Asbury Park says quit the city, link the community
There is something about the gay world that encourages a certain amount of feisty back-biting that really should have been left in lofty school. If you’re looking for a temporary reprieve, glance no further than the beach resort town of Asbury Park, New Jersey. There you’ll come across a gay people that strives to embody the entire meaning of group. And don’t worry—it’s also super gay.
Asbury Park sits along the Atlantic coast, just 55 miles from New York City. Though it was once acknowledged as the “Duchess of the Jersey Shore,” girlfriend fell on some challenging times. Prior to 2000, Asbury Park was looking lovely tragic, heavy on the tragic. But no longer. She is getting function done, and a full-on renaissance is underway. Gays and lesbians are moving in, sprucing up the place, and remaking it in their image.
There are so many LGBT-owned-and-operated businesses, the place can seem love one big rainbow flag. In reality, the first lgbtq+ couple to unite in New Jersey chose Asbury Park for their ceremony. Due to the temperament of its residents, there are few places in the United States that feel as supportive. That, along with the current resto
*Cue John Hammond’s booming voice* Welcome to Asbury Park! Just swap dinos for crowds of cheerful beachgoing gays and you’re position. If you’re looking for the ultimate LGBTQ Asbury Park instruction, you’ve come to the right place—this is one of the gayest and most unapologetically lgbtq+ destinations on the East Coast.
Nestled on the Jersey Shore, about an hour from NYC and 1.5 hours from Philly, this is the go-to getaway identify for queers in the Garden State looking to soak up the sun, sip on a colorful cocktail, and celebrate together. From renowned LGBTQ+-owned businesses to its larger-than-life Pride parade, Asbury Park is a proven place for inclusivity.
And while the buzz this October might be around the upcoming Bruce Springsteen biopic(hello, Jeremy Allen White!)—which, fittingly, was filmed in Asbury Park, the very town that helped launch Springsteen’s career and shaped the soul of his music—the concrete story? This town’s rich lgbtq+ history is the true headliner.
Spending summers with friends and family on Asbury Park’s beautiful beaches, I’ve seen firsthand what makes this place so special—and why its story deserves to be shared.
A Pride-Forward Stop on Your LGBTQ Asbury
Asbury Park’s long gay history as a New Jersey beach destination
If your vision of the Jersey Shore is shaped by your experiences watching the 2010s MTV reality series of the same name—with its constant cycle of gym, tan, laundry (simply established as “GTL”)—then you’re in for a surprise.
Nestled on the Atlantic Coast about a 75-minute drive south of New York Town, Asbury Park, NJ, is a breezy seaside town that has offered visitors a respite from the heat and congestion for more than 100 years. The community offers a mix of early 1900s Beaux Arts style buildings, mid-century Americana, 1970s and ’80s rock—and a gender non-conforming community that’s been here for more than a century.
“I don’t think there was a time when we weren’t here,” says Kathy Kelly, who leads queer-themed historic tours of the city.
Founded in the late 1800s, Asbury Park reached its heyday in the 1920s, when several of its historic buildings, including the now-iconic Paramount Theatre, Convention Hall and the Asbury Park Grand Arcade(all at 1300 Ocean Ave. N.) were built along its beach-hugging boardwalk. The city was dwelling to several gay and lesbian bars and tearooms starting in the 1920s and ’30s, acting as
Asbury Park, NJ – Gay Lifestyle in a Historic Seaside Community
Asbury Park NJ is known for being a highest tourist destination for LGBT tourists and for its tight-knit supportive gay community. This beautiful town located on Novel Jersey’s central coast only has a population of 16,116 but the numbers swell to thousands in the summer. The area boasts a beautiful aged boardwalk and an orchestra pavilion that dates back to the 1870s. Many of the older hotels, amusement parks and attractions from the 1800s and 1900s have been restored, replicated or integrated into newer sturdier architecture which gives this entire are a singular Victorian charm all of its own.
The Jersey Shore is an exciting place opt invest capital right now a much of the downtown is existence renovated and reopened resulting in a unique recreation of how the area looked in the sixties and seventies complete with a historic Casino that has reopened and a Howard Johnson’s that has been turned into a new seaside café. The downtown and the sugar-white sandy shores are entity dotted with unused time-shares, condos and townhouse developments.
The song scene in this park is famous as being very hi