Editing Asbury Park, New Jersey (section)

==History==
===Early years===
[[File:AsburyBeach.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Asbury Park beach, early twentieth century]]
[[File:Ross Fenton Farm, Asbury Park, New Jersey.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Ross-Fenton Farm, {{circa|1900}}]]
[[File:Asbury Park,New Jersey Depot Station In 1903.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Asbury Park, New Jersey Depot Station in 1903]]
A [[coast|seaside]] community, Asbury Park is located on New Jersey's central coast. Developed in 1871 as a residential [[resort]] by New York brush manufacturer [[James A. Bradley]], the city was named for [[Francis Asbury]], the first American bishop of the [[Methodist Episcopal Church]] in the United States.<ref>Cullinane, Bob. [https://www.newspapers.com/article/asbury-park-press-article-about-asbury/8094033/ "A tale of two towns: One Asbury not like the other"], ''[[Asbury Park Press]]'', July 31, 2002. Accessed March 27, 2025, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "Further reducing the degrees of separation between the two Asburys, Horner said he believed both towns were named after Francis Asbury, the first bishop of the American Methodist church."</ref><ref>[[Henry Gannett|Gannett, Henry]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=9V1IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA29 ''The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States''], p. 29. [[United States Government Printing Office]], 1905. Accessed August 27, 2015.</ref><ref>Hutchinson, Viola L. [http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf#page=7 ''The Origin of New Jersey Place Names''], New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed August 27, 2015.</ref> The founding of [[Ocean Grove, New Jersey|Ocean Grove]] in 1869, a Methodist camp meeting to the south, encouraged the development of Asbury Park and led to its being a "dry town."

Bradley was active in the development of much of the city's infrastructure, and despite his preference for gas light, he allowed the Atlantic Coast Electric Company (precursor to today's [[Jersey Central Power & Light]]) to offer electric service.<ref>Pike, Helen-Chantal (2005). ''Asbury Park's Glory Days: The Story of an American Resort.'' Rutgers University Press, pp 8 {{ISBN|0-8135-3547-6}}</ref> Along the waterfront, Bradley installed the [[List of boardwalks in the United States#Asbury Park|Asbury Park Boardwalk]], an orchestra [[pavilion]], public changing rooms, and a [[pier]] at the south end of that [[boardwalk (entertainment district)|boardwalk]]. Such success attracted other businessmen. In 1888, Ernest Schnitzler built the Palace Merry-Go-Round on the southwest corner of Lake Avenue and Kingsley Street, the cornerstone of what would become the [[Palace Amusements]] complex; other attractions followed.<ref>[http://www.palaceamusements.com/1888.html 1888] Palace Amusements Online Museum. Accessed 2007-08-17.</ref> During these early decades in Asbury Park, a number of grand hotels were built, including the Plaza Hotel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.side-o-lamb.com/HotelsPlaza |title=Asbury Park, NJ |access-date=August 18, 2007 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929001854/http://www.side-o-lamb.com/HotelsPlaza |archive-date=September 29, 2007 }} ''Side O'Lamb: Urban Exploration of the Jersey Shore''. Accessed August 17, 2007.</ref>

Uriah White, an Asbury Park pioneer, installed the first [[artesian well]] water system.<ref name=Arcadia>Pike, Helen-Chantal (1997, 2003). [https://books.google.com/books?id=Aj6qo8DPwiYC ''Images of America: Asbury Park.''], [[Arcadia Publishing]], p 13. {{ISBN|0-7524-0538-1}}. Accessed August 23, 2013.</ref> As many as 600,000 people a year vacationed in Asbury Park during the summer season in the early years, riding the [[New York and Long Branch Railroad]] from [[New York City]] and [[Philadelphia]] to enjoy the mile-and-a-quarter stretch of oceanfront Asbury Park.<ref name=Arcadia/> By 1912, ''[[The New York Times]]'' estimated that the summer population could reach 200,000, some 20 times the city's year-round population.<ref>Staff. [https://www.nytimes.com/1912/06/09/archives/asbury-park-popular-jersey-shore-resort-rapidly-filling-with.html "Asbury Park.; Popular Jersey Shore Resort Rapidly Filling with Visitors."], ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 9, 2012. Accessed August 23, 2013. "Asbury Park is undergoing its annual transformation from a quiet Winter community of 10,000 inhabitants into a lively metropolitan Summer city with a changing population that sometimes exceeds 200,000 persons."</ref>

