Jersey shore IMAGES
Seaside Boardwalk Memories
Summer nights before Superstorm Sandy and the September Fire.
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Gordon Hesse
j e r s e y
s h o r e
•
F a l l / H o l i d a y
2 0 1 3
Superstorm Sandy destroyed Funtown
Pier (left) and most of the iconic
boardwalk's rides, games of chance,
and eateries. Many of these businesses,
but not all, were able to rebuild, along
with a few new, and reopen for summer.
They're all gone now. The catastrophic
fire on Thursday, September 12 started
below the boardwalk near one of the
Kohr's Frozen Custard stands (below)
and Biscayne Candies. Five blocks and
more than fifty businesses burned to the
ground or were damaged. Preliminary
investigations indicate that the fire
was indirectly caused by Superstorm
Sandy—salt water from the storm surge
corroded wiring under the boardwalk,
sparking and igniting the blaze. The
other half of the boardwalk, Casino Pier,
survived both Sandy and the September
conflagration. Gordon Hesse's beautiful
nighttime images of the now gone iconic
businesses capture the feeling of what
it was like there and what we hope will
once again return.
