The Asbury Park (N.J.) Carousel House

The Asbury Park Carousel House was originally built in 1904. It was rebuilt in 1928 after it and the adjacent Casino were destroyed by fire. In 1932 a carousel was installed, a Carousel #87 built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. The first half of the 20th century was the heyday of Asbury Park. Along the Jersey Shore, it was second only to Atlantic City as a family vacation and entertainment complex.

I remember as a child in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s being taken to Asbury by my parents to go on the rides. That included the carousel and the nearby indoor amusement park which featured a Ferris wheel that went through the roof.

Hard times hit Asbury in the last couple decades of the 20th century amid deteriorating conditions and some racial tensions. The family amusement attractions were shut down and buildings were abandoned. In 1980, the carousel was sold to Family Kingdom Park in Myrtle Beach. It is still in operation albeit with fiber glass replicas of the original wooden horses.

Asbury Park has undergone a renaissance in this century. Much of the housing stock has been renovated, partly by the LGBTQ+ community that has developed there. It also has become famous for its music scene, courtesy of Bruce Springsteen and venues like the Stone Pony. Not everything has bounced back. The Paramount Theater, where in the late 60s I went to see a Herman’s Hermits concert, closed a few years ago when conditions were deemed unsafe. And the Casino that’s next to the Carousel House was closed down earlier this year due to structural problems. But the family entertainment destination of the last century is now a diverse and inclusive shore community with a beautiful beach, a vibrant boardwalk and a distinctly artsy vibe.

The Carousel House has undergone a couple of renovations while maintaining its beaux-arts style. For a while it was used for flea markets and then later became a skate facility. The most recent iteration of the Carousel House is as a home for Wooden Walls. The Wooden Walls Public Art Project is a 501(c)3 charity started in 2015. Through the work of this project murals grace abandoned buildings and empty walls on the boardwalk and throughout the city. On their Instagram page they describe Wooden Walls as a “ love letter to the place where art, music and history live.”

Here are some of the Wooden Walls murals in the Carousel House.