The ''country by the sea'' destination experienced several key periods of popularity. The first notable era was the 1890s, marked by a housing growth, examples of which can still be found today in a full range of [[Victorian architecture]]. Coinciding with the nationwide trend in retail shopping, Asbury Park's downtown flourished during this period and well into the 20th century.

===1920s and modern development===
[[File:Asbury-GirlsOutside TheBerkeley.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Asbury Park boardwalk, {{circa|1935}}]]
[[File:Casinorc.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.1|The casino's boarded walkway that links Asbury Park to [[Ocean Grove, New Jersey|Ocean Grove]]]]
[[File:Deserted Ocean Avenue in Asbury Park, NJ.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Vacant streets were a common sight in the 1980s and 1990s.]]

====1920s====
In the 1920s, [[Paramount Theater Asbury Park|Paramount Theatre]] and Convention Hall complex, the Casino Arena and Carousel House, and two red-brick pavilions were built in the Asbury Boardwalk area. [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux Arts]] architect Warren Whitney of New York was the designer. He had also been hired to design the Berkeley-Carteret Hotel located diagonally across from the theater and hall. At the same time, [[Asbury Park High School]] was constructed, overlooking [[Deal Lake]].

====1930s====
On September 8, 1934, the wreck of the ocean liner [[SS Morro Castle (1930)|SS ''Morro Castle'']], which caught fire and burned, beached itself near the city just yards away from the [[Asbury Park Convention Hall]]; the city capitalized on the event, turning the wreck into a tourist attraction.<ref>Staff. [https://www.nytimes.com/1934/09/11/archives/asbury-to-claim-morro-castle-as-museum-sightseeing-fees-bring-2800.html "Asbury to Claim Morro Castle as Museum; Sightseeing Fees Bring $2,800 in a Day"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', September 11, 1934. Accessed August 4, 2012. "The great hulk of the wrecked Morro Castle has proved to be such a good thing for Asbury Park business that the city authorities decided today to attempt to make the fire-blackened vessel a permanent addition to the beach attractions."</ref>

