New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, United States. It is served by trains on the North Jersey Coast Line. It is located along Cookman Avenue between Main Street and Memorial Drive. The current Asbury Park station is one of two original Asbury Park stations on the line. The North Asbury Park station still exists, but is no longer a station stop; the former station was located at the Sunset Avenue crossing.
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
. The NY&LB began as a railroad between
Elizabethport
Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Elizabeth, Union County) to Long Branch, finished in 1875. The railroad was extended through the city of Asbury Park on August 25. This concluded 40 years of pressuring the New York and Long Branch to build a new depot in the city because the old depot could not handle the amount of traffic coming in and out of Asbury Park. Workers moved all the functions into the south end of the older depot on February 8 to allow for construction to begin.Asbury Park Evening Press'' noted that the city should be proud of the new depot. However, there was still concern that the depot was not large enough to handle the expected amount of business, which proved to be true for several decades after its construction.
As the New York and Long Branch Railroad began to deteriorate due to the advent of the Garden State Parkway, the station deteriorated with it. The railroad painted the depot in 1962. Six ticket windows opened with the station, and eventually it became just one.
Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
, who took over in 1976, looked to sell off depots. The railroad offered the depot for the city to use. Asbury Park preferred to demolish the station and replace it with a new municipal complex, which would cost $2.3 million. $1.5 million of that total would come from the Economic Development Administration. This new complex would provide new homes for the Asbury Park City Council, the Asbury Park Police Department along with various city offices. The city spent $800,000 for alternative costs along with $50,000 for land acquisition. The Historic Preservations Advisory Council came to protest to the demolition of the 55-year old depot in 1977, citing the historic nature of the depot. They were hoping to get an injunction against the demolition, stating the depot was eligible for listing on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
However, despite the protests, the city manager signed off in November 1977 to seek bids for demolition. On January 4, 1978, the city approved a contract with Mazza and Sons, Inc. of
Oceanport
Oceanport is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 5,832,
Station layout
The station has two high-level
side platform
A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms ...