History of Asbury Park, New Jersey
Asbury Park is a seaside community located on New Jersey's central coast. Francis Asbury was the first American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. The city was established in 1871 as a residential resort by New York brush manufacturer James A. Bradley. The establishment of Ocean Grove, a Methodist camp meeting to the south, in 1869 stimulated the growth of Asbury Park and led to its status as a "dry town."
Bradley was important in the development of much of the city's infrastructure, and despite his predilection for gas light, he permitted the Atlantic Coast Electric Company (the forerunner of the present-day Jersey Central Power & Light Co.) to provide electric service. Bradley constructed the Asbury Park Boardwalk, an orchestra pavilion, public changing rooms, and a pier at the southern extremity of the boardwalk along the waterfront. This prosperity attracted other entrepreneurs. Ernest Schnitzler constructed the Palace Merry-Go-Round at the southwest corner of Lake Avenue and Kingsley Street in 1888, laying the foundation for what would become the Palace Amusements complex; additional attractions followed. During these early decades in Asbury Park, several magnificent hotels, including the Plaza Hotel, were constructed.
Uriah White, a pioneer from Asbury Park, installed the initial artesian well water system. In the early years, as many as 600,000 people spent their summer vacations in Asbury Park, riding the New York and Long Branch Railroad from New York City and Philadelphia to experience the mile-and-a-quarter of oceanfront Asbury Park. The New York Times estimated in 1912 that the summer population could reach two hundred thousand.
The country by the sea has experienced a number of significant periods of popularity. The first noteworthy era was the 1890s, which were characterized by a housing boom, examples of which can still be seen in a wide variety of Victorian architecture. During this time period and well into the 20th century, Asbury Park's downtown prospered alongside the national retail purchasing trend.
In the 1920s, the Asbury Boardwalk area witnessed the construction of the Paramount Theatre and Convention Hall complex, the Casino Arena and Carousel House, and two elegant red-brick pavilions. New York-based Beaux Arts architect Warren Whitney was the designer. Additionally, he was contracted to design the Berkeley-Carteret Hotel, which is diagonally opposite the theater and the hall. Concurrently, Asbury Park built a cutting-edge high school overlooking Deal Lake.
Instead of Florida, the New York Yankees held spring training in Asbury Park in 1943. Because rail transport had to be conserved during the war, Spring Training for Major League Baseball was restricted to an area east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River.
In the decades following World War II, adjacent farm communities gave way to suburban housing developments, prompting the city's middle class to relocate to newer houses with expansive yards. Palace Amusements, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was closed in 1988 and demolished in 2004, despite efforts to save it. The complex had displayed the iconic Jersey Shore icon Tillie's visage. The Casino Pier carousel was transferred to Family Kingdom Amusement Park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in 1990, where it continues to operate.
Since 2002, the remainder of Asbury Park has been experiencing a cultural, political, and economic revival, including the emergence of a thriving community of local and national artists.(Reference Required) Its dilapidated downtown district is undergoing revitalization, while the vast majority of the nearly vacant blocks overlooking the ocean and boardwalk are scheduled for extensive reconstruction. In 2005, the Casino's promenade and a number of boardwalk pavilions reopened. In 2007, the casino building's eastern wing was demolished. There are proposals to rebuild this section so that it closely resembles the original, but the interior will be significantly different and may include a public market (instead of an arena and skating rink). By 2020, the Casino building was still unrestored and had no permanent use, although it had hosted transient art installations.
Asbury Park was one of the few Jersey Shore communities to effectively reopen for the 2013 summer season after Superstorm Sandy. The enormous hurricane had not severely damaged the majority of the boardwalk. Governor Chris Christie and President Barack Obama participated in an official ceremony commemorating the reopening of Asbury Park and other areas of the Jersey Shore during the 2013 Memorial Day weekend. At this ceremony, the "Stronger Than The Storm" motto was emphasized. Read more about the geography of Asbury Park NJ.