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

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I'm a child of the 60s. Growing up in italian family in North Jersey my traditional old school mother didnt drive. In the summer she would take me by bus to Asbury Park at least twice a week. We would spend the day on the beach then have a quick bite and catch the bus home around 5pm. These were times spent with my mom I'll never forget.

You didn't even mention Hurricane Sandy which nearly destroyed all of what was starting to make a comeback back then. From Asbury park to Seaside heights, Momma nature destroyed a whole lot of real estate.

It's the MONMOUTH Mall NOT mammoth. MON-MOUTH. You can see it written on the side of the building @9:58.

The narration is informative, however, many of the pictures are misleading as they are of Ocean Grove, the community to the south of Asbury Park. The image at 4:18 is the Ocean Grove Auditorium (built in 1894). At 4:52, the Victorian homes are on the Ocean Grove side of Wesley Lake. 11:25 sign on railing clearly says Ocean Grove. 12:02, houses on Ocean Pathway, Ocean Grove (houses still occupied). 12:13 is the Ocean Grove boardwalk. 12:28 - the narration references low-income housing while showing the Ocean Grove tent community - part of the summer program there. 13:26 and 18:32 - flyover is Ocean Grove.

As I enjoyed most of the video, the mispronounced Monmouth and carousel ruined it. Other small issues, how the riots really affected the town for decades. Also how the LGBTQ community helped renew the city over the past few decades. Oh and NY and long Branch railroads. The malls also killed the downtown shopping, but it's the seaview square mall and "Monmouth mall" not garden state mall that took the department stores in the 60s and 70s. Other nitpicks are the press clippings, which referred to Long Branch corruption. If you pause it, you can see a mobster named little pussy, inspiration of Big from the sopranos. A for effort, C in execution.

Grew up in Long Branch about 10 mins north of Asbury, back then when I was a kid in the 90s, it was terrible, with abandoned buildings/homes everywhere. I've now happily lived in Asbury for almost 10 years. Something worth mentioning that I feel was left out was how influential the gay community was in bringing it back, they bought many of the homes in the aughts and teens (a big reason for that is it was cheap back then, and most of them didn't need to worry about the below-average schools). Now it has become something of a hipster enclave, with a fair mix of big developers coming in. They just built a huge 5-star hotel/condo building on ocean ave. where a half-built eye-sore of concrete and rebar stood on an entire block right next to the beach my entire life. I run a bar program at a "hip" restaurant on Cookman ave., and it certainly feels like this is where most of the young people want to be as far as nightlife goes around here. We also get more and more new yorkers buying summer places every year. It's got its problems, but it definitely feels like it's still on the rise.

As someone who has lived in jersey their whole life I appreciate the heck out of this channel

I live 5 miles from Asbury. It has some good restaurants now but it’s never coming back to a family friendly town with theaters, rides, and amusements

Hi! Current resident of Asbury Park. Moved here from Jackson, NJ (where six flags is located as mentioned in the video) and wanted to go over some inconsistencies 1.) Were in Monmouth county, not Mammoth (small detail but still made me laugh) 2.) Convention hall is 100% open to the public. Covid 19 brought about some weird restrictions, but as of 2021 and 2022 the space is completely available for the public to walk through, shops and bars are open, and some shows and events have begun taking place again in then theater 3.) The disparity between the east and west side of town has lessened greatly in the past few years, a significant factor being the burgeoning small businesses springing up all over Asbury, which recruit workers from all over the area, regardless of location or social status All in all a good little history lesson for people unfamiliar with this location, however I think it's important to mention a multi-billion dollar hotel (the Asbury ocean club) was erected in 2018, tourism has been booming, and small businesses like restaurants and retail shops have been thriving, and new condos are being built here monthly. I wouldn't say Asbury park is the echelon of modern society, but I definitely believe it's in a constant growth state since it's 'fall' at the turn of the century

I was born at the Ft. Monmouth post hospital in 1949, then returned to the area when my late father was again assigned to Ft. Monmouth in 1962. Asbury Park was THE place to go for entertainment, no matter your age or interests, and I look back with fondness on those many hours of happiness. The Jersey Shore was a great place to be a child.

This was very good, but, a lot was also missed. Like, the combination of legalized gambling in AC, the closure of major mental hospitals, and widespread local corruption all contributed to the downfall of this once great seashore town. It's becoming great again. But, as said in the doc. it has a long way to go.

love that i found this channel! lots of NJ, NY, and PA history! would absolutely love to see some history on Seaside Heights NJ, and maybe Snug Harbor on Staten Island? 😊😄😃

Missed a couple fun points. The carousel (care-oh-sell btw) and casino was skate park in the late 90s. The casino wasn't a gambling casino, but a building for games. The carousel in there made it till the 90s before being dismantled and auctioned off, it was huge and beautiful. There was no driving on sundays in ocean Grove until the 80s? I think. There's really only one way in or out of that sorta gated community, and it's still a dry town. (no liquor) I held my wedding reception there in 2010 when it was all still super crappy because that town ment a lot to me because of the music scene. Rip Asbury Lanes, very much miss that place.

"Mon-muth" county and "car-a-sell" house. I love watching your videos about New Jerseys history but I can tell you not from around here lol.

My Aunt and Uncle lived in Ocean Grove so I remember Asbury Park in the late 50's thru the 60's. There was also a huge salt-water swimming pool attached to one of the hotels and a tunnel under the road and boardwalk from the pool area to the beach. My best memories were of the carousel (merry-go-round) that had a brass ring and the truly awesome fun-house with it's gigantic manic clown leering down from the roof. Still have the pastel portraits done by an artist on the boardwalk of me and my husband when we were first engaged, probably summer of "68. For me, it will always be a magical memory of teen years!!

The list of rock bands from the Allman Brothers to ZZ Top that played at Asbury Park is astounding!

A concert at the Stone Pony and a visit to the silverball pinball museum makes a trip there worth it.

As an Asbury Park native I am grateful for the care and attention being given to my hometown.

I remember Asbury Park in 1980. The Indoor amusement park was still functioning. Went through The Tunnel of Love with my future husband at the time. I have visited through out the years. Have seen its downfall in the 90's. Last time I visited was 2018. You could start to see the revitalization efforts kicking in. I can't wait for Summer 2022 to see what else is in store.