Asbury Park, era by era.
From the founding of Asbury Park as a resort in 1871 to the current closures and active public process — a chronological view of the documents and events that shape the boardwalk today.
Asbury Park is founded as a Methodist-inspired seaside resort and grows into one of the premier destinations on the East Coast. Between 1925 and 1930, the New York firm Warren and Wetmore — designers of Grand Central Terminal — designs four buildings on the waterfront: the Berkeley-Carteret Hotel, Convention Hall, the Paramount Theatre, and the Casino complex.
- 1871Bradley founds Asbury Park.
James A. Bradley buys 500 acres between Deal and Wesley Lakes and founds Asbury Park as a Methodist-inspired seaside resort, naming it after Francis Asbury, founder of Methodism in the United States.
- 1874Asbury Park is incorporated as a borough.
- 1888Palace Amusements begins.
Ernest Schnitzler begins construction of the Palace Merry-Go-Round at Lake Avenue and Kingsley Street. The Palace will operate continuously for 100 years.
- Late 1800sBradley builds the original boardwalk.
Orchestra pavilion, public changing rooms, and a pier. At peak, 600,000 people visit Asbury Park each summer.
- 1925Berkeley-Carteret Hotel opens.
Designed by Warren and Wetmore, the first of four Warren and Wetmore buildings on the Asbury Park waterfront.
- 1928–1930Warren and Wetmore complete the waterfront.
Convention Hall opens June 1, 1930 — 3,600 seats, connected to the Paramount Theatre by an enclosed arcade over the boardwalk. The Paramount opens July 11, 1930. The Casino complex at the south end — Carousel House, Casino House, Casino Arcade, and Casino Arena — is also completed.
- September 8, 1934SS Morro Castle runs aground.
The ocean liner catches fire at sea and runs aground just off shore next to Convention Hall. More than 130 people die. The burning hulk becomes a tourist attraction for months before being towed away.
- 1930s–1940sPeak resort era.
Convention Hall hosts world-famous entertainers; the Paramount screens films and hosts concerts; the Casino Arena operates as an entertainment venue and skating rink.
The Turnpike and Garden State Parkway remake the economics of the Jersey Shore. Week-long hotel guests become day-trippers, then disappear. Civil unrest in 1970, the closure of major venues, and the collapse of tourism by the late 1970s leave the boardwalk and historic buildings in visible disrepair.
- 1951–1955Turnpike and Parkway open.
Other shore communities absorb the overnight visitors who once came to Asbury Park by train. Over the following two decades, most of the grand hotels close.
- 1955–56The Tillie murals are painted on the Palace Amusements building.
- 1961The Empress Hotel opens on Ocean Avenue as a luxury family resort.
- 1968The Upstage Club opens.
Tom and Margaret Potter open the club at 702 Cookman Avenue. Bruce Springsteen and Southside Johnny both play here before becoming famous. It closes in 1971.
- July 4, 1970Civil unrest erupts on the west side.
Four days of disturbances cause significant property damage along Springwood Avenue, the commercial heart of the Black community. The corridor is never rebuilt.
- February 8, 1974The Stone Pony opens on Ocean Avenue.
- Late 1970sTourism collapses.
Hotels close one after another. The tax base erodes. The boardwalk, pavilions, and historic buildings begin a visible slide into disrepair.
- Early 1980sBuildings boarded up across downtown and the waterfront.
The City adopts its first Waterfront Redevelopment Plan and selects Carabetta/Vaccaro as prime developer. The 1101 Ocean Avenue condo project goes bankrupt with the steel skeleton still standing. All redevelopment rights freeze in Connecticut bankruptcy court. The historic buildings continue to deteriorate.
- November 7, 1984The City Council adopts the first Waterfront Redevelopment Plan, covering 229 acres.
- 1986Carabetta/Vaccaro selected as prime developer.
The plan: 2,500 condos, 370,000 square feet of commercial space, 350 hotel rooms.
- 1988Construction starts at 1101 Ocean Avenue.
Carabetta/Vaccaro begin a 224-unit, 16-story condominium, formally called Ocean Mile, later known as Esperanza.
- November 1988Palace Amusements closes after 100 years.
Carabetta, the new owner, abandons the building. The Empress Hotel closes around the same time.
- 19891101 Ocean Avenue project goes bankrupt.
The lender pulls out. The steel skeleton remains standing on the oceanfront. All waterfront activity stops.
