Giant fire hydrant moved to temporary spot, as Dog Beach reopening nears

The last and most prominent element of the original location of Wildwood's Dog Beach has been moved closer to its future home.

This week, crews shifted the already-iconic giant red fire hydrant three blocks south from Poplar Avenue to a temporary spot on the beach at Maple Avenue.

The move was done as a more immediate measure, to accommodate the Cape Express Beach Blast Soccer event that will bring over 1,000 teams to the beach next weekend.

The next relocation will be an even shorter one - to a city-owned area of beach between Glenwood and Maple Avenues. City officials are hoping to have the new Dog Beach completely up and ready by the Fourth of July.

Commissioner Pete Byron recently told Wildwood 365 that the public is able to access the new site now, but that a much "bigger and better" park will soon be realized.

The 25-foot-tall, 5,000 pound fire hydrant, a gift to the city from Morey's Piers, made it's debut on the beach at a grand unveiling ceremony on August 15, 2014.

Made of recycled parts from the old Snake Slide at Adventure Pier, the monument was designed and built by architect Richard Stokes and artists David Macomber, Peter J. Bieling and Peter C. Bieling.