Asbury park casino

The iconic Casino building on the southern end of the Asbury Park boardwalk was abruptly closed on Monday following an inspection.

Madison Marquette, the company responsible for redevelopment of the site, posted on its website that the Casino will be closed until further notice.

“After a scheduled inspection of the Casino Building arcade, we have made the difficult decision to close that pass through temporarily,” the notice said. Pedestrians on the boardwalk were previously able to walk through the Casino, which links Asbury Park to Ocean Grove.

“At the moment, access between Asbury Park and Ocean Grove will be along the Wesley Lake promenade and the Wesley Lake bridge,” the notice said. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Asbury Park Mayor John Moor said the structural problem was detected during an inspection by Madison Marquette engineers on Friday. At this point, it’s too early to tell how long the breezeway through the Casino will remain closed, he said.

“They’re doing the right thing by closing it. Better safe than sorry,” Moor said. But with the warm weather here and the summer approaching, the mayor hopes the problem is fixed soon. “I’m hoping there’s a quick, short fix,” he said.

The sudden closure presents an immediate problem for late-night boardwalk strollers. Both footbridges over Wesley Lake are locked by Ocean Grove at midnight, Moor said. So once the clock strikes 12, people will have to take the long way between the two towns, which is to walk all the way to down to Main Street, he said.

The Casino, which has long been in disrepair, anchors one end of the of the boardwalk and, along with the carousel building next door, provides the gateway to and from Ocean Grove. Built in , the Casino once housed an arcade with Skee Ball, pinball and bumper cars, but has been empty for decades.

A large portion of the building that fronted onto the beach was torn down in What’s left is a shell battered by wind, rain and salt air, which serves as one of the bookends to the boardwalk, with the equally-historic Convention Hall at the north end.

Taken together, the Casino and Convention Hall are among the best known buildings in Asbury Park, relics that give the boardwalk a weather-beaten charm. Next to the Casino sits the long-empty carousel building, the backdrop for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s current tour poster.

Madison Marquette owns the Casino, Convention Hall and all the buildings on the boardwalk, and through its subsidiary, Madison Asbury Retail, is responsible for their upkeep through a developer’s agreement it signed with the city in But the Asbury City Council, unhappy with the condition of the buildings and the pace of development, in January issued a Notice of Default to Madison Marquette, threatening to withdraw from the agreement if the company failed to live up to its obligations.

Madison Marquette is reportedly working on a plan to renovate Convention Hall, the Paramount Theater, and to build a 5,seat amphitheater on the beach where the bulk of the Casino once stood. The plan, according to a published report, is estimated to cost $ million and would rely on state and federal tax credits. But as yet there has been no announcement by the company.

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Richard Cowen may be reached at [email protected].