In 1935, the newly founded [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission|Securities and Exchange Commission]] called Asbury Park's Mayor Clarence F. Hetrick to testify about $6&nbsp;million in "beach improvement bonds" that had gone into default. At the same time, the SEC also inquired about rental rates on the beach front and why the mayor reduced the lease of a bathhouse from $85,000 to $40,000, among many other discrepancies that could have offset debt.<ref>Staff. [https://www.nytimes.com/1935/10/26/archives/asbury-park-debt-linked-to-politics-costly-temporary-financing-tied.html "Asbury Park Debt Linked To Politics; Costly Temporary Financing Tied to Boardwalk and Rental 'Iniquities.' Mayor Hetrick On Stand He Tells SEC of $6,000,000, Mostly in Default -- High Interest Rate Defended."], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 26, 1935. Accessed September 17, 2013.</ref> The interests of Asbury Park's bond investors led Senator Frank Durand (Monmouth County) to add a last-minute "Beach Commission" amendment to a municipal debt bill in the New Jersey legislature. When the bill became law, it ceded control of the Asbury Park beach to [[Harold G. Hoffman|Governor Harold Hoffman]] and a governor's commission.<ref>Staff. [https://www.nytimes.com/1936/06/22/archives/asbury-park-to-sue-for-beach-control-writ-to-be-applied-for-today.html "Asbury Park To Sue For Beach Control; Writ to Be Applied For Today to Prevent Commission Taking Jurisdiction."], ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 22, 1936. Accessed September 17, 2013.</ref><ref>Staff. [https://www.nytimes.com/1936/06/24/archives/asbury-wins-stay-on-beach-control-jurisdiction-of-board-named-by.html "Asbury Wins Stay On Beach Control; Jurisdiction of Board Named by Hoffman Held Up Pending Ruling on New Law."], ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 24, 1936. Accessed September 17, 2013.</ref> The city of Asbury Park sued to restore control of the beach to the municipal council, but the [[New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals]] (until 1947, the state's highest court) upheld the validity of the law in 1937.<ref>Staff. [https://www.nytimes.com/1937/09/23/archives/beach-control-act-for-asbury-upheld-jersey-high-court-sustains-the.html "Beach Control Act For Asbury Upheld; Jersey High Court Sustains the Validity of the Law Curbing the City's Authority"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', September 23, 1937. Accessed September 17, 2013.</ref> When Durand pressed New Jersey's legislature to extend the state's control of Asbury Park's beach in 1938, the lower house staged a walk out and the Senate soon adjourned, a disruption that also prevented a vote for funding New Jersey's participation in the [[1939 New York World's Fair]].<ref>Staff. [https://www.nytimes.com/1938/06/09/archives/jersey-assembly-stages-walkout-rebels-at-upper-houses-tacticssenate.html "Jersey Assembly Stages 'Walkout'; Rebels at Upper House's Tactics--Senate Also Adjourns"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 9, 1938. Accessed September 17, 2013.</ref><ref>Staff. [https://www.nytimes.com/1938/06/10/archives/worlds-fair-fund-loses-in-jersey-lastminute-dispute-before.html "World's Fair Fund Loses In Jersey; Last-Minute Dispute Before Legislative Recess Leaves $150,000 Unappropriated Veto' Session Thursday Lawmakers to Meet Then to Act on Bills Disapproved by Governor Moore"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 10, 1938. Accessed September 17, 2013.</ref> In December 1938, the court returned control of the beach to the municipal council under the proviso that a bond repayment agreement was created; Asbury Park was the only beach in New Jersey affected by the Beach Commission law.<ref>Staff. [https://www.nytimes.com/1938/12/11/archives/asbury-park-freed-of-fiscal-control-states-commission-had-been-in.html "Asbury Park Freed Of Fiscal Control; State's Commission Had Been in Charge Two Years"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 11, 1938. Accessed September 17, 2013.</ref> Extensive and lush floral plantings were present in Asbury Park's Bradley Park during the 1930s, as can be seen in archival footage.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAHWfzVVe6U Asbury Park - Late 1930's - Part 1], [[YouTube]]. Accessed October 22, 2021.</ref>

====1940s====
In 1943, the [[New York Yankees]] held their [[spring training]] in Asbury Park instead of [[Florida]].<ref>Staff. [https://www.nytimes.com/1943/03/28/archives/spring-baseball-training-brings-visitors-to-asbury-park-poconos.html "Spring Baseball Training Brings Visitors To Asbury Park—Poconos Events; Asbury Park's Season"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 28, 1943. Accessed August 4, 2012. "Asbury Park, N.J.—Spring training of the New York Yankees baseball team has quickened the arrival of visitors this year, many of them bent on watching the conditioning of professional athletes north of the Mason–Dixon line."</ref> This was because rail transport had to be conserved during the war, and [[Major League Baseball]]'s spring training was limited to an area east of the [[Mississippi River]] and north of the [[Ohio River]].<ref>Suehsdorf, A. D. (1978). ''The Great American Baseball Scrapbook'', p. 103. Random House. {{ISBN|0-394-50253-1}}.</ref>