- Early 1990sCarabetta and the Vaccaros enter bankruptcy; redevelopment rights freeze in Connecticut bankruptcy court.
- 1992The Berkeley-Carteret is sold at sheriff's sale.
- 1990sAdvanced disrepair.
The Paramount, Convention Hall, the Casino, the Palace, and the pavilions all fall into advanced disrepair. The Palace roof partially collapses. The condo skeleton stays up on the oceanfront.
Before the formal redevelopment process restarts, a revival is already underway. LGBTQ buyers begin restoring Victorian homes on the west side and downtown. Property values are at historic lows. The residential housing stock is rehabilitating years before any master developer arrives.
- 1998Shep Pettibone buys and begins to restore the abandoned Empress Hotel.
- May 1999Paradise Nightclub opens inside the Empress.
It becomes one of the oldest continuously operating gay clubs in New Jersey and a new source of summer tourism.
- 2000Stone Pony restored; Palace listed on the National Register.
Domenic Santana renovates the Stone Pony. Save Tillie, a grassroots group of about 1,000 members, succeeds in getting Palace Amusements listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Asbury Partners is designated exclusive Master Developer. The City conveys Convention Hall, the Paramount, and the Casino. The NJSHPO Preservation Easement is recorded and the CAFRA permit is issued — together they lock preservation and public-access obligations onto the historic complex. Palace Amusements is demolished. Asbury Partners defaults on the iStar loan and the Fishman brothers are removed.
- 2001City signs a Memorandum of Understanding with the Fishman brothers through Ocean Front Acquisitions.
- October 2002Amended and Restated Redeveloper Agreement signed.
Asbury Partners LLC is designated the exclusive Master Developer of the waterfront.
- 2002–2003Save the Stone Pony campaign.
The original waterfront plan threatens to demolish the Stone Pony for condo development. Santana sells the building to Asbury Partners in July 2003 after Asbury Partners promises to preserve it.
- January 15, 2004Convention Hall and Paramount conveyed; NJSHPO Easement recorded.
The easement runs with the land in perpetuity. It requires maintenance to Secretary of the Interior Standards and a minimum of 12 days of public access per year.
- March 2004CAFRA permit issued for the entire waterfront.
Authorizes planned construction in exchange for preservation: the Casino, Convention Hall, and the Power Plant must be rehabilitated to Secretary of the Interior Standards, and Palace artifacts including the Tillie mural must be preserved and publicly displayed in a new building on the site. Issued jointly to the City and Asbury Partners.
- June–July 2004Palace Amusements demolished.
Save Tillie volunteers save the 16-ton Tillie mural, the Bumper Cars murals, and more than 125 other artifacts. The demolition proceeds over objections from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Asbury Park Historical Society, and Preservation New Jersey.
- December 2004City conveys the Casino to Asbury Partners.
- April 2006Dispute Resolution Agreement executed.
Sets dollar amounts and deadlines for renovation of the pavilions, Convention Hall, the Casino, and the Paramount.
- August 2006iStar Financial makes a $69.4 million loan to Asbury Partners — as lender, not owner.
- 2006–2008Pavilion and Convention Hall renovations.
5th Avenue Pavilion renovated inside and out; 1st and 3rd Avenue Pavilions rebuilt. Watermark opens in the 1st Avenue Pavilion. Convention Hall gets new windows, structural repairs, life-safety upgrades, new storefronts and entry doors. The Paramount is renovated enough to function for performances.
- 2007Casino Arena east wing demolished.
The Warren and Wetmore structure that extended east over the beach is demolished to make way for a planned three-story retail and entertainment complex with an observation tower.
- 2007Madison Asbury Retail (MAR) formed.
Joint venture between Asbury Partners and Madison Marquette. Ownership of the boardwalk pavilions, Convention Hall, the Paramount, and the Casino transfers from Asbury Partners to MAR.
- 2008MAR partners with Live Nation to bring national talent to Convention Hall and the Paramount.
- 2008–2009Asbury Partners defaults on the iStar loan.
The global financial crisis hits. iStar takes over Asbury Partners, removing the Fishman brothers.
The 2010 Subsequent Developer Agreement becomes the contract that governs the waterfront today. iStar builds the residential and hotel side of its portfolio — VIVE, South Grand, The Asbury Hotel, the Monroe, the Asbury Ocean Club at 1101 Ocean Avenue. Convention Hall and the Paramount operate as concert venues but receive no structural renovation. In 2021 and 2023 the City issues its first notices of default; Convention Hall, the Paramount, and the Casino Arcade close.
