Ocean Grove Boardwalk,
New Jersey
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Ocean Grove, New Jersey is the
restored town across Wesley Lake, to the south of Asbury Park. |
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Since 2000, Ocean Grove began to
come back to life as the original, quaint village by the sea. Almost
all of the houses have been restored to the original styles, thanks in
part to the Ocean Grove Historical Committee nd Architectural Reviews. |
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Ocean Grove was founded by the Ocean
Grove Camp Meeting Association in 1869 as a Methodist summer
seashore community and it remains the longest-active camp meeting site
in the United States.
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An Old Postcard of Ocean
Grove, Wesley Lake |
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Ocean Grove retained its independence
until a court ruling in 1981 nullified the Camp Meeting
Association’s municipal authority. Ocean Grove became part of
Neptune Township, New Jersey. The Camp Meeting still owns all the land
in town and leases it to homeowners and businesses for 99-year
renewable terms. The Camp Meeting Association currently keeps its
beach closed on Sunday mornings between 8:30 am and 12:30 pm and Ocean
Grove is still "dry", that is, the sale of all alcoholic
beverages is prohibited. |
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Besides the town's many Victorian homes,
the 6,000-seat Great Auditorium, a formidable wooden structure
constructed in 1894, is Ocean Grove's most prominent building. It
encompasses an area larger than a football field and faces Ocean
Pathway (once listed as one of the ten most beautiful streets in
America) and serves as the centerpiece of the summer programs. Known
for its excellent acoustics, the Auditorium is the site of numerous
concerts and popular entertainment shows as well as religious services. |
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On the Boardwalk you can eat at
Theo's or buy beach items in one of the stores. You can walk through
the in process renovation of the Asbury Park Casino or head south to
Bradley Beach. You can walk along the Wesley lake which divides Asbury
Park from Ocean Grove. Take a footbridge over the lake and head
towards Asbury Park's new downtown shops along Cookman Avenue. There
are no rides on the Ocean Grove Boardwalk. Bike riding is permitted
until 10 am. After that, you should just ride a bike up and down the
narrow streets and take in the beauty of the Victorian buildings and
don't miss the "Tent City". Bring a camera. |
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