Ocean Grove, New Jersey Ocean Grove, New Jersey The Ocean Grove Great Auditorium (2007) The Ocean Grove Great Auditorium (2007) Location of Ocean Grove in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

Location of Ocean Grove in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

Ocean Grove is an unincorporated improve and census-designated place (CDP) positioned inside Neptune Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. It had a populace of 3,342 at the 2010 United States Census. It is positioned on the Atlantic Ocean's Jersey Shore, between Asbury Park to the north and Bradley Beach to the south.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Ocean Grove is noted for its abundant examples of Victorian architecture.

Ocean Grove was established in 1869 as an outgrowth of the camp meeting boss in the United States, when a group of Methodist clergymen, led by William B.

Stokes, formed the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association to precarious and operate a summer camp meeting site on the New Jersey seashore. By the early 20th century, the prominent Christian meeting ground became known as the "Queen of Religious Resorts." The community's territory is still owned by the camp meeting association and leased to individual homeowners and businesses.

Ocean Grove remains the longest-active camp meeting site in the United States. 6 Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association Ross' Pavilion in Ocean Grove, 1902 Osborn, Reverend Stokes, and other Methodist ministers camped at a shaded, well-drained spot on New Jersey's seashore and decided to establish a permanent Christian camp meeting improve called "Ocean Grove." About twenty tents were pitched that summer.

Drawing from the primary population centers of New York City and Philadelphia, Ocean Grove soon became a prominent destination amid the expansion of the camp meeting boss in post-Civil War America.

Postcard of Ocean Grove Railroad Station, dated 1908 As Ocean Grove drew more and more visitors, the second tabernacle was also outgrown, and assembly of the present Great Auditorium was instead of in 1894.

Originally designed to accommodate crowds of as many as 10,000 citizens , the subsequent installation of theater-style cushioned seating in many sections reduced seating capacity to 6,250. It remains Ocean Grove's most prominent structure and the centerpiece of its summer programs (see more about the Auditorium further down the page).

Millions of citizens , tourists and pilgrims both, made the trip to Ocean Grove every summer." The civil disillusionment around 1920 following World War I had a profound effect on Ocean Grove and church going in general.

One result was that Ocean Grove became a time capsule of late Victorian and early 20th century architecture.

Until Ocean Grove's municipal authority was closed into Neptune Township in 1981, it boasted a set of unique laws, including one that made it illegal on Sundays to have cars on the streets of Ocean Grove.

Grant visited Ocean Grove amid his time in office and made his last enhance appearance in this town.

In 1975, Ocean Grove was designated a State and National Historic District as a 19th-century planned, urban, community.

During the 1960s 1980s, the town declined along with much of the New Jersey seashore, and was pejoratively called "Ocean Grave" due to the general air of decrepitude and the elderly population. But beginning in the 1990s, and through 2006, Ocean Grove experienced a dramatic increase in property values and a considerable revival in fortune, especially with the restoration of older hotel structures, many of which had deteriorated into single room occupancy ("SRO") quarters.

Plans were announced in 2006 for a primary new hotel and condominium evolution on property which has been vacant since the 1970s, when the old North End Hotel once Ocean Grove's biggest was damaged by fire and later completed in 1980. These plans have turn into controversial though, and in January 2008 the Planning Board of Neptune stated the North End Redevelopment Proposal was "inconsistent with the town's Master Plan". According to the United States Enumeration Bureau, Ocean Grove had a total region of 0.428 square miles (1.109 km2), including 0.372 square miles (0.964 km2) of it is territory and 0.056 square miles (0.145 km2) of water (13.05%) is water. Because Ocean Grove is a summer resort improve and many residences are unoccupied amid the winter months, these statistics may not be representative of the populace at all times of the year.

Ocean Grove's beach Osborn (1832 1902), a prestige of the camp meeting boss in mid-19th century America, to select the site of present-day Ocean Grove for its wooded, mosquito-free location. Ellwood H.