- June 2010Subsequent Developer Agreement signed.
The City, MAR, and Asbury Partners recognize MAR as the new developer of the boardwalk pavilions, Convention Hall, the Paramount, and the Casino complex. MAR must maintain all of these properties, operate Convention Hall and the Paramount under the preservation easement, and complete remaining construction at Convention Hall. Asbury Partners remains responsible as backstop if MAR fails to perform.
- 2010–2021Convention Hall and the Paramount operate as major concert venues with no structural renovation.
- 2010–2012Tenant activity picks up.
Silverball Museum moves to the boardwalk. The Splash Park opens at 2nd Avenue. Asbury Eighteen mini golf opens at 3rd Avenue. The 4th Avenue Pavilion is repainted.
- 2012–2014$58 million infrastructure financing program.
iStar and the City launch the program. iStar builds the VIVE townhomes — the first new residential construction on the waterfront since 2007.
- 2013iStar purchases Asbury Lanes.
- 2015Wooden Walls Project launches.
Jenn Hampton brings international street artists to paint the Casino, Power Plant, and Sunset Pavilion facades. Asbury Lanes closes for a planned renovation; only the four walls are preserved.
- 2015–2018iStar residential and hotel build-out.
South Grand townhouses (2015), The Asbury Hotel in the former Salvation Army building (2016), the Monroe condominium (2016). Asbury Lanes reopens in May 2018 with six lanes in place of the original eighteen.
- 2018–2020Asbury Ocean Club opens at 1101 Ocean Avenue.
16 stories, 128 condos, retail, parking garage — on the site of the abandoned condo skeleton that had stood on the oceanfront for three decades. The North End Boardwalk is completed between 2018 and summer 2020, from 6th Avenue to Deal Lake Drive.
- August 25, 2021Resolution 2021-386 — first formal default.
Cites failures to maintain Convention Hall under the preservation easement, along with failures at the Sunset Pavilion, the 4th Avenue Pavilion, and the Splash Park.
- September 2021Convention Hall's ballroom and the Paramount Theatre are closed for safety reasons.
- January 2023City serves additional defaults specific to the Casino and the other boardwalk pavilions.
- May 2023Casino Arcade closed to the public.
The boardwalk-spanning structure between the Casino House and the demolished Casino Arena is closed due to deteriorating steel trusses. The closure cuts off the pedestrian connection between the Asbury Park boardwalk and Ocean Grove.
iStar merges with Safehold; legacy real estate including the entire Asbury Park waterfront portfolio is spun off into Star Holdings, a publicly traded trust with zero employees managed by Starfield Companies. Avison Young acquires Madison Marquette's retail management. In early 2026, the Casino Arcade crisis brings a third round of default notices and the City retains independent counsel.
- March 2023iStar merges with Safehold; Star Holdings spun off.
Legacy real estate, including the entire Asbury Park waterfront portfolio, goes to Star Holdings (NASDAQ: STHO), a publicly traded trust with zero employees. Day-to-day management is contracted to Starfield Companies, an independent firm founded by former iStar Asbury leaders.
- January 2024Avison Young acquires Madison Marquette's retail management operations.
Avison Young handles leasing and rent collection for the boardwalk properties as an outside service provider.
- Summer 2024AP Rooftop opens; Arthur Pryor Band Shell reopens.
AP Rooftop opens on the third floor of the 5th Avenue Pavilion. The rebuilt band shell reopens after a 14-year delay; it had originally been due by December 2010.
- 20244th Avenue Pavilion reopens with new retail tenants.
Wooden Walls murals cover the building. Convention Hall and the Paramount remain closed.
- Late January 2026Casino Arcade temporarily declared an unsafe structure.
The designation is lifted after public outcry. MAR applies for a permit to demolish the Casino Arcade. The City denies the application and requires a structural engineer's report.
- January 28, 2026City Council authorizes a third round of default notices, specific to the Casino Building.
- February 6, 2026MAR posts a statement saying the Casino Arcade will be 'repaired and preserved.'
- February 18, 2026Special City Council meeting.
Nearly 100 residents attend at Asbury Park High School. State legislators including Senator Gopal and Assemblywomen Donlon and Peterpaul write to the City.
- March 2026City retains Justice Lee Solomon and Archer & Greiner PC to review the redevelopment agreements and advise on enforcement options.
Every document mentioned above is in the archive. Browse the record →