The Palace on the other hand scared the s*** out of me. The only way to get in the building is from the roof so I took a mag light and peeked into the hole I ws going into to get in it was at least a 15 foot drop from where I was so I was able to use a rope I had and climbed in. It was pitch black unlike the Casino which had lots of windows for light this building hade no windows and the musty smell was strong. I was almost at the floor when I realized it was gone the Palace had wood floors and being closed for 14 years they detorited away so I was walking on dirt the whole time. The place was 20 times worse the the back of the Casino, as I was walking trying to find my way around I stumbled across something big so I shined my light down and it was the giant that used to be on the top of the fun house, being shocked I fell back on my a** in to the dirt to find something better an original ticket marked 1920, because I was below where the floor was there was all sorts of older items which went under when they rebuilt the floor. Thinking that I might find more I checked around and found a small storage room with 3 boxes filled with souviners and prizes the problem was I could not get the boxes up being I had to leave via rope so I stuffed my pockets as much as possible and went to search some more when my light started to go dead so I hurried thinking I might get stuck if my light goes out. Its weird though because everytime I found a secret place it was almost like something was trying to get me out of there. But I will remember that day forever being I might not get the chance to go inside again.
Saving the Casino and the Palace (even the Carousel) would require a lot of work, but it would be worth it, 100%! With the location right on the ocean, these buildings have been through storms. Just the salt in the air has done a lot of damage to the paint. It would be nice if they could find a buyer for the buildings who would fix it up and re-open it. I'm not sure if the building is still for sale on Ebay. The asking price was 2.5 million for the Palace.
Some problems that potential buyers see is the current condition of Asbury Park. Right next to the Palace is a gay movie theater. Sure, there are a lot of drugs in the town, but I think it's definitely improving by looking at the new stores going in on Cookman Ave (the business district). If the current redevelopment plan goes through, the Palace is slated for demolition. On the site of the Palace, I believe there are plans for condominiums to be built. If you are interested, go to www.savetillie.com to help save Tillie (the face on the side of the Palace).
Driving east on Lake Ave. you can see how nice of a location this could be with Lake Wesley and Ocean Grove directly to the south, and then the Ocean to the East. You have the palace to your left, and the Carousel and the Casino directly in front of you. Hopefully one day when I get my license I will be able to drive down Lake Ave. and see these buildings restored to what they used to be and no condominiums.
Here are some pictures I took on 12/24/02 http://geocities.com/saveasburypark/pics.html
For some good footage inside the Casino, the movie "City by the Sea" (new release) is filmed partially in Asbury Park.
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