Asbury Park Former Sections - Part 7
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Township of Ocean Historical Museum!
FORMER SECTIONS OF THE TOWNSHIP OF OCEAN
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.
The Albion Hotel that stood in the later twentieth century replaced an earlier structure destroyed by fire in 1940. The public's fear of fire prompted advertising materials and postcards to call out the "completely fireproof" nature of the new building.
The Albion Hotel's modernistic furnishings included murals and fixtures from the 1939-1940 World's Fair. The Rainbow Room at the Albion Hotel was truly the most popular nightspot of the time.
The Albion Hotel closed for business in the late 1980s. There was interest in restoring and reopening the hotel, but the hallways were too narrow to meet modern building codes. It was demolished in 2001. The Rainbow Room sign was salvaged from the demolition, and in 2011 it was restored.
The Albion Hotel that stood in the later twentieth century replaced an earlier structure destroyed by fire in 1940. The public's fear of fire prompted advertising materials and postcards to call out the "completely fireproof" nature of the new building.
The Albion Hotel's modernistic furnishings included murals and fixtures from the 1939-1940 World's Fair. The Rainbow Room at the Albion Hotel was truly the most popular nightspot of the time.
The Albion Hotel closed for business in the late 1980s. There was interest in restoring and reopening the hotel, but the hallways were too narrow to meet modern building codes. It was demolished in 2001. The Rainbow Room sign was salvaged from the demolition, and in 2011 it was restored.
The Natatorium was an indoor saltwater pool on the Boardwalk between 1st and 2nd Avenues. The original Natatorium was built by James Bradley. On April 5, 1917, a fire started with electrical wiring in the Natatorium and the conflagration destroyed four blocks of the old Asbury Park boardwalk including the famous Natatorium. That was the same day that the US entered World War I. The lead story in the Press was the fire, not the war. Asbury Park was so popular at the time that by 1924 the Natatorium and the boardwalk were rebuilt. The Natatorium was torn down in the early 1960s
