On the beach at Asbury Park you cannot even be sure a rainbow-hued umbrella signifies anything. In Fire Island Pines it is not unusual to encounter a sculptured male beauty shopping for vegetables in a bikini, but a man and woman pushing a stroller along the wooden walkways would be a lot more surprising. Well-heeled Manhattanites, for example, hie to the Hamptons. Summer resorts often cater to niches of humanity. Today, as it happens, among the most welcoming aspects of Asbury Park is an easygoing embrace of all kinds of visitors and residents. What could be a better place for a picture than an oceanfront boardwalk? Credit. Stella Marina, a giant, gleaming new trattoria, does frenzied business late into the night, just next door to an upstairs bar, Watermark, that almost looks like a transplant from Manhattan but with soothing views of the moon and stars over a silvered stretch of ocean.
Furniture stores with trendy names like the Posh Den court sun-dazed beachgoers.
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A high-end tchotchke emporium called Bodega sells fancy candles and vintage paperbacks with lurid covers in pristine condition. (Dancing men moved in temporarily this summer: a production of the musical “Full Monty” from the ReVision Theater was preparing to open in the space when I visited.)īut in between these venerable landmarks much is bustling, busy and almost brand new. At the other end rest the elegant shell of the casino and the carousel building, now sadly empty of carousel, as if the prancing horses had fled for more profitable pastures.
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The phrase was immortalized by the local boy made good Bruce Springsteen (he grew up in nearby Freehold), as the title of his debut album back in 1973. THE past stands vigil over the present in this once-faded beach resort that has been evolving in recent years into a newly appealing summer weekend destination or a year-round refuge for an eclectic population.Īt one end of the central stretch of boardwalk, the beautiful old convention hall, a gold-brick pile with delicate wedding-cake trim, announces “Greetings From Asbury Park” to Ocean Avenue and beyond in old-fashioned yellow lights.