Jersey Shore Magazine

J e r s e y s h o r e • S P R I N G 2 0 2 2 40 JERSEY SHORE LANDMARKS TRAVELING THE "GORDON COAST" continued from page 39 The seawall in Sea Bright. Convention Hall on the Asbury Park boardwalk. Ocean Grove This Methodist Meeting com- munity, just south of Asbury Park and across scenic Wesley Lake, was founded in 1869. It is notable for its Victorian dwellings, room- ing houses, framed tent dwellings, and camp meeting traditions. After 1875, trainloads of visitors arrived by the New York and Long Branch Railroad. In 1877 alone, 710,000 rail- road tickets were sold for the Ocean Grove-Asbury Park train station stop. Ocean Grove features a large, open- space performance auditorium that at one time was called "the state's most wondrous wooden structure." Completed in 1894, it can accommo- date audiences of more than 6,000. The land is owned by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association and leased to individual homeowners and businesses. Ocean Grove is con- sidered the longest-active camp meet- ing site in the U.S. and was known as Sea Bright This is where the first Sea Bright Skiffs were built. Initially designed for fishermen who launched these boats through the breaking waves, they became the model for early lifeguard rescue boats. Further south is the story-high seawall that protects the narrow isthmus that leads south to Long Branch and Asbury Park. Asbury Park Almost anyone who is a Bruce Springsteen fan wants to see the Stone Pony, the bar where the Freehold musician began his climb to fame. A short walk north leads to Convention Hall where such bands as The Who, Herman's Hermits, Jefferson Airplane, Yes, the Blues Magoos, the Eagles, and other prominent bands played in their earlier years. the "Queen of Religious Resorts." No fewer than six presidents have spoken at Ocean Grove. Among the celebrities of the past who vacationed here were heavyweight boxing champions James J. Corbett and Max Baer and depart- ment store magnate F.W. Woolworth. At one time, it had entry gates that were closed on Saturday nights in observance of Sunday as the day of rest. These "Blue laws" were enforced, and all wheeled vehicles were prohib- ited in town on Sundays until 1979. Victorian homes in Ocean Grove. The pedestrian views from atop this bascule bridge of Avon-by-the-Sea and south to Belmar are terrific for young and old alike. Built in 1936, it is just a few hundred feet from the ocean shoreline and is a great place to watch the vessels headed out to sea or returning with their day's catch. Spring Lake This picturesque, park-like com- munity is composed of stylish, scenic mansions, former hotels, and a large, photogenic lake crossed with small wooden bridges and flanked by his- toric St. Catharine's Church. Shark River Inlet and Bridge Spring Lake Ocean Avenue Bridge over the Shark River Inlet. Kelly S. Andrews Gordon Hesse Kelly S. Andrews Paul Scharff Kirkikis

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