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Barnegat Lighthouse

Long Beach Island’s Barnegat Lighthouse was built over a hundred years ago and just in the past year has once again been shining its light. It sits on the southern edge of the Barnegat Inlet and although the light is no longer necessary it is nice to see it shining again.

The lighthouse you can see today is actually the second lighthouse structure on this shore of the inlet. The first was poorly built and unfortunately situated. Despite being built a ways back from the shoreline a number of storms made it so the lighthouse was at the edge of the water. It eventually fell over and into the water.

The current lighthouse was designed and built under the supervision of George Meade in the 1850’s. Meade would later go on to become a Civil War general and serve an important role at the battle of Gettysburg. His generalship skills were as good as his engineering skills and Meade built a much sounder structure than the original Barnegat Lighthouse designers. The fine work he did is what you will find today if you visit Barnegat Light State Park.

St. Elisabeth’s Chapel-by-the-Sea

This little church on 3rd Avenue in Ortley Beach is believed to be the oldest standing structure in Ortley. The building was originally built for Mrs. T. Robinson Warren in 1885. This New Brunswick, NJ native wanted to offer thanks for her daughter Cornelia’s return to good health. The church was her expression of gratitude. The family later turned the building over to the New Jersey Episcopal Diocese in 1916.

Much of the interior remains in its original state, although the outside has been changed somewhat. One big disaster the chapel narrowly escaped was a 1922 fire. This blaze started at the railroad tracks and quickly spread. It burned the 2nd Ave Victorian hotel, several cottages and the chapel. Fireman were able to limit the damage to the roof of building. Another near miss occured during the 1962 noreaster that damaged buildings up and down the New Jersey coast. Two summer homes adjacent to the chapel were washed away during that storm.

Saint Elizabeth’s holds services at different times, depending on the time of the year. You can find out what their current schedule is at their website.

the casino in ruins, before it was torn down

Sadly Gone

The end of Asbury Park’s role as a seaside resort area is a sad thing for many people that once played there. The palpable  sadness you can read about (save tillie and this photo essay) is partially a result of the fact that it has occurred in recent times . The decline of places like Long Branch and Atlantic City happened so long ago that there are way less people to bemoan their fate. Those that do remember those places are likely people that were children many, many years ago. They do not have much in the way of offering up their ideas on the internet. I’m sure thought these losses were just as hard to take in their time. There was also no modern day Bruce Springsteen to bring popular attention to the loss of those other places. So I would suggest all of this represents “progress” but still – it is difficult and sad to lose what Asbury Park once had if the amusements and beach were something you once enjoyed.

the casino in ruins, before it was torn down

The losses at Asbury were especially sad for many reasons. The beginning of the end began with race riots. A sad and difficult time for many people, for sure. The most recent episodes in the end to Asbury’s past too were both sad and somewhat indicative of what resort economies are like. For most people the shore is about memories built up around vacationing or otherwise enjoying themselves. For business people it is just that – business. What can yield the best return? Parting people from their money is the reason shore resorts built up in the first place. If there is some other way to make a buck there is a strong incentive to follow that instead. This is sad but true and most people do not want to really acknowledge that part of things when it comes to losing something they love – a tangible symbol of idyllic times from their childhood.

The loss of these symbols was even more shattering because of the way two of the most important elements of Asbury’s shore past were destroyed. The Casino, pictured above, has been largely torn down. The orginal carousel building and a portion of the structure that is part of the boardwalk is still in place, but the Casino as a whole is but a remnant shadow of its former self. The Palace on the other hand is gone.

The development that was supposed to replace the palace was a total failure. You could say it was torn down for nothing.

I don’t know the story behind much of what has gone on in Asbury, other than to know it is a long tale of many schemes and strange politics. What I do know is that I was at the Stone Pony somewhere around six years ago and saw that ugly skeleton of failure that sat on the beach then (scroll down this webpage to see some pictures of this place). It was very eerie to see that large shell of that unfinished building sitting there. It wasn’t just ugly, it was disturbing in a way that did not really make much sense. So from this many have suffered the loss of the Casino and the Palace being destroyed not just for some ignominious development that never came. They have seen their memories ridiculed by an overly public failed redevelopment scheme. Rather than the places around where these monuments once stood holding some shiny new progress in the form of nice new buildings, the scene is like the place where a senseless murder took place. No reason –  just sad loss, like the rubbing of salt in a wound.

At some point I think Asbury will get beyond all this recent sadness, failure and inability to move forward. The only question is will it be in the next decade or sometime longer in the future. It also remains to be seen what it will become. Shore boardwalk amusement areas are clearly dinosaurs. A few hang on and still thrive but it seems unlikely a new Seaside Heights boardwalk could be built – and succeed – today.

Photo attribution MRVJTod…..thanks for sharing this image!