Asbury Park’s Casino; Perilously Close To Destruction

It was the signage that no-one in Asbury Park wanted to see, but deep down, it was something that many of us suspected was imminent. 700 Ocean Ave (which encompasses the Carousel, the Casino building, and the famed and mysterious steam plant) were officially cited as “Unsafe Structures” and stamped with crimson red stickers to keep people from entering (the Casino has been blocked from entry for several weeks now, with many assuming it was due to wind or weather).

The stickers were placed on the structures mere days before a winter storm piled on a foot plus of snow throughout Monmouth County, so it took several days for people to dig out and realize what potentially was about to happen to arguably, some of the most famed structures in the history of the Jersey Shore. Now that we are aware that the Carousel House is safe to twinkle another day (for now), the Asbury Park Casino building unfortunately, is not.

A little history on the Casino; structured by the same architects that built Grand Central Terminal (Warren and Wetmore), the Asbury Park Casino was crafted in place of a 1903 wooden structure that had been destroyed by a fire. Utilized as everything from a flea market to a walkway from Ocean Grove into Asbury Park, the Casino served as a backdrop for the video for Bruce Springsteen’s 1987 single “Tunnel of Love”. While the entire eastern wing of the Casino was demolished in 2006, the remainder of the building served as a haunting reminder of Asbury Park’s storied past along with what could very possibly, be a future rebirth of a famed building.

The newly minted authority on all things Asbury Park, This Week in Asbury Park’s Instagram page directly asked Madison Marquette to confirm that they were soliciting bids for demolition of the Casino, to which they initially had no comment. Following the public outcry and numerous inquiries, the City of Asbury Park’s lawyers have released a statement. While the developers have applied for a permit for demolition of the Casino walkway (that attaches Ocean Grove & Asbury Park), the city itself is pushing back. In the statement, they cite the attempt at demotion as a “shocking disregard for the historic heritage of Asbury Park” and that the developer is reneging on their own commitment to repair & restore historic buildings in town when they were purchased in 2010. The city followed up by stating that they will be requiring a full assessment to see if the Casino can be saved at all. As for the Carousel building, that structure remains safe right now (according to This Week in Asbury Park) although the sticker citing it as an “Unsafe Structure” remains.

The irony is not lost on me that the Asbury Park Boardwalk website still showcases renderings of both a completely reimagined Casino & Stone Pony Summer Stage, with text saying as follows;

“And, of course, the Casino Building is NOT being demolished. As announced recently, we will be completing an historically significant renovation of the Casino Building into a world class destination for arts, entertainment and dining. This will include the relocation of the Stone Pony Summer Stage to an elevated oceanfront amphitheater that will become an instant classic”.

There are numerous questions about who is at fault here and what the true intention is, but I will leave that for another day (and another column). Now the question remains; what can we, as citizens of Asbury Park possibly do? The short answer is-a number of things. Attend City Council meetings and be vocal and passionate about why this building should remain in Asbury Park and repaired (and how the City of Asbury Park should honor their original commitment).Be clear in your information and your subsequent statements. Galvanize your community; set up selfies outside the Casino; tell your stories and post them on your socials. Talk to local publications or influencers who are telling these amazing stories. In so many circumstances like this one, the citizens of a city are forced to be “fighting City Hall”. Now, we are working arm in arm with them in our determination to save one of Asbury Park’s most famed structures.

One final point to ponder; as we sit on the precipice of losing yet another famed Asbury Park location to time, politics, neglect, and disrepair, it is up to us as citizens and storytellers to put the wheels of progress in motion to save buildings like the steam plant, the Carousel House, and any other building in town that serves as a historical reminder of the legacy in our town. It is very clear that the only people that can be relied on to save these buildings (and their individual legacies) are those willing to tell their stories.