- February 2, 2026
- Carlee Migliorisi
Over the last two years, I have dedicated my research to the history of Asbury Park for my MA thesis at Monmouth University and one of the most prominent pieces of the city’s history that I have been studying is in danger of being destroyed. In my work conducting oral histories with many former and current residents of Asbury Park, the Casino has been a fixture of many individuals’ memories. In fact, in my oral history with Bruce Springsteen himself, he reminisced, “the Casino was incredible, because when I was young, first of all, there was ice skating there. You know? On the beach, practically. There was ice skating out over the beach and there was also a huge Ripley’s Believe It or not.”
The Asbury Park boardwalk has been a symbol for the city as long as it has stood. The boardwalk also serves as the home for several iconic structures such as Convention Hall, the Casino, the Carousel rotunda, and the Asbury Park Steam Plant; all of which are now owned by Madison Marquette. Known for its parakeet green roof and celestial features, the Casino and Carousel rotunda have become synonymous with Asbury Park. The Carousel rotunda received what might be its final facelift for its cameo feature in the recent film Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere starring Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen. The rotunda was temporarily occupied by an operational carousel and the lighting fixtures were replaced for the duration of filming.
As of January 22nd, notices have gone up on the latter three structures stating that they are “unsafe for human occupancy.” Madison Marquette has requested a permit to demolish the Casino. Many residents have expressed their disappointment and opposition towards the potential demolition of one of the city’s last historical buildings. The Casino and Convention Hall were designed by New York architects Warren and Wetmore – famed architects for Grand Central Station– and built in 1929. The Casino once served as a teenager’s paradise, consisting of an ice skating rink, bumper cars, and a mirror maze. Since the first demolition of part of the building in 2006, the remaining structure became a hub for local artists to showcase their work. But as of 2023, the open-air walkway that connects the Asbury Park to Ocean Grove was closed to the public. Following this closure, Madison Marquette was questioned if they planned on demolishing the structure and their response was a $130 million proposal to revamp the building and create a new home for the Stone Pony. There have been no signs of work being done to begin this project.
Joseph J. Maraziti, Redevelopment Counsel for the City of Asbury Park, released the following statement on January 27th, 2026:
“With its request for a permit to demolish the Breezeway attached to the Casino Building, Madison Marquette has once again demonstrated its shocking disregard for the integrity of the iconic Asbury Park Boardwalk treasures that it has owned since 2010. The City is deeply disappointed in this latest illustration of a pattern of behavior that is disrespectful to the historic heritage of Asbury Park.
“Madison Marquette, through its subsidiary Madison Asbury Retail, LLC, has repeatedly breached the commitments it made when it entered into Subsequent Developer Agreement which it negotiated over 15 years ago with previous City officials to develop, finance, construct, operate, repair, and maintain, various sites of historic importance along the Boardwalk. The language of the 2010 Agreement limits the legal options of the City to respond to breaches of the Agreement by Madison Asbury Retail. Madison has routinely ignored Notices of Default issued by the City in the past.
“There are multiple legal steps that must be taken by Madison Asbury Retail prior to the issuance of a demolition permit by the City Construction Official. Among them, the City will insist on a report by a certified structural engineer as to the option to conduct repairs to assure public safety, rather than demolition of the building,” (Maraziti Falcon, LLP).
There are currently no definitive answers as to what will happen to the beloved Casino and adjacent Carousel rotunda and Steam Plant, but residents and fans of Asbury Park have quickly taken to social media expressing their love for these pieces of history.
Carlee Migliorisi is a graduate student at Monmouth University and a student employee of the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music.
