Asbury Park or sometimes called just "Asbury" is a city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, on the Jersey Shore and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2000 United States Census, the city population was 17,930.
Asbury Park was originally incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 26, 1874, from portions of Ocean Township. The borough was reincorporated on February 28, 1893. Asbury Park was incorporated as a city, its current type of government, as of March 25, 1897.
The city is widely known for its rich musical history. It was ranked the sixth best beach in New Jersey in the 2008 Top 10 Beaches Contest sponsored by the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium.
Geography
Asbury Park is located at 40°13′21″N 74°00′44″W / 40.222399°N 74.012098°W / 40.222399; -74.012098 (40.222399, -74.012098).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.1 km 2 ), of which 1.3 square miles (3.7 km 2 ) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.4 km 2 ) of it (10.62%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,930 people, 6,754 households, and 3,586 families residing in the city. The population density was 14,290.0/mi 2 (5,629.4/km 2 ) making it Monmouth County's most densely populated municipality. There were 7,744 housing units at an average density of 2,090.9/km 2 (5,416.7/mi 2 ). The racial makeup of the city was 15.77% White, 67.11% Black, 0.32% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 6.49% from other races, and 5.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.58% of the population.
There were 6,754 households out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 20.2% were married couples living together, 26.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.9% were non-families. 39.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.36.
In the city the population was spread out with 30.1% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $23,081, and the median income for a family was $26,370. Males had a median income of $27,081 versus $24,666 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,516. About 29.3% of families and 40.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 46.5% of those under age 18 and 37.1% of those age 65 or ver.
History
Early years
A seaside community, Asbury Park is located on New Jersey's central coast. Developed in 1871 as a residential resort by New York brush manufacturer James A. Bradley, the city was named for Francis Asbury, the first American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States.
Bradley was active in the development of much of the city's infrastructure, and despite his preference for gas light, he allowed the Atlantic Coast Electric Company (precursor to today's Jersey Central Power & Light Co.) to offer electric service. Along the waterfront Bradley installed a boardwalk, an orchestra pavilion, public changing rooms and a pier at the south end of the boardwalk. Such success attracted other businessmen. In 1888 Ernest Schnitzler built the Palace Merry-Go-Round on the southwest corner of Lake Avenue and Kingsley Street, the cornerstone of what would become the Palace Amusements complex; other attractions followed. During these early decades in Asbury Park, a number of grand hotels were built, including the Plaza Hotel.
Uriah White, an Asbury Park pioneer, installed the first artesian well water system. More than 600,000 people a year vacationed in Asbury during the summer season in the early years, riding the New York and Long Branch Railroad from New York City and from Philadelphia to enjoy the mile-and-a-quarter stretch of oceanfront Asbury.
The country by the sea destination experienced several key periods of popularity. The first notable era was the 1890s, marked by a housing growth, examples of which can still be found today in a full range of Victorian architecture. Coinciding with the nationwide trend in retail shopping, Asbury Park's downtown flourished during this period and well into the next century.
1920s
The 1920s saw a dramatic change in the boardwalk with the construction of the Paramount Theatre and Convention Hall complex, the Casino Arena and Carousel House, and two handsome red-brick pavilions. Noted Beaux Arts architect Warren Whitney of New York was the designer. He had also been hired to design the imposing Berkeley-Carteret Hotel positioned diagonally across from the theater and hall. At the same time, Asbury Park launched a first-class education and athletic program with the construction of a state-of-the-art high school overlooking Deal Lake.
Later years
Neither the Great Depression nor World War II were kind to Asbury Park. In 1934, the wreck of the SS Morro Castle beached itself near the city. In 1943, the New York Yankees held their Spring Training in Asbury Park. This was because rail transport had to be conserved during the war, and Major League Baseball's Spring Training was limited to an area east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River.
In the decades that followed the war, surrounding farm communities gave way to tracts of suburban houses, encouraging the city's middle-class blacks as well as whites to move into newer houses with spacious yards. With the opening of the Garden State Parkway, Asbury Park saw the travel market change as fewer vacationers took trains to the seashore. After the Monmouth Mall opened 10 miles away in Eatontown in 1960, Asbury Park's downtown became less of an attraction to shoppers. Office parks built outside the city resulted in the relocation of lawyers, accountants, doctors, dentists, and other professionals. The opening of Six Flags Great Adventure, a combination theme park and drive-through safari located on a lake in Jackson Township - and close to a New Jersey Turnpike exit - proved to be stiff competition for a mile-long stretch of aging boardwalk amusements. Although it was placed on the National Registers of Historic Places, in 1988 Palace Amusements was closed, and was demolished in 2004 despite attempts to save it. The complex had featured the famous face of Tillie, a symbol of the Jersey Shore.
The city's changing fortunes, together with municipal mismanagement, led to civic unrest. On July 4, 1970 riots resulted in the destruction of aging buildings along Springwood Avenue, one of three main east-west corridors into Asbury Park and the central shopping and entertainment district for those living in the city's southwest quadrant. In 2007 many of those city blocks have yet to be redeveloped.
21st century
From 2002 onward, the rest of Asbury Park has been in the midst of a cultural, political, and economic revival, led by a burgeoning industry of local and national artists. Its dilapidated downtown district is undergoing revitalization while most of the nearly empty blocks that overlook the beach and boardwalk are slated for massive reconstruction. In 2005, the Casino's walkway reopened, as did many of the boardwalk pavilions.
The year 2007 proved to be an important one, full of milestones for the redevelopment of Asbury Park. The eastern portion of the Casino building was demolished. There are plans to rebuild this portion to look much like the original; however, the interior will be dramatically different and may include a public market (as opposed to previously being an arena and skating rink). There has also been more of a resurgence of the downtown as well as the boardwalk, with the grand reopening of the historic Steinbach department store building, as well as the rehabilitation of Convention Hall and the Fifth Avenue Pavilion (previously home to one of the last remaining Howard Johnson restaurants). The year 2007 has also seen the p
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