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Asbury Park Former Sections - Part 5

Digital interactions for Friends of the 
Township of Ocean Historical Museum!

FORMER SECTIONS OF THE TOWNSHIP OF OCEAN

Former Sections of the Township of Ocean - Asbury Park - Part V - The Hotel Monterey


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.



Named for the owner's Hometown of Monterey, California, the Monterey Hotel opened for business in June 1912.  Open from May 1 to October 1, the hotel eas seven stories tall with 364 hotel rooms. There was a ballroom with tall white pillars that formed the central aisle.  The dining room on Kingsley Avenue could seat 500 people.  The hotel was a favorite of opera star tenor Enrico Caruso, who brought his own chef and required a grand piano in his suite.  Other guests included Al Smith, the Duke of Windsor, and Winston Churchill.  In June 1925, the hotel was opened for year-round guests.  Bankruptcy in the 1950s and 1960s forced the hotel to closed.  In 1963, the building was condemned and demolished.  Today, it is the site of the North Beach Condominiums.