The Rise and Fall of Asbury Park New Jersey (a tale of urban decay) - IT'S HISTORY

known to some as the dark city due  to the significant urban decay it   underwent towards the end of the 20th century  asbury park's legacy has been a storied one   it has experienced many ups and downs seeing  both incredible success and massive tragedy   throughout its lifetime its history is rich  architecturally culturally and even today   asbury park plays a very significant role  in the new jersey beachfront music scene   however the town is still struggling  as it undergoes a very long gradual   economic and social rebound as it continues to  heal from its troubled past but what caused the   downfall in the first place stay tuned because  we will answer that and more as we discover the   rise and fall of new jersey's asbury park i'm your  host ryan socas and you're watching it's history today we will discover the story of asbury park  new jersey a city where those with a little   status could enjoy the finer things in life and  as i have recently gained the status of a lord   i expect my next visit should be outstanding  let me explain to you how this all came together   established titles is a project based on a  historic scottish custom where landowners are   referred to as lords and ladies we allow people to  buy as little as one square foot of dedicated land   so that they can call themselves a lord or lady  we are committed to planting a tree with every   order this is a fun novel way to help preserve  scotland's picturesque woodlands and biodiversity   while additionally supporting global efforts  to reforest this great earth what's more many   documents will allow you to change your title to  lady or lord which guarantees you the status you   deserve the news gets better established titles  is running a big sale right now and if you use the   special code its history you'll get an additional  10 off so go to establishtitles.com it's history   to get your gifts now ladies and lords let's head  back to the jersey shore the story of asbury park   starts with a wealthy manhattan broom manufacturer  real estate developer and member of the new jersey   senate james adam bradley born on february  the 14th 1830 this man had a strong hand in   designing not only asbury park but also the  design of bradley beach which was named after   him accordingly at that time bradley was a newly  converted methodist who was visiting a summer camp   for meeting in ocean grove he turned his sights  to the north purchasing 500 acres of land along   the beachfront for 90 thousand dollars in 1871  sitting along the jersey shore in mammoth county   the property was ideal for what bradley had in  mind a bustling oceanfront residential resort it   was named after francis asbury the first american  bishop of the methodist church in the united   states and officially incorporated as a borough on  march the 26th 1874 by the new jersey legislator   as berry park was quite progressive in terms of  amenities offered including designs such as a   boardwalk complete with pavilions an artisan well  and a layout inspired greatly by european cities   at the time in many places the broad streets and  avenues were bordered by gorgeous ocean views   on one side and sprawling stretches of lush green  grass and parks on the other at its peak the city   had over 200 hotels to accommodate the hundreds of  thousands of guests who flocked to the vast ocean   fronts an orchestra pavilion was constructed  along the waterfront and in 1888 ernest   schnitzeler installed the palace merry-go-round  which would later become the palace amusements   real estate and infrastructure thrived during this  time with the visitors coming in from far and wide   and then its popularity surged even further as  more and more entrepreneurs and entertainers came   to the city and to accommodate such heavy traffic  the boardwalk was later expanded the performing   arts and music were incredibly influential  at the time something that as i mentioned   previously carries over into the asberry park of  today the atlantic coast electric company provided   its electric service and throughout the end of the  19th century victorian homes began to populate the   town the plaza hotel and the berkeley cartilage  were among the many prestigious hotels that lined   the boardwalk in total asbury park saw almost 600  000 summer visitors every year by the early 20th   century its location was convenient and accessible  from new jersey and long beach railroads which ran   from new york through northern new jersey and down  along the jersey shore for those in philadelphia   and its immediate areas branches of the  pennsylvania and central jersey also served   the city one important note is that asbury park  was closer to new york than atlantic city making   it even more appealing to vacationers deciding  on a spot to stop at on their travels but its   many accommodations and location aren't the only  thing that attracted tourists to the city in fact   the following reasons might very well surprise  you on september the 9th 1934 the ss morrow castle   named for the fortress that guards havana bay  caught fire and exploded in route to new york   from cuba it had departed from havana just four  days prior aiming to reach new york in just   58 hours and carrying 549 passengers and crew  however as the ship continued its northbound   journey it experienced a series of disasters the  first of these troubles was high winds the type   of high winds that were carrying telltale signs  of an approaching nor eastern then on the evening   of september the 7th captain robert wilmot retired  to his cabin after complaining of stomach trouble   not long after wilmont was found dead in his cabin  of an alleged heart attack chief officer william   warms took command over the morrow castle as the  cruise ship continued to cross the seas that only   swelled higher and higher then at