[3] In 1916, Asbury Park Mayor Clarence E.F. Hetrick hired famed architectural firm McKim, Mead and White to design a convention center for the block just north of the city's Atlantic Square, between 6th and Sunset avenues.

"While the Traymores and Breakers and other imposing structures have been built over a period of 25 years, we can show only the Monterey, the Berkeley-Carteret, the Asbury-Carlton and the Palace", referring to four then-new seasonal hotels in the resort city.

In 1927, after a mysterious fire destroyed the 5th Avenue Arcade just east of Atlantic Square on the Boardwalk, voters passed a bond referendum to construct a new convention center on the plot.

[4] Heat was provided in colder months by a system of underground pipes connected to a city-owned steam plant, located at the southernmost end of the Boardwalk.

Warren & Wetmore had wired the hall for radio capability, and the on-hand studio allowed the station to broadcast live performances from the venue by the Arthur Pryor Band and the Berkeley-Carteret Orchestra, among other acts.

WCAP radio announcer Tom Burley was broadcasting from the station's Convention Hall studios on the second floor promenade at about 7:30 p.m. when he first spotted the burning hulk of the ship approaching the beach.

Kontajones and Hodge used the ropes to rig together a breeches buoy, facilitating passage for firemen, inspectors, local officials, and other authorities who needed to board the ship to search it for victims or anything of value.

The Morro Castle remained on the sandbar throughout the fall and winter, spurring an economic boomlet for Asbury Park, which had been suffering from the effects of the Great Depression.

Thousands of curious spectators and reporters lined both the boardwalk and Convention Hall's promenade to see the ship's charred remains, and both city officials and unlicensed individuals charged upwards of $5 to ride the breeches buoy onto the deck.

[6][7] Much like its counterpart in Atlantic City, Convention Hall was originally designed with the intention of installing a large Wurlitzer Pipe Organ for public performance.

During this time, volunteers from the Garden State Theatre Organ Society began refurbishing the instrument by cleaning or replacing pipes and adding five more ranks, resulting in an even fuller sound.

In 1991, the console - traditionally in a stationary position underneath the southernmost grille - was made mobile so as to allow performers to play the instrument closer to the audience.

[8] With the fate of the hall left in limbo by Asbury Park's long-delayed redevelopment plans, however, access to the instrument was eventually denied and it has lain dormant for most of the 2000s.

[10] In the mid-1960s, promoter Moe Septee started booking rock acts at Convention Hall, including some bands who would go on to achieve legendary status.

Between 1965 and 1975, Septee booked Ike & Tina Turner,[13] Martha & the Vandellas,[13] Black Sabbath, The Beach Boys, James Brown, The Byrds, Ray Charles, Chicago, The Dave Clark Five, The Doors, The J. Geils Band, Herman’s Hermits, Janis Joplin, Iron Butterfly, Otis Redding, KISS, The Rolling Stones, The Temptations, Pink Floyd and The Who, among many others.

From the late 1970s to the 1990s, acts including The Allman Brothers Band, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Korn, Marilyn Manson, Earth Crisis, Blue Öyster Cult, Tool, Ted Nugent, King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Elvis Costello, The Clash, Van Halen, Blondie, The Kinks, Weezer, Joe Jackson, Todd Rundgren's Utopia, No Doubt and The Goo Goo Dolls played the hall.

During the 2000s, acts have included 311, Bob Dylan, Deftones, Incubus, Killswitch Engage, Slipknot, Pantera, Mudvayne, Hatebreed, Taproot, Seether, Papa Roach, Disturbed, Kittie, Fear Factory, Slaves On Dope, Boy Hits Car, Staind, 50 Cent, Tiesto, The Gaslight Anthem, Bouncing Souls, Face to Face, Thrice, Furthur, Jimmy Eat World, The Starting Line, and Dream Theater.