With the opening of the [[Garden State Parkway]] in 1947, Asbury Park saw the travel market change as fewer vacationers took trains to the seashore. While the Asbury Park exit on the Parkway opened in 1956 and provided a means for drivers to reach Asbury Park more easily, additional exits further south allowed drivers access to new alternative vacation destinations, particularly on [[Long Beach Island]].<ref name=GloryDays/>{{rp|71–72}}

====1950s and beyond====
In the decades that followed the war, surrounding farm communities gave way to tracts of [[suburb]]an houses, encouraging the city's middle-class blacks as well as whites to move into newer houses with spacious yards.<ref name=GloryDays/>{{rp|190}}

With the above-mentioned change in the travel market, prompted by the opening of the [[Garden State Parkway]] in 1947 and the opening of [[Monmouth Mall]] {{convert|10|miles}} away in [[Eatontown, New Jersey|Eatontown]] in 1960, Asbury Park's downtown became less of an attraction to shoppers. Office parks built outside the city resulted in the relocation of accountants, dentists, doctors, lawyers, and other professionals. Moreover, the opening of [[Six Flags Great Adventure|Great Adventure]] (on July 1, 1974), a combination theme park and drive-through safari located on a lake in [[Jackson Township, New Jersey|Jackson Township]]—and close to a [[New Jersey Turnpike]] exit—proved to be stiff competition for a mile-long stretch of aging boardwalk amusements.<ref>Pike, Helen-Chantal. [https://books.google.com/books?id=RaT7Ip9RXZ8C&pg=PA81 ''Asbury Park's Glory Days: The Story of an American Resort''], p. 81. [[Rutgers University Press]], 2007. {{ISBN|0813540879|9780813540870}}. Accessed January 23, 2018.</ref>

[[1970 Asbury Park race riots|Riots that broke out in the city on July 4, 1970]], resulted in the destruction of aging buildings along Springwood Avenue, one of three main east–west corridors into Asbury Park and the central shopping and entertainment district for those living in the city's southwest quadrant.<ref>Cheslow, Jerry. [https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/27/realestate/if-you-re-thinking-of-living-in-asbury-park-after-bleak-years-signs-of-progress.html "If You're Thinking of Living In/Asbury Park; After Bleak Years, Signs of Progress"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 27, 2003. Accessed July 18, 2012. "By the mid-1960s, urban flight began; and on July 4, 1970, race riots gutted much of the city, sealing its fate as a backwater."</ref> Many of those city blocks have yet to be redeveloped into the 21st century.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

Although it was placed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]],<ref>[http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/NJ/Monmouth/state.html New Jersey, Monmouth County], [[National Register of Historic Places]]. Accessed July 18, 2012.</ref> [[Palace Amusements]] was closed in 1988 and was demolished in 2004 despite attempts to save it.<ref name="Aftermath">[http://www.palaceamusements.com/aftermath.html The Aftermath], Palace Amusements Online Museum. Accessed November 10, 2014.</ref> The complex had featured the famous face of [[Tillie (murals)|Tillie]], a symbol of the Jersey Shore.<ref name="Aftermath"/>

In 1990, the carousel at the Casino Pier was sold to Family Kingdom Amusement Park in [[Myrtle Beach, South Carolina]], where it continues to operate.<ref>Staff. [http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/news/stories/20080726_01.shtml "Casino Pier"], UltimateRollerCoaster.com, July 26, 2008. Accessed July 18, 2012. "Built in 1923, the Family Kingdom Carousel continues to delight thousands each year. Built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, the ride was brought to Myrtle Beach in 1992 from the famed 'Casino' in Asbury Park, New Jersey."</ref>