around 2 50  a.m on september the 8th a fire broke out in   a storage locker on b deck the high winds spelled  even further disaster fanning the flames literally   and metaphorically as the crew scrambled to send  out an sos signal and extinguished the roaring   blaze passengers who could not find a lifeboat  in the darkness and smoke jumped overboard to   escape the fire as rescue ships battled the  stormy seas and as the news of this all spread   many lined up on the jersey shore to help receive  survivors and as dawn broke with the following day   the still ablaze but now empty ship ran aground  just 200 yards from convention hall some   considered the tragedy to merely be an incredibly  unfortunate series of events and in contrast there   were others who theorized that there might have  been something more to the case though the result   remained the same whatever the case may have been  the wreckage site of the ss moral castle became a   rather morbid near overnight sensation attracting  tens of thousands of visitors to asbury park ocean   and kingsley avenue were temporarily converted  into one-way streets for the summer to form a   proper circuit for cars to view the wreck and  as bizarre of a tourist attraction as this might   seem it had an effect on the city commerce  and tourism actually saw a significant rise   for half a century the town enjoyed notable titles  such as queen of the jersey shore city by the sea   or even beirut by the sea and yet this city is a  testament to the fact that nothing can ever really   last forever motels became hollow eroding shells  of what they once were as parking meters began to   rust from disuse the once magnificent boardwalk  gradually began to fall into runes empty and long   since abandoned but why was this how can such a  triumphant success transform into something today   that is abandoned and even scary well now we're  going to take a look at the fall of asberry park   asbury park's first decline came about halfway  into the 20th century when the garden state   parkway opened it opened up travel options  and made it so that tourists were no longer   restrained to the type of mass transit that  was typically used historically for reaching   summertime vacation destinations gradually they  began to veer away from asbury park to other   seaside towns and resorts that were farther away  but this was only the beginning as the city would   soon contend with many other rising attractions  such as the garden state plaza which opened   in 1957 according to the fun new jersey magazine  this mall located in northern jersey had 90 stores   during its first year the convenient location  meant that it quickly started to draw business   away from nearby towns in northern jersey the  mammoth mall opened in 1960 just 10 miles away   from asbury park and then the six flags great  adventure located near the new jersey turnpike and   i-195 opened up in 1974. this was one of the  final nails in the coffin with regards to the   rapidly slowing drip of tourism that once served  as the city's livelihood without that steady flow   to sustain the town the effects were immediate  many of asberry park's middle class residents   moved to the suburbs for larger backyards the  urban sprawl of new offices and other industrial   buildings also enticed residents to move away to  shorten their commute times the second significant   decline came in 1970 and at this point it is  essential to note that bradley contributed   significantly to the segregation of asberry park  which was one of the primary reasons for its   second wave of decline in fact it's the reason  that many activists have pushed to have the town   founders statue removed from the front of the  paramount theater and convention hall complex   apparently bradley was an avowed segregationist  and opposed racial integration on the grounds   he claimed to be quote economic and moral tensions  had risen to an all-time high by the later years   of the 20th century especially as the west  and east sides continued to be separated with   the west side experiencing unthinkable poverty  and a lack of support from the city riots and   destruction erupted on both sides after tensions  finally boiled over to the point that new jersey   governor william t cahill urged president nixon  to declare asbury as a major disaster area these   calls were heard resulting in asbury park as well  as neptune township having a curfew of 8 30 pm   in total there were 170 arrests made and  over 4 million dollars in property damage   the entire west side business district had to be  destroyed and many families either lost or left   their homes on both sides of the town those who  could leave left as soon as possible and the city   fell into ruin with the once magnificent boardwalk  decaying and vacant lots on the west side slowly   but surely became overrun with weeds as homes  were boarded up in the years following the riots   crime grew rampant and in the 1980s an initiative  for affordable housing was put on indefinite hold   as atlantic city and wildwood grew in popularity  asbury faded into a shadow of what it once was   in the late 1980s asbury park attempted to revive  itself adopting a 550 million dollar redevelopment   plan that brought back a spark of hope to the  few people who still had their eye on this dying   city unfortunately an economic recession ground  construction to a halt resulting in some modern   ruins such as unfinished condos that only made  the city seem even more derelict and abandoned   it wasn't until many more redevelopment plans were  proposed and subsequently set aside that the new   wave of the city council members took office at  the start of the 21st century many of whom remain   in office today these members worked with  oceanfront acquisitions to begin construction   on a future many thought was impossible at the  time asbury park was officially registered as an   urban enterprise