Editing Asbury Park, New Jersey (section)

===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.