A state charter was issued to the newly formed Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association on March 3, 1870, granting the 26 trustees (13 ministers and 13 lay persons) the authority to purchase and hold the one square mile of real estate comprising Ocean Grove, and to construct and maintain all necessary works to supply the town with utilities and other municipal services, including law enforcement. Later, accomplishments to establish a separate borough of Ocean Grove were attempted many times.

Ocean Grove was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 5, 1920, from portions of Neptune Township, but the New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals ruled the municipality unconstitutional on May 12, 1921, and the borough was dissolved as of June 16, 1921. Although Ocean Grove reverted to being a part of Neptune Township with the court's decision of 1921, the Camp Meeting Association continued to exercise small-town ordinance enforcement powers until 1981, when a journal deliverer successfully sued to end the resort's blue law banning Sunday vehicular traffic and requiring it to disband its law enforcement and "municipal" court. The Camp Meeting still owns all the territory in town and leases it to homeowners and businesses for 99-year renewable terms. The Camp Meeting Association presently keeps its beach closed on Sunday mornings between 8:30 am and noon, and Ocean Grove is still "dry", that is, the sale of all alcoholic beverages is prohibited. Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association District Ocean Grove Auditorium and Stokes Location Ocean Grove, New Jersey Prominent organists to have played the Ocean Grove Auditorium organ include Edwin H.

The Auditorium continues to be the focus of cultural life in Ocean Grove.

Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association In 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused extensive damage in Ocean Grove.

Over half of the town's boardwalk was destroyed, and the town's fishing pier was decidedly damaged. Ocean Grove was denied Federal Emergency Management Agency funding because the Camp Meeting Association is a nonprofit organization.

While nonprofit organizations are eligible to receive FEMA funding, Ocean Grove was denied funding because the boardwalk was classified as being used solely for recreational purposes. The town formed a group called "Together" to address storm recovery.

The group includes the Camp Meeting Association, the chamber of commerce, the homeowners association, the beautification committee, the historic society, the fishing club, and Ocean Grove United, a gay and lesbian group. In 2013, members of the gay-rights group Ocean Grove United and the OGCMA joined up to co-sponsor an event aimed at raising funds to rebuild Ocean Grove's hurricane-damaged boardwalk. From the late 1990s through 2000s, Ocean Grove saw the opening of a large number of gay-owned restaurants, hotels, and stores. According to the New York Times, Ocean Grove's gay and Methodist populations coexisted peacefully until a 2007 controversy over whether gay couples could conduct civil unions at the Camp Meeting Association's Boardwalk Pavilion.

Also as stated to the New York Times, "Ocean Grove has long been considered a improve that embraced gay residents." In 2007, a representative of Garden State Equality, a LGBT rights advocacy organization, said: "I'm hearing from gay citizens all over the nation who thought Ocean Grove was the dominant light for gay tolerance and that's not the case anymore." In 2012, Christian actor Kirk Cameron gave a lecture in Ocean Grove on the subject of strengthening marriage. Cameron's lecture sparked a protest by gay rights activists.

In 2013, the Human Rights Campaign, a LGBT rights advocacy group, encompassed Ocean Grove in its Municipal Equality Index, a study that scores 291 American metros/cities based on their inclusivity of LGBT citizens .

Ocean Grove scored 77 out of 100, representing the second highest score for metros/cities located in New Jersey. According to the New York Times, "the couples' requests were rejected, and they complained to the state's Division on Civil Rights, which began a discrimination investigation." The complaint stated that Scott Rasmussen, on behalf of the OGCMA, informed the couple it would not permit them to use the OGCMA's facilities for a civil union. In 2008, the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights found that there was probable cause to credit one of the two couples' complaints, but rejected the other. Complicating the dispute over civil unions was the fact that Ocean Grove's boardwalk and beachfront were held in a 1908 ruling to be exempt from property tax because they "had been dedicated years ago by the association as a enhance highway." The Boardwalk Pavilion lost its tax-exempt status in 2007 because the state ruled that it no longer met the requirements as a place open