Developed in 1871 as a residential resort by New York brush manufacturer James A. Bradley, the city was named for Francis Asbury, the first American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States.

In the 1920s, Paramount Theatre and Convention Hall complex, the Casino Arena and Carousel House, and two handsome red-brick pavilions were built in the Asbury Boardwalk area.

[40] In 1935, the newly founded Securities and Exchange Commission called Asbury Park's Mayor Clarence F. Hetrick to testify about $6 million in "beach improvement bonds" that had gone into default.

[41] The interests of Asbury Park's bond investors led Senator Frank Durand (Monmouth County) to add a last-minute "Beach Commission" amendment to a municipal debt bill in the New Jersey legislature.

Moreover, the opening of Great Adventure (on July 1, 1974), a combination theme park and drive-through safari located on a lake in Jackson Township—and close to a New Jersey Turnpike exit—proved to be stiff competition for a mile-long stretch of aging boardwalk amusements.

[55] In 1990, the carousel at the Casino Pier was sold to Family Kingdom Amusement Park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where it continues to operate.

[56] From 2002 onward, the rest of Asbury Park has been in the midst of a cultural, political, and economic revival, including a burgeoning industry of local and national artists.

[citation needed] Its dilapidated downtown district is undergoing revitalization while most of the nearly empty blocks that overlook the beach and boardwalk are slated for massive reconstruction.

On Memorial Day Weekend 2013, Governor Chris Christie and President Barack Obama participated in an official ceremony before a crowd of 4,000, marking the reopening of Asbury Park and other parts of the Jersey Shore.

Many were demolished after years of sitting vacant, although the Sixth Avenue House Bed & Breakfast Hotel (formerly Berea Manor) was recently restored after being abandoned in the 1970s—it is no longer operational and was sold as a single family home.

The original plaque included the names Johnny Shaw, Billy Ryan, Bruce Springsteen, Garry Tallent, Steve Van Zandt, Mickey Holiday, "Stormin'" Norman Seldin, Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez, Fast Eddie "Doc Holiday" Wohanka, Billy "Cherry Bomb" Lucia, Clarence Clemons, Nicky Addeo, Donnie Lowell, Jim "Jack Valentine" Cattanach, Ken "Popeye" Pentifallo, Jay Pilling, John "Cos" Consoli, Gary "A" Arntz, Larry "The Great" Gadsby, Steve "Mole" Wells, Ray Dahrouge, Johnny "A" Arntz, David Sancious, Margaret Potter, Tom Potter, Sonny Kenn, Tom Wuorio, Rick DeSarno, Southside Johnny Lyon, Leon Trent, Buzzy Lubinsky, Danny Federici, Bill Chinnock, Patsy Siciliano, and Sam Siciliano.

An additional plaque was added on August 29, 2008, honoring John Luraschi, Carl "Tinker" West, George Theiss, Vinnie Roslin, Mike Totaro, Lenny Welch, Steve Lusardi, and Johnny Petillo.

[91] Musicians and bands with strong ties to Asbury Park, many of whom frequently played clubs there on their way to fame, include Fury of Five, The Gaslight Anthem, Clarence Clemons, the E Street Band, Jon Bon Jovi and Bon Jovi, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Patti Smith, Arthur Pryor, Count Basie, The Clash, U.S.

Against the backdrop of the fading resort, Alex Austin's novel The Red Album of Asbury Park tracks a young rock musician pursuing his dream in the late 60s/early 70s, with Springsteen as a potent but as yet unknown rival.

[92] A black-and-white multi-camera recording of Blondie in 1979, just prior to the release of their fourth album, Eat to the Beat, was taped at the Asbury Park Convention Hall on July 7, a home-state crowd for Jersey girl Debbie Harry, who was raised in Hawthorne.

[94] The West Side of Asbury Park has traditionally been home to Black music, including jazz, soul, gospel, doo wop, and R&B.

African American artists such as the Jersey Shore's own Count Basie as well as Duke Ellington, Lenny Welch, the Broadways, Josephine Baker, Claude Hopkins, Bobby Thomas, Rex Stewart, Manzie Johnson, Sidney Bechet, and Clarence Clemons "either played or were inspired by the [Black]-centered Springwood Avenue club circuit on the West Side of Asbury Park" in the early to mid-century period at places like the Smile-A-While and Gypsy George's.

[95][96] During a visit to the West Side in 1928, Fats Waller wrote "Honeysuckle Rose" with Andy Razaf at 119 Atkins Avenue in a property that still stands.

[98] The former home of the Turf Club, once a well-known mid-century jazz and R&B joint across from what is now Springwood Park, was recently decorated with jazz-themed mural art by a team of local artists to mark its heritage.

[105][106][107] With its long history as a resort town for varied social classes, Asbury Park is considered a destination for musicians, particularly a subgenre of rock and roll known as the Jersey Shore sound, which is infused with R&B.

A number of New Jersey's film festivals are held in the city, including: Noted muralists and other local artists have installed various murals along the Asbury Park boardwalk and the cityscape in recent years.

Participants begin to gather in costume starting at 11am on the boardwalk south of Convention Hall, where makeup artists provide zombie makeovers for a fee.

[166] In 1965, former nun Margaret "Maggie the Cat" Hogan opened the groundbreaking lesbian club Chez Elle (French for "her house"), also known as the Chez-L Lounge, and eventually joined a lawsuit that defeated efforts to discriminate against gay patrons at New Jersey nightclubs.

Members of the Asbury Park City Council are Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn (2028), Angela Ahbez-Anderson (2026), Eileen Chapman (2028) and Barbara "Yvonne" Clayton (2028).

[244] Lastly is the Sunset Lake Historic District, which is comprised of a residential neighborhood laid out on a grid system of wide tree-lined streets and a park.

[266] The Board of Education moved to the third and fourth floors of 603 Mattison Avenue, the former Asbury Park Press building, where it paid $189,327 in rent per year.

[304] The "Shore Points" route of Academy Bus Lines provides service between Asbury Park and New York City on a limited schedule.

[312] People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Asbury Park include: Palace Amusements and the Tillie mural have featured in numerous works of popular culture.

In the song "At Long Last Love" (1938), originally written by Cole Porter for the musical You Never Know (1938), Frank Sinatra sings "Is it Granada I see, or only Asbury Park?

Routine Maintenance, a concept album and the second from the musical act Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties, features the titular character working as a painter in Asbury Park.