credits go to Phil Montano. Music by Ryan Jo Rachwan. Video by Ben Miller, Historical Editor for Exit Zero Magazine and author of the bestselling book, The First Resort and the upcoming new book, Cape May Moments.