Lost Amusement Parks of the North Jersey Shore

Lost Amusement Parks of the North Jersey Shore
128 Pages
ISBN 978-1-4671-2511-6

Rick Geffken’s and George Severini’s new book, Lost Amusement Parks of the North Jersey Shore, brings together rarely seen images from the Library of Congress, local historical societies, and private collections to document how the Jersey Shore became the most famous vacation and recreational destination in the coastal United States. The remarkable details in these pictures capture a simpler way of life in our country, when families took their children to boardwalks to savor candy apples, salt water taffy, hot dogs and hamburgers, popcorn, and, of course, the rides.

James Bradley in Asbury Park and William Sandlass Jr. in Highland Beach created mass entertainment for hundreds of thousands of people. Their seaside recreation centers, along with those in Long Branch, Bradley Beach, Pleasure Bay, and others, endured for years but are just fond and fading memories today.

As Monmouth County historian and prolific author Randall Gabrielan notes in his Forward to the Lost Amusement Parks of the North Jersey Shore, “We visit amusement parks twice, first in real time, then in retrospect. My youthful self was there, so I know. I also enjoyed the nostalgic trip via Rick and George’s fine volume; it is a time travel that will rekindle your youth.”

Rick Geffken

About Rick Geffken (South Jersey Author)

Rick Geffken

Authors Rick Geffken and George Severini bring together rarely seen images from the Library of Congress, local historical societies, and private collections to document how the Jersey Shore became the most famous vacation and recreational destination in the coastal United States. The remarkable details in these pictures capture a simpler way of life in our country, when families took their children to boardwalks to savor candy apples, popcorn, hotdogs and hamburgers, and, of course, the rides.

George Severini

About George Severini (Co-Author)

George Severini

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