Editing Cape May Point, New Jersey (section)

==Places of interest==
[[File:Saint Mary by-the-Sea Retreat House, Cape May Point, NJ.jpg|thumb|Saint Mary by-the-Sea Retreat House in 2009]]
The [[Sisters of St. Joseph]] maintained the Queen of the Sea facility, a convent called the Saint Joseph House, and a retreat facility called Saint Mary by-the-Sea.<ref name=IconicInquirer>{{cite web|url=https://www.inquirer.com:443/science/climate/saintmary-by-the-sea-cape-may-retreat-closing-20210212.html|title=Sisters of St. Joseph close iconic Cape May retreat: 'It's beyond sad'|newspaper=[[Philadelphia Inquirer]]|date=2021-02-12|access-date=2021-05-22|archive-date=May 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523010953/https://www.inquirer.com/science/climate/saintmary-by-the-sea-cape-may-retreat-closing-20210212.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Bill Barlow of the ''[[Press of Atlantic City]]'' wrote that it is "A beloved local landmark".<ref>{{cite web|last=Barlow|first=Bill|url=https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/after-more-than-a-century-cape-may-points-st-mary-s-retreat-may-have-seen/article_6cc3846c-4c3e-5ed4-8d32-5f39d4d05453.html|title=After more than a century, Cape May Point's St. Mary's retreat may have seen its last summer|newspaper=[[The Press of Atlantic City]]|date=2021-02-10|access-date=2021-05-22|archive-date=May 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523011922/https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/after-more-than-a-century-cape-may-points-st-mary-s-retreat-may-have-seen/article_6cc3846c-4c3e-5ed4-8d32-5f39d4d05453.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Its facilities are not connected with the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Rosenberg|first=Amy S.|url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/20070628_Faith_in_face_of_adversity.html|title=Faith in face of adversity|newspaper=[[Philadelphia Inquirer]]|date=2007-06-28|quote=The homes are owned separately by the individual orders and have no connection with the archdioceses in the area.|access-date=May 23, 2021|archive-date=May 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523013501/https://www.inquirer.com/philly/20070628_Faith_in_face_of_adversity.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Saint Mary opened as the Shoreham Hotel in 1889. After the business failed, it became a nursing home for African Americans in 1898, known as Home for Aged and Infirm Colored People. It later closed, and the sisters spent $9,000 to buy the property in 1909, which it called Saint Mary. This building has a "U-shape" and {{convert|38000|sqft|sqm}} of space. In 2016 the sisters announced that they intended to close Saint Mary. The [[COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey]], starting in 2020, meant that the group could no longer hold retreats there, and in 2021 the order announced that Saint Mary was closing.<ref name=IconicInquirer/> The Cape May Point Science Center opened in June 2023 in the Saint Mary building that it had acquired the previous year for $5.5 million.<ref>Pries, Allison. [https://www.nj.com/news/2022/04/historic-cape-may-property-to-become-science-center.html "Historic Cape May property to become science center"], NJ Advance Media for [[NJ.com]], April 18, 2022. Accessed July 20, 2023. "The Sisters of St. Joseph, a Catholic order of women who practice educational, social services and parish ministries, sold St. Mary By-the-Sea to Cape May Point Science Center, LLC for $5.5 million. The Sisters had owned the 1.5 acres, 135-room red-roofed former hotel located yards from where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Delaware Bay in Cape May Point since 1909."</ref><ref>Marshall, Nyah. [https://www.nj.com/news/2023/06/historic-cape-may-retreat-for-nuns-reopens-as-science-center.html "Historic Cape May retreat for nuns reopens as science center"], NJ Advance Media for [[NJ.com]], June 2, 2023. Accessed July 20, 2023. "The property most recently known as St. Mary By-the-Sea — a seaside retreat for Catholic nuns — officially reopened its doors Friday as the Cape May Point Science Center."</ref>