From Asbury Radio to Kathryn -
Thank you so much for reporting this. How did you come by such a comprehensive list? I guess we shouldn't be surprised by anything like this. After all they keep jailing the city historian. By the way, someone referred to the Palace Amusements as being on the National Historic Register. According to Michael Calafati, the preservation architect who served on the city's Technical Review Committee (TRC), the Palace was not registered. The mistake is often made because the 1888 Carousel House was on the adjacent property. The bronze plaque was actually awarded to the Carousel and affixed to its wall. Despite impassioned protests by Calafati and city historian Werner Baumgartner, the Carousel was the first of that corner to be torn down as protestors sought an injunction.
Maureen Nevin
--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, Kathryn Bevacqua
Don't know about anything from the Casino, but here's a detailed list of what was lost. Also a few things that remain.
The list of destroyed items includes the following:
* Plywood murals from the Orient Express ride, painted by Ralph Lopez Sr.
* Plywood Twister ride wall mural, painted by Ralph Lopez, Jr.
* Murals and other art work from the Fun House including the Sleeping Beauty scene
* Mechanically animated hands of the Fun House giant
* Upper body of the giant (paint on plywood)
* Illuminated section of Fun House facade
* 27 murals from inside the Haunted Castle dark ride
* Virtually mint sign from the Asbury Park Rock 'N' Roll Museum
* Heavy plastic from the rooftop "FUNHOUSE" sign letters
* Papier mache tree from inside the Haunted Castle
* Turret from the roof of the Fun House mirror maze
* Spinning floor disc from Fun House walkway
* Exhibit descriptions from the walls of the Rock 'N' Roll Museum
* Metal sign, "Asbury Park Business District"
* Atari 1980 "Tempest" video game circuit board, s/n 0113098
* Atari Audio/Regulator II video game power supply
* 3 Skee Ball pull lever dime coin mechanisms on mounting plates
* Small Cabbage Patch style doll
* Midway 1975 "Gun Fight" video game circuit board, control panel, & coin door
* Pepsi bottle from ring toss game
* 6 red light fixtures from Casino carousel house roof
* 3 Bacchus Games "Morgana" fortune teller marquee signs (some broken)
* 6 bricks from exterior wall of Ernest Schnitzler's apartment (original owner of the Palace), painted green
* Atari 1974 "Qwak!" video rifle game plexiglass
* Gottlieb 1952 "Chinatown" pinball backglass
* Gottlieb 1953 "Poker Face" pinball backglass
* Unknown pitch & bat type arcade game backglass
* Ticket payout chart from electromechanical ("Pop-A-Ball" style) poker redemption game
* Two decorative wooden cutouts from doors of Orient Express ride
* Raised plastic letters "H," "O," "U," and "S" from "Fun House" sign left side of the big slide.
* Metal channel letter "S" from the exterior neon sign> * Tunnel of Love ghost chain mechanism> * Yellow incandescent lamps and a section of scalloped façade which was mounted next to the carousel> * Score unit from unknown electromechanical rifle game, likely manufactured by Midway MFG Co. Neon tubes from exterior Tillie mural (Theater side of the Palace):
1. Hair - left side - completely intact tube
2. Hair - right side - top edge
3. Left eyebrow - portion of top edge
4. Connector wire between eyebrows
5. Right eyebrow - top edge
6. Right eyebrow - bottom edge
7. Right eye - inner circle
8. Right eye - outer circle
9. Right eye - oval border (portion)
10. Left ear and curve over smile
11. Nose - center 1/3
12. Nose - right 1/3
13. Smile - left corner
Misc. Parts:
1. Glass housings (4)
2. Threaded mounts for tubing (6)
3. Insulator from left (Beach side) Tillie's chin hole
The Asbury Park Historical Society said the following items survived: * Ticket box, locked, with many Palace ride tickets visible inside through slot> * Rifle & base from unknown electromechanical gun game> * Box containing two buckets full of carousel rings> * Three-panel interior sign
Also surviving is a portion of the entryway to the Haunted Castle dark ride. Removed to storage by Save Tillie at the request of the Historical Society, the artifact was reclaimed by Save Tillie several years ago shortly before the Historical Society planned to destroy it. It is currently preserved in the care of a Save Tillie member.
In case you can't see the comment on this blog, here it is again:
Wernerized has left a new comment on your post "Residents Report City Purged Artifacts": I can understand that the city might not have been able to care for all these objects, but couldn't they at least have donated them to a non-profit that would have, or even sell them for money to collectors - at least these items would still be in existence. Since the time the Mayfair theatre was taken down, this historical architecture and artifacts of this town have suffered due to its insensitive political leaders.
3 comments:
I can understand that the city might not have been able to care for all these objects, but couldn't they at least have donated them to a non-profit that would have, or even sell them for money to collectors - at least these items would still be in existence. Since the time the Mayfair theatre was taken down, this historical architecture and artifacts of this town have suffered due to its insensitive political leaders.
Amen!!
It also points out the confusion people have about what to preserve and what not to. This is why city's that care about their history have city historians they revere -- not lock up.
<<< By the way, someone referred to the Palace Amusements as being on the National Historic Register. According to Michael Calafati, the preservation architect who served on the city's Technical Review Committee (TRC), the Palace was not registered. The mistake is often made because the 1888 Carousel House was on the adjacent property. The bronze plaque was actually awarded to the Carousel and affixed to its wall. >>>
I do not believe that the above passage is altogether accurate. I was indeed able to find Palace Amusements (201-207 Lake Ave., Asbury Park, NJ - NR#00001406 & SRID#3705) listed in the database of historic places in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places as well as the National Register of Historic Places. In both cases, the building became registered in the Fall of 2000. I also found a photograph online which clearly shows a plaque on the wall of the Palace. Still wondering though, how could a national treasure (which contained so many memories) be demolished even after attaining status as such? What a shame.
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