===21st century===
[[File:Old Howard Johnson's Asbury Park NJ1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Former [[Howard Johnson's]] renovated and reopened in summer 2007 as Salt Water Beach Cafe on the boardwalk in Asbury Park.]]
[[File:Asbury Park Boardwalk.JPG|thumb|upright=1.1|Asbury Park Boardwalk in August 2013. Repairs to the boardwalk were completed in May 2014.<ref name="robbins">Robbins, Christopher. [http://www.nj.com/monmouth/index.ssf/2014/05/christie_celebrates_asbury_parks_successes_at_boardwalk_ribbon-cutting.html "Christie celebrates Asbury Park's successes at boardwalk ribbon-cutting"], [[NJ.com]], May 23, 2014. Accessed June 15, 2014.</ref>]]
From 2002 onward, the rest of Asbury Park has been in the midst of a cultural, political, and economic revival, including a burgeoning industry of local and national artists.{{Citation needed|reason=Not clear that this was not led by master developers of condos who had made an investment to build condos.|date=August 2012}} Its dilapidated downtown district is undergoing revitalization while most of the nearly empty blocks that overlook the beach and boardwalk are slated for massive reconstruction. In 2005, the Casino's walkway reopened, as did many of the [[boardwalk (entertainment district)|boardwalk]] pavilions.<ref>Schlegel, Jeff. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/09/AR2005080901311.html "The Boardwalks of Jersey"], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', August 10, 2005. Accessed July 18, 2012. "In 2004, the mile-long boardwalk was rebuilt. This year the Casino walkway connecting Asbury Park's boardwalk with neighboring Ocean Grove was reopened."</ref> In 2007, the eastern portion of the Casino building was demolished. There are plans to rebuild this portion to look much like the original; however, the interior will be dramatically different and may include a public market (as opposed to previously being an arena and skating rink). By 2020, the Casino building still remained unrestored and had no permanent use, although it had been used to host temporary art installations.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Asbury Park Boardwalk – Preservation New Jersey|url=https://www.preservationnj.org/listings/asbury-park-boardwalk/|access-date=2021-11-07|website=www.preservationnj.org|archive-date=November 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107231443/https://www.preservationnj.org/listings/asbury-park-boardwalk/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Will Casino be restored to its former glory in Asbury Park?|url=https://www.app.com/story/opinion/columnists/2018/06/20/asbury-park-casino-restored-madison-marquette/691862002/|access-date=2021-11-07|website=Asbury Park Press|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Asbury Park Casino in the city Asbury Park|url=https://usa-artmuseum.worldorgs.com/catalog/asbury-park/tourist-attraction/asbury-park-casino|access-date=2021-11-07|website=usa-artmuseum.worldorgs.com}}</ref>

There has also been more of a resurgence of the downtown as well as the boardwalk, with the grand reopening of the historic Steinbach [[department store]] building, as well as the rehabilitation of Convention Hall and the Fifth Avenue Pavilion (previously home to one of the last remaining [[Howard Johnson's]] restaurants). The historic Berkeley-Carteret Hotel, which is to be restored to four-star resort status, was acquired in 2007; the first residents moving into the newly constructed condominiums known as North Beach, the rehabilitation of Ocean Avenue, and the opening of national businesses on Asbury Avenue.

After [[Hurricane Sandy]], Asbury Park was one of the few communities on the Jersey Shore to reopen successfully for the 2013 summer season. Most of the boardwalk had not been badly damaged by the massive hurricane. On Memorial Day Weekend 2013, Governor Chris Christie and President Barack Obama participated in an official ceremony before a crowd of 4,000, marking the reopening of Asbury Park and other parts of the Jersey Shore. The "Stronger Than The Storm" motto was emphasized at this ceremony.<ref name="robbins"/><ref>Flumenbaum, Martha. [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/martha-flumenbaum/greetings-from-asbury-park-nj_b_3349191.html "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.: Seven Months of Hurricane Sandy Heroes"], ''[[Huffington Post]]'', May 28, 2013. Accessed June 15, 2014. "Standing on the beach in Asbury Park with 'Born To Run' and 'Who Says You Can't Go Home?' playing in the background, the smell of the ocean and cheesesteaks in the air, surrounded by miniature golf, salt water taffy, and a few feet away from The Stone Pony (where Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi got their starts) I watched Governor Chris Christie introduce President Barack Obama to a crowd of about 4,000 today."</ref>