zone and tax concessions among  other economic policies were offered to attract   more small businesses to the area as more people  gradually started to come to settle in vacation   developers began building new apartments  and condos among the most desirable today   are the north beach ashbury park condos or the  lofts at asberry park in eureka since the first   attempts at reviving the city many different  communities have come together over the years   in the hopes of saving the city creating a unique  diverse blend of people and opening restaurants   art galleries and many other businesses billions  of dollars have been spent and much of the   boardwalk has been renovated from the waterfront  to main street one of the most recent examples   happened in the summer of 2016 when asbury hotel  opened to great success previously a salvation   army building the seven-story tall building was  sold for just 100 at a sheriff's sale in 2013   and years later it was reborn and reimagined as  a stunning boutique hotel the overall restoration   was so successful that it attracted the attention  of others looking to revitalize particularly in   atlantic city in 2021 asbury park hosted a tour  for a group of 60 atlantic city business owners   activists officials and representatives of the  various civic organizations this tour elevated   the city to a model of redevelopment and set  a precedent that has been fondly spoken of   to officials and stakeholders in charge of similar  redevelopment in atlantic city the arts have also   been a crucial part of the restoration process in  asberry park one such example is the wooden walls   outdoor art installation series that came into the  city in 2021 vividly colorful strands of yarn blow   in the ocean breeze and it's all quite symbolic  as those strings are rooted on the beams of a   historic casino building but with that being  said nothing has been quite as significant   as the impact of the local music scene one of the  city's finest rock and roll venues the stone pony   first opened in 1974 and has since been visited by  a wide variety of contemporary musicians such as   bruce springsteen bon jovi and steve vanzant  along with the wonder bar and the paramount   theater in the convention hall these venues but  particularly the stone pony helped to launch many   musicians careers and brought on a whole genre  known as the jersey shore sound you might recall   springsteen's first album greetings from asberry  park which served to bolster interest in restoring   the former oceanfront resort by now you might be  wondering what remains of the historic askberry   park buildings and while many of them fell into  ruin in the years since its peak in tourism   some traces of the town's rich history do  remain one such building is the asberry park   convention hall and paramount theater designed  by the well-known new york architecture firm   warren and wetmore the same architects behind  the grand central terminal construction of this   incredible building which merges french and  italian design started in 1928 and the center   opened in 1930 it includes a theater exhibition  hall and even an arcade full of shops and many   amusements throughout according to new jersey  historical trust it also served as a venue for   army and naval training during world war ii and it  also played venue to ban dances during the war era   this amazing hall was awarded a grant of 1245 000  in 1996 by the new jersey historic preservationist   board program which helped fund the restoration  of the water tower replacement of windows and   re-plastering and painting of the theater and  exhibition hall however it was ultimately closed   to the public in august of 2021 and remains  off limits ever since due to safety concerns   another iconic building is the asberry park casino  and carousel building both of which are remainders   of the past a large portion of the concrete and  limestone casino building stand alongside the   corruso house at the end of 700 ocean avenue  the corral house was renovated with new glass   iron gates and a new roof that has occasionally  hosted theater groups and bands local to the area   i suppose that to appreciate asbury park you  have to look past its obvious aesthetic much   of the original history has fallen to ruin and  decline what remains is limited but there is no   doubt that this is a special unique epicenter  of new jersey with that being said it's not out   of the woods quite yet the economic disparity  between the west and east sides of the city is   a persistent problem that remains as is the crime  rate which as of 2019 was 1.8 times greater than   the u.s average so the question remains will the  problems be addressed so that a more secure future   can be established for the town's residence indeed  the story of asbury park is quite a roller coaster   it has been through many ups and  downs in its success over the years   however the prospect of renovation and revival  bring with them hopes that the city might one day   see its former glory as a premier vacation  spot fully restored let me know what you   think of askberry park's future in the  comments section below and don't forget   to check out our video on the rise and fall of  atlantic city this is ryan socash signing off

Channel: IT'S HISTORY

Views: 220,674

Keywords: tales of urban decay, urban history, American history, Asbury Park, New Jersey, Jersey Shore, History, Museum, Monmouth County, nj.com, nj, new jersey, Asbury Park history, Jersey Shore history, Bruce Springsteen, Springsteen, film, festival, asbury, park, jersey, shore, garden, state, convention, hall, New Jersey (US State), Nostalgia (Quotation Subject), History (TV Genre), memories, Paul Czekaj, Amusement Park (Industry), Restaurant (Industry), Jersey shore, Bobby Bandiera, Good OLd Days

Id: 1agMJmtdJL8

Length: 19min 18sec (1158 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 24 2022