The Trailblazing Women Exhibit was extended to May 2023
Trailblazing Women exhibit is on view at the Asbury Park Library through May 2023. The display highlights over 24 Asbury Park women who have been selected as Trailblazers in their diverse areas of accomplishment. Viewers will get a glimpse into the inspirational lives and careers that contributed to Asbury Park’s development as a thriving community, center of family life, successful business enterprise, and mecca for the cultural arts. Areas covered include Social Justice, Heritage Preservation, Business, Performing Arts and Entertainment, Law, Medicine, Literary and Publishing.
ONE VOICE IS NOT ENOUGH
Asbury Park’s Musical Diversity Since 1871
“Asbury Park Museum’s current pop-up exhibit, “One Voice Is Not Enough: Asbury Park’s Musical Diversity Since 1871” explores the many styles of early Asbury Park music. The exhibit is on display in the east lobby of the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel, 1401 Ocean Avenue, Asbury Park. It is free to visit at anytime between now and January, 2023.
Music historians Pam and Charlie Horner have curated this exhibit with design by Stan Cain Designs. The recently updated exhibit tells of 150 years of Asbury Park music – a story told through stand-up banners, wall-mounted posters, a music soundtrack with 4 hours’ worth of selected recordings, two continuously running 35-minute informative slide shows (175 slides total) and two display cases full of Asbury Park artifacts. The exhibit covers spirituals, gospel, brass bands, marching bands, concert bands, ragtime, stride piano, jazz, blues, pop, rhythm & blues, rock & roll, doo wop, soul, and rock music from the early 1870’s to the present. On display are items like Bobby Thomas’ personal 78 RPM copy of “Doll Face” on the original After Hours label, plus Bobby’s handwritten lyrics from the flip side; Stormin’ Norman Seldin’s classic hat; an 1898 wax cylinder by baritone J. W. Myers; an Arthur Pryor 78; sheet music by Billy Terrell & Ray Dahrouge and Lenny Welch; a red vinyl 45 by Nicky Addeo & the Darchaes; an album and program from the Missionary Jubilaires and program; a Southside Johnny autographed harmonica; a framed autograph and print of Fats Waller; and much more. Funded in part by a Diversity Innovation grant from Monmouth University, exhibit design is by Stan Cain Designs, and the exhibit is hosted by the historic Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel.
Asbury Park:
150 Years of Change and Transformation,
A Segregated Seashore
Funded in part by a Diversity Innovation grant from Monmouth University, and hosted by the historic Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel, “Asbury Park: 150 Years of Change and Transformation — A Segregated Seashore” is a multi-media display that explores the dizzying highs and the devastating lows of this uniquely American city by the sea. The pop-up is a snapshot of the iconic buildings, memorable cast of characters, signature soundtracks, epic tragedies, natural disasters, and societal sea-changes that threatened its sandcastle dreams; all presented through the prism of a diverse but divided community
In the words of Asbury Park Museum founder and President Kay Harris, the exhibit is “a journey through time that’s an expression of love for this city of summers where so many of us made a year-round home…even if our city didn’t always show us love in return.”
It’s a story told through words, images, and artifacts; one that spans the pious paradise of Bradley’s vision, the challenges of the Depression and the wartime home front, the emergence of the “music city,” and the remarkable rebirth of a place that seemed all but lost at the end of the last century. The retrospective augments the parallel tracks of the Black and White experiences, by noting the contributions of the Sand Hill Indians, the Jewish and Greek-American business owners of classic boardwalk days, and the LGBTQ community that played such a pivotal role in the city’s resurgence.
The “Segregated Seashore” exhibit is on display inside the recently renovated lobby of the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel, where attendees can also view photo enlargements from the hotel’s collection of vintage beach and boardwalk scenes. The exhibit features a set of large-scale panels, a slideshow documentary, antique swimwear and souvenirs from a century and a half of boardwalk-based memories. The exhibit is open daily at the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel, 1401 Ocean Avenue at Sixth Avenue in Asbury Park and admission is free.
To see scenes from our recent exhibit grand opening click the button below.
