Prior to the Garden State Parkway making points south more accessible, Asbury Park was a prominent shore vacation destination in New Jersey; from the late 1800s through mid-century and beyond, the city's establishments had a heavy focus on live musical entertainment.

The club was renovated in 2000, preserving the character associated with its early years while adding a permanent exhibition of art and artifacts from the history of the city and the venue itself.

State-of-the-art lighting and sound equipment were installed, and outside, facing the Atlantic Ocean, The Stone Pony Landing area was redone with a beach motif, tenting and food facility.

"It is a place that is important not just to us, but to the world," New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman said as she officially reopened the club on Memorial Day weekend 2000.

The club was open in the evening, and part of the proceeds was donated to the Stephen Crane House on Fourth Avenue in the city, where the author of The Red Badge of Courage lived during much of his short life.

Proceeds from a concert entitled "Remembering Harry Chapin" benefited a charity that fights world hunger, and the club has been designated as an official drop-off point for the Food Banks of Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

An amplifier was purchased for an aspiring teenage blues guitarist from the area, and the club was a sponsor for an event at another venue which benefited music and art education in Asbury Park schools.