Travel Guide Asbury Park

Asbury Park, a seaside resort founded in 1871, experienced a period of splendour that reached its peak in the 1920s, before falling into disuse after the Second World War. Unable to modernize, the one that was a privileged holiday destination has been forgotten and a middle-class population has chosen to live in its pretty pavilions deserted by wealthy families. In July 1970, racial riots broke out and Asbury Park became officially infrequent. By the 1950s, however, the city had become popular with the New York gay community, which felt free and frequented its bars on weekends. A native of the area, legendary musician Bruce Springsteen tried to revive Asbury Park and became its first ambassador. He even dedicated an album to him, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., released in 1973. The city then became a must-see musical destination and the biggest names performed at the Stone Pony, its concert hall. In 1998, DJ Shep Pettibone opened the Paradise Nightclub in an abandoned hotel. This gay nightclub is quickly becoming a mythical place where people from all over the East Coast come to celebrate. Many gays buy back the abandoned Victorian houses at low prices and then repair them, giving the city a second wind. From the 2000s, businesses gradually returned and Asbury Park regained its status as a summer enclave. It is nice to swim, sunbathe on its long sandy beach and stroll along its promenade, the one shown on the cover of Springsteen's album. Rehabilitated, although it has not quite recovered its former splendour, the city is today the summer home of a very heterogeneous population: hippies, musicians, large families, gay couples, trendy youth fleeing the stifling heat of Philly or New York... Street art has taken up residence everywhere, a sign that Asbury Park has risen again, and gentrification is even beginning to appear.