I stumbled upon this article about my stomping ground. Down in Charlotte, NC, readers of the Charlotte Observer are reading about Asbury Park, NJ! Check out what that writer has to say...
"If you're a Bruce Springsteen fan, have we got a trip for you.
Even if your reaction to that famous salutation is "Hi!" "Hey!" or "Huh?" the folks in Asbury Park will be equally happy to meet you.
This seaside community, indelibly linked to Springsteen's 1973 debut album, "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.," has plenty to offer - whether you're among the fans making pilgrimages or just want to have fun, relax and enjoy the beach.
Just ask the E Street Band's Clarence Clemons.
"It's the most beautiful beach and the most beautiful boardwalk," Clemons said in a recent interview.
Jersey Shore author-historian Stan Goldstein says the boardwalk is the "best it's been in more than 30 years."
Goldstein remembers the giant Exxon sign that brought this city its light and the now-razed Flamingo motel, whose name may have inspired the fictitious Flamingo Lane of Springsteen's song "Jungleland."
Clemons fondly recalls a carousel with handcrafted horses and driving around an informal route known as "the circuit," referred to in Springsteen's "Night" and "4th of July, Asbury Park."
That was before Asbury Park became a city of ruins.
Race riots in 1970 "sucked all the life right out of Asbury Park," says Clemons. Its swan song "was really, really sad."
"For at least 20 years, it was a ghost town," says Goldstein.
The city has undergone a recent renaissance. Upscale development has snowballed.
"It's all coming back now; that's exciting," says Clemons, though he impishly denounces the city's recent rejection of a topless beach proposal.
The pristine sand, trendy but relaxed bars and cafes, the Silverball pinball museum (1000 Ocean Ave.) and an adorable boardwalk water park for kids are hallmarks of the resurrection.
Springsteen recently appeared at the Stone Pony (913 Ocean Ave.) with Alejandro Escovedo. The Paramount and Convention Hall (both at 1300 Ocean Ave.) are also thriving.
The former Upstage Club (702 Cookman Ave.) is now in the hands of a music lover who wants to bring it to life again. Memorabilia is stuck, shrine-like, over its storefront glass. The oasis nurtured a long-haired, scrawny young Springsteen as well as E Streeters Steven Van Zandt, Danny Federici, Vini Lopez, David Sancious and Garry Tallent.
The former Student Prince (911 Kingsley St.) recently reopened as a gay bar named Swell.
Clemons' book, "Big Man," recounts how he dropped by the Student Prince during a break from his appearance at the Wonder Bar (still lively, at Fifth and Ocean). As he strode in and asked to play with Springsteen for the very first time, a wind gust blew the door off.
There's a song, historical or photographic tie-in at every turn.
For total immersion, make an appointment to see the public library's Springsteen Special Collection. It contains "more stuff on myself and the band than every place except my mother's basement," Springsteen once said.
Or just hit some haunts:
The Palace, an indoor amusement park mentioned in Springsteen lyrics, is gone but not forgotten. Located at Kingsley Street, between Lake and Cookman avenues, its exterior bore the words "Skooter" and "Tunnel of Love."
"The boys from the casino dance with their shirts open like Latin lovers along the shore, chasin' all them silly New York girls..." The casino's art-adorned passageway links Asbury's southern boardwalk to Ocean Grove. That's the hometown of Southside Johnny Lyon, who still whips fans into a frenzy with his Asbury Jukes.
"Rock & Roll Tour of the Jersey Shore," a book by Goldstein and Jean Mikle ($23), describes a jillion sights all over the area, including Springsteen's original hometown, Freehold, 18 miles inland.
Tourists also flock about six miles south to Belmar, posing for photos at a worn, white cement street marker for "E St." Sancious, the original keyboard player, lived in the neighborhood when the E Street Band got its name.
Even without a confirmed sighting in the area, Springsteen is omnipresent. (He definitely drops by, though maybe not quite as often as eager-to-please locals might claim.)
Springsteen, with and without E Street, has performed many times at the Convention Hall and its smaller sibling, the Paramount.
The theaters - connected by a charming, indoor retail and restaurant promenade - are just steps away from the cute shack where a relative of the late Madam Marie holds court. ("Well the cops finally busted Madam Marie for tellin' fortunes better than they do," as Bruce's lyrics put it.)"
Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/08...
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