July 31st saw the end of my exhibit at the Asbury Galleria. A sincere thank you to everyone who purchased a photo.
Most importantly, a huge thank you to Kay Harris, the Harris Family, and the Asbury Galleria crew - Gary, Carol, and Kelly. Everyone went out of their way to make me feel comfortable and welcome.
We headed down early on Friday the 3rd to beat the holiday traffic, check into the hotel, and setup for the next day's show. The Empress was booked full and the Berkley is on my shit-list, so we ended up staying a couple of minutes away in Long Branch. With help from everyone at the Galleria we got everything setup for the exhibit in just under two hours. Grabbed a shower back at the room and then took a ride down to Seaside Heights which lead to an interesting encounter with one of the boardwalk carnies, but that's for the next post.
4th of July. The boardwalk is alive again. I've never seen so many people in Asbury. The closest would be for a Springsteen show and even that falls short. If you we're here five years ago, you wouldn't recognize the place, shit if you were here two years ago you wouldn't recognize it.
Then: street-raff smashing open parking meters with a baseball bat to pocket the few uncollected coins left inside.
Now: out of towners charging an hours worth of parking on their credit card with the new automated parking meters.
Then: homeless folks huddling for warmth inside the old Howard Johnson's.
Now: 30 something professionals enjoying outdoor dining at Tim McCloones.
Then: The curb.
Now: Public bathrooms with running water and stocked toilet paper.
It's a different Asbury now.
One of the first business owners to take a chance on Asbury's renewal was
Kay Harris. A life long resident, Kay opened the Asbury Galleria in 2005. At first glance, the Galleria looks little more than your normal art gallery with the addition of some beach supplies. But a closer look reveals the Galleria for its true self, a cultural and historical touchstone. It's the closest thing Asbury Park has to a museum.
I can't tell you how many times people came up to me and said "I remember that..." or even "...wow, I forgot about that." For many people returning to Asbury, the gallery takes them back to their childhood. For the first timers, it provides a glimpse into Asbury's long strange history. In the hands of anyone else you can imagine what the gallery could have been, cold and sterile. But Kay has managed to tap into the heart of the town and the spirit that has always lived below it's streets. For my first show, I don't think I would have wanted to be anywhere else.
That night we sat on the beach. Down the coast, other towns' celebrations could be seen. I'm sure they had big crowds too, but the Asbury boardwalk was packed front to back and all the way from the Casino to the Convention Hall. It was like everyone along the shore showed up. There was a feeling that this year was different. As one of the longest fireworks display I've ever seen filled the sky, it was clear things were different. Asbury Park is back.
For those that missed the show, here's the pics that were featured:
To check out the entire Asbury Park photo collection
click here.
--Lobo
PS - I joined the
Arts Coalition of Asbury Park. They're fighting the good fight to keep Asbury an artistically driven community. Show your support and check them out.
