I first photographed Asbury Park on a frigid day in December 1988. I liked the stillness in winter of this place built for summer, the clear bright light, and the intimacy of its abandonment. Wandering through the derelict halls and collapsing pool, I could only infer the buzz of crowds that made Asbury Park legendary. 

Known as the ‘jewel of the Jersey shore,’ Asbury Park thrived as a summer resort town after World War I. The boardwalk, which extends far along the coast and had many amusements, was the chief attraction. Two buildings marked Asbury Park: at the north end, the Convention Hall, designed in 1923 by Warren & Wetmore, and at the south end, the Casino.  

Asbury Park lost vogue in the 1960s. Race riots erupted in the 1970s and poor municipal management took root. The boardwalk slid into disrepair, mirroring the stagnation and abandonment of the town. 

I found the boardwalk barely more vital at the end of summer in 2000. The economic boom of the late 1990s stepped right over Asbury Park. Amusements and old buildings had been torn down. Other structures were closed and in worse condition, excepting the Convention Hall, which had been renovated. On the hot Labor Day weekend, the vacant spaces swallowed the few people present, even though crowds packed the beach in the neighboring town. 

In 2008, a few new restaurants, kiosks and amusements for kids punctuated a desolation, the casino entrance hallow over the boardwalk. A powerful storm in 2012 caused extensive damage along the Jersey coast and quieted the boardwalk. The old structures stood.

Still, in 2013 as in 1988, I was struck by the unexpected beauty of the decaying boardwalk and by the persistent majesty of the buildings. The endurance and transformation of structures past their prime and purpose intrigues me.

The Boardwalk of Asbury Park