I've shared with you the highlights of Asbury Park,
the convention center and the
casino, but there is still more to see!
Despite a lot of new building and restoration, much still lies vacant down along the water but has a certain picturesque charm.
Other than the Atlantic, the big draw to Asbury Park is the nearby
Ocean Grove Auditorium and village -a religious retreat. This is a quaint area near downtown which contains a number of restored Victorian houses.
Right across the street from the Convention Center along the boardwalk is the iconic Howard Johnsons, now home to another cafe. I love quirky mid century modern buildings like this.
No small town is complete without a proper post office, a white marble beaux-arts beauty at that.
Terra cotta decoration is found off the boardwalk as well.
The Romanesque styled Methodist church in town is covered in gorgeous, colorful tiles.
Immacutely kept, the church must be much loved by its' congregants.
Just a detail of the tiles.
Even this house was covered in terra cotta!
The town has seen a rebirth and many of the houses have been restored.
Most are charming Victorians such as this with wide front porches; quintessential American homes.
There are many variations though, this classically - inspired bungalow was all original. Talk about unique!
I loved this white elephant of a Mediterranean, how I would love to restore it!
Downtown holds no end of great restaurants and antique shops. This building in particular appealed to me.
Even smaller cities have some early skyscrapers, like this Richardsonian Romanesque stone beauty, now condos above a restaurant.
But it is primarily known for the strip along the boardwalk where many musicians have famously gotten their start such as Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi , at
the Stone Pony club.
I even made a few friends down on the boardwalk! I hope you enjoyed this tour of New Jersey's great small town, Asbury Park.
I've shared with you the highlights of Asbury Park, the convention center and the casino, but there is still more to see!
Despite a lot of new building and restoration, much still lies vacant down along the water but has a certain picturesque charm.
Other than the Atlantic, the big draw to Asbury Park is the nearby Ocean Grove Auditorium and village -a religious retreat. This is a quaint area near downtown which contains a number of restored Victorian houses.
No small town is complete without a proper post office, a white marble beaux-arts beauty at that.
The town has seen a rebirth and many of the houses have been restored.
Downtown holds no end of great restaurants and antique shops. This building in particular appealed to me.
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7 comments:
Asbury Park is apparently a great repository for old architectural terracotta, a material I greatly admire. Also, that statue of Ellwood Stokes must be the most comfortable and relaxed-looking bronze statue I have seen.
--Road to Parnassus
It looks like a fun mix of kitschy buildings and classics.
I don't know which I liked more the hot dog or the terra cotta work! Wonderful review of this place. I had no idea and always thought of it as a gruesome destination.
A great posting! I never tire of beautiful terra cotta details; I sure wish that sort of detail were still incorporated into current buildings. That reminds me, I think there's some nice terra cotta to be photographed at Carnegie Mellon University . . .
What a beautiful place! I love the terracotta details. I imagine they were cost effective and beautiful.
Stefan -- I'd like to see your ideas for the Mediterranean!
You always find the best post offices. I never come across interesting ones -- fire stations, sometimes -- but for some reason not POs :)
Hadn't read your blog in a while and had missed the last few months. I've really enjoyed these 3 posts visiting my stomping grounds - north end Ocean Grove, close to the Casino in my case - and wish I'd known you were visiting. A lot of great insides that I could have shown you. The thing that photos alone don't demonstrate is the magical effect on people that places with history have - these really are special towns. Please be sure to let me know if you are back next summer!
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