Asbury Park is a city located on the Jersey Shore with a population of over 16 thousand. Developed in 1871 as a residential resort by New York brush manufacturer James A. In the 1920s, Paramount Theatre, Convention Hall complex, Casino Arena, and several other interesting places were constructed, which attracted people and tourists. Casino Pier was severely damaged in a 1965 fire. Asbury Park (Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com). Reminders of the town's glittering past are still around — the Casino Building.

Old Casino Building Asbury Park Nj
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574 Cookman Avenue, Asbury Park, NJ This amazing space will make the perfect location for any restaurant, This historical landmark is in the process of being restored. Formally known as The Seacoast Trust Co. Building, the property was designed in the 1920s by the same architectural firm that designed Grand Central Terminal and Asbury Park’s. Palace Amusements opened in 1888 as a classic Victorian pavilion. Its main attraction was a carousel, with hand-carved wooden horses, giraffes, camels, goats and deer.In 1895, the building was expanded to include a unique steam powered Ferris Wheel. History of the Asbury Park Casino Built in 1929, the casino and its accompanying arcade made Asbury Park one of NJ’s premier resort towns. The complex boasted a wide range of amusements, from rides and concessions to year-round accommodations. It was also a popular place for entertainment like movies, theater, and concerts.

Convention center and amusement arcade.
Asbury Park recovered from the fire and severe devastation caused by a winter storm in 1923 with a building boom. Among the buildings built during this rejuvenation were the Santander, long known as a posh summer apartment house, the Berkeley-Carteret, Convention Hall and the Casino. The Casino and Convention Hall were designed by the architects Warren and Wetmore, who designed New York's Grand Central Station. Convention Hall, a unique structure, also included on the State and National Register, would fit comfortably on St. Mark's Square in Venice.

Old Casino Building Asbury Park Nj

Picture

“The Glad to See You” Tower. By Paul Goldfinger © The Casino is in the center of the photo.

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger

We’ve all walked by that peculiar-looking building on the left side of our photo above, adjacent to the Casino in Asbury Park, at the Ocean Grove North End.

Many of us wondered what that is/was. I’ve never heard a clear explanation until now upon reading a wonderful account, with photos, by Marlo Montanaro, a Jersey Shore photographer, who posted a piece on his blog called “The Monolith of Asbury Park.”

Marlo was able to get information and access inside of that mysterious place. He succinctly refers to it as “the steam power plant,” a name known to many old-timers in this part of the Jersey Shore.

The central tower, seen from the roof. By Marlo Montanaro ©

The steam plant was built in 1930 in order to provide heat to boardwalk attractions so that Asbury Park could compete year-round for recreational business. It was designed by Warren and Wetmore from New York City who were responsible for other Beaux Arts structures nearby, including the Casino, Convention Hall, Paramount Theatre, and the Berkeley Carteret Hotel to the north.

Inside were three huge boilers that used oil to create steam for heat. The heat was pumped through pipes to the various buildings. Water may have been obtained from Wesley Lake or even dumped into the Lake. There is no information as to the success of the project, but evidently it wasn’t used once WWII occurred.

Dramatic photograph inside the steam power plant, by Marlo Montanaro. © You can see more of these wonderful images by clicking on his link below. Marlo’s photos posted here with his permission.

Since then it has stood as a monument of sorts to a utility that lost its purpose over 70 years ago. In the late c. 1960’s we have a photo of Bruce Springsteen, another Asbury icon, standing north of the tower.

“Young Bruce” at the north end of the Asbury boards. Photo by Emil Salvini.

In 2003, a developer wanted to move the Stone Pony into that steam building, but, of course, that did not occur thanks to a lot of noise by the Cousin Brucie rock ‘n roll crowd.

Hollywood casino amphitheatre tinley park illinois seating chart tickets. The most original recent contribution to the known history of the steam power plant are the evocative interior photographs that Marlo Montanaro posted last April with his detailed review of the subject.

Here is what he said about the enigmas that remain, “There are still mysteries here- what it really looked like when she was new… the men that worked here, what 1930 was really like… I can picture dark smoke and steam spewing from the top, the noises of banging steam pipes, and loud oil-fueled fires heating huge tanks of water, the smell of burning oil- steam power is a living, breathing thing. I can see some of the workmen taking a break, looking out over Wesley Lake as families took a ride on the paddle boats, while they toiled in a hot, nasty environment wearing soot-covered overalls. I wish I could have seen her in all her glory. But I can only imagine.”

Below are two links to Marlo’s blogposts dated April, 2014. Thanks to Joel of OG for tipping us off to the Marlo post.

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JANE LANIER from the album Fosse. It is from the 1954 Broadway musical “The Pajama Game.”

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https://blogfinger.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/07-steam-heat.mp3

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Old Casino Building Asbury Park Nj

Casino Building Asbury Park Nj Directions

Casino Building Asbury Park Nj Restaurants