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Post by anticondo on Jun 19, 2005 16:37:15 GMT -5
I just got back from a daytrip to Asbury Park which I heard was an absolute ghost town. I heard that even on a beutiful summer day there is no one to be found. I thinks it's coming back though. I saw a fair sized crowd of people walking the boards, I saw refurbrishment of some buildings going on, a businesses on the boards were open along with a Howard Johnsons that looked like something straight out of Wildwood [circa 1960] and there was a bar on the side of one of the piers that had a band playing on it. This was more then I expected. The stone pony was open and driving around the city I saw some great archeticture on the old houses and hotels. Some of the hotels had vacationers staying in them too. In the downtown district there were lots of people out and there seems to be an art kind of crowd hanging around there now. They could really use some rides or something though. It's a good day trip to take if anyone is interested. I don't know why it ever shut down in the first place, you see how fast the crest gets attacked by developers and you'd think they'd be all over Asbury too.
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Post by Crippled_Visions on Jun 19, 2005 21:14:06 GMT -5
Did you see Tilly while there?
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Post by choochoochuck on Jun 20, 2005 8:11:13 GMT -5
Tilly was destroyed...they saved his face for something, but Palace Amusements is all but a memory.
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Post by DjDoornob on Jun 20, 2005 10:31:10 GMT -5
The Asbury of today is 100 times better than the Asbury of 3 years ago. Developers are already on top of it... it's already been unofficially declared as the "next trendy" hotspot. It just needs a few more years. You still really don't want to go there at night, but it's much much much better.
I went there last year the week they were knocking down Palace Amusements and expected to see the "Ghost town" you were refering to, but found teh same situation... a lot more people on the beach and boardwalk then I had expected. And while there is still a significant amount of abandoned stores, motels, etc... there are a bunch that look fine, or new.
The stone pony, while it looks great, has actually been struggling for a while and faces closure more than ever!
Funny thing about the "cleaning up of Asbury". This weekend I met a cab driver on my way between Manasquan and Belmar, he was a black guy from Trinidad who has been working here for 3 years trying to get his family over and lives in asbury. He said all these developers (i.e., rich white people) are forcing all these low income people out and they have no where to go.
Just kinda a ying and a yang to make you think.
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Post by anticondo on Jun 20, 2005 12:00:51 GMT -5
There actually is another Tilly painted on the side of a bar right off the boardwalk. And as far as the lower income people being Forced out... I think they'll be bought out rather then forced out which might give them an oppurtunity to move into a better community.
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DJAndy
Junior Member
Posts: 72
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Post by DJAndy on Jun 20, 2005 13:04:29 GMT -5
Thanks for the reports on Asbury Park. It has been over 10 years since I visited. From what everyone is reporting, it sounds like the slow process of AP making a comeback is starting to happen. All they need to do is to bring back Rides & other Attractions like before on a modern day scale of today (rides in a building for year round enjoyment). Eventually AP will be in competition with Wildwood if things keep ongoing from what it sounds like. AP ties into Doo Wop because alot of the music artist of the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, and today perform(ed) there at the Convention Hall & Casino which are Historic Buildings that goes back to the Pre-World War II Era. In addition, many other buildings and neighboring Ocean Grove (Methodist Oriented w/ the Auditorium-large Pipe Organ), have Historic Value in addition to the Boardwalk. AP up to the late 80's, had the Oldest running Ferris Wheel & Carousel w/ a Ring Machine in the U.S.A. Also, don't forget Rubin's Fascination that used to be in the Casino (one of the First set of games ever made like them from the Worlds Fair). Miniature golf at Golfland, 2nd Ave, 4th Ave, and 6th Ave. At one point, there was a two coach Tram on the Boards.
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Post by ellen4441 on Jun 20, 2005 16:28:51 GMT -5
The crime rate is still REAL bad in Asbury Park...............so be careful....
Yes, there are people buying the new real expensive high rise condos.........
but you can't walk more than a block or so from your condo without being in the bad areas..
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Post by DjDoornob on Jun 21, 2005 10:27:13 GMT -5
The new tillie face is painted on the side of the famous Wunderbar, which re-themed it self to look like The Palace after the demolition.
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Post by Crippled_Visions on Jun 21, 2005 20:19:00 GMT -5
Tilly was destroyed...they saved his face for something, but Palace Amusements is all but a memory. There were two Tilly faces painted on the Palace. One was completely destroyed, and the other one was saved by preservationists. It is still somewhere in the Asbury Park area, so look for it the next time you visit.
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DJAndy
Junior Member
Posts: 72
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Post by DJAndy on Jul 20, 2005 10:46:07 GMT -5
I think the other Tillie Face is being stored at the Sewer Plant on a Truck Trailer from what see at www.savetillie.com/
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