Editing Seaside Heights, New Jersey (section)

==History==
[[File:Seaside Heights boardwalk looking north toward Casino Pier.jpg|thumb|right|Seaside Heights boardwalk looking toward Casino Pier in 2017]]
In 1915, Senate Amusement Company of Philadelphia planned to build an ocean-side attraction in Seaside Heights within feet of the border to Seaside Park. Their plan was to build a covered pier to house a carousel. The structure was built in 1915 under the direction of Joseph Vanderslice of Senate Amusement Company. Budget issues stalled the project in 1916, and the amusement ride and building was subsequently sold to Frank Freeman. The combination of the completion of the Toms River Bridge on October 23, 1914,<ref>[http://www.discoverseasideheights.com/history/toms-river-bridge The Toms River Bridge], Discover Seaside Heights. Accessed January 25, 2015.</ref> and the DuPont Avenue carousel and boardwalk are what likely led to the 159% population growth shown between the 1920 and 1930 censuses in Seaside Heights.<ref>[http://www.discoverseasideheights.com/history/boardwalk-history Boardwalk History: Some Seaside Heights' Firsts], Discover Seaside Heights. Accessed January 25, 2015.</ref>

===Disasters===
On June 9, 1955, a malfunctioning neon sign component caused a fire at a shop on the corner of Ocean Terrace and DuPont Avenue. The fire was driven by winds estimated at {{convert|50|mph}}, blowing the fire south and engulfing the entire pier. The fire was stopped at Stockton Avenue due in part to the fact that the boardwalk and pier ended there. In what became known as Freeman's Fire, a total of 85 buildings were destroyed with an estimated $4 million in damage.<ref>Chang, David. [http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Boardwalk-Fire-Brings-Back-Memories-of-Devastating-Seaside-Blaze-Nearly-60-Years-Ago-223759891.html "Boardwalk Fire Brings Back Memories of Devastating Seaside Blaze Nearly 60 Years Ago"], [[WCAU]], September 16, 2013. Accessed September 18, 2013. "On June 9, 1955, a fire broke out at a shop on the corner of Ocean Terrace and DuPont Avenue in Seaside Heights. Driven by 50 mile per hour winds, the fire spread south, until it was finally placed under control at Stockton Avenue in Seaside Park..."</ref>

[[File:Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Pier cropped.jpg|right|thumb|[[Star Jet]] roller coaster in the Atlantic Ocean after Hurricane Sandy|alt=A roller coaster sitting in the ocean; a damaged pier]]
Beginning on October 29, 2012, substantial portions of the boardwalk were damaged and much of the borough was flooded as a result of [[Hurricane Sandy]]. Both the Funtown Pier and Casino Pier suffered devastating major damage, with sections of both piers torn apart by powerful storm surges and waves causing many of the rides to collapse into the ocean.<ref>Queally, James. [http://www.nj.com/ocean/index.ssf/2012/10/seaside_heights_swallowed_up_by_hurricane_sandys_surge.html "Seaside Heights swallowed up by Hurricane Sandy's surge"], ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'', October 29, 2012. Accessed January 1, 2013.</ref> With a curfew set at 4:00 pm to prevent looting, a New Year's Eve party was held at the Beachcomber for hundreds of area residents at which the arrival of 2013 was celebrated at 3:00 in the afternoon.<ref>Harris, Chris; and Koloff, Abbott. [http://www.northjersey.com/news/Shore_residents_refuse_to_let_rebuilding_get_in_way_of_party.html "Shore residents refuse to let rebuilding get in way of party"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'', January 1, 2013. Accessed January 1, 2013. "The party, at the Beachcomber, was held in the afternoon to comply with a curfew that remains in effect to curtail looting in an area where many homes remain empty and uninhabitable.... A crowd heralded the new year at the Beachcomber at 3 p.m., one hour in advance of the borough's mandatory 4 p.m. curfew."</ref> Casino Pier began cleanup attempts soon after, in an attempt to reopen in time for the summer 2013 season. The [[Star Jet]] roller coaster that fell into the water with the Casino Pier had become an attraction in itself. It was taken apart by a wrecker from Weeks Marine on May 14, 2013, just a short time after [[Prince Harry]]'s visit to the site the same day with Governor Chris Christie. Repairs to the boardwalk were completed on June 21, 2013, with New Jersey's First Lady, [[Mary Pat Christie]], hammering the nail into the final board of the project.<ref>via [[Associated Press]]. [http://www.nj.com/ocean/index.ssf/2013/06/mary_pat_christie_marks_start_of_summer_by_hammering_in_last_plank_on_new_seaside_boardwalk.html "Mary Pat Christie marks start of summer, hammers in last plank on new Seaside boardwalk"], [[NJ.com]], September 13, 2013. Accessed January 25, 2015.</ref>

On September 12, 2013, a [[Multiple-alarm fire|ten-alarm fire]] [[2013 Seaside Park, New Jersey fire|swept from the Funtown Pier northward]].<ref>[http://6abc.com/archive/9245840/ "Seaside Park fire 100 percent contained; no word on cause"], [[WPVI-TV]], October 7, 2013. Accessed January 25, 2015.</ref> The fire is believed to have started under the boardwalk, below the Kohr's Custard stand at the southern end of the pier. The wind pushed it northward, and fire crews were able to make a stand at Lincoln Avenue by tearing up the newly replaced boardwalk which had been destroyed less than a year before by Hurricane Sandy.<ref>Rose, Lisa; and Augenstein, Seth. [http://www.nj.com/ocean/index.ssf/2013/09/seaside_begins_picking_up_pieces.html#incart_maj-story-1 "Christie promises to rebuild, as firefighters continue to knock down hot spots at Seaside Boardwalk"], ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'', September 13, 2013. Accessed August 10, 2014.</ref> Jack & Bill's Bar and Kohr's Custard were two businesses that were both destroyed in the 1955 and 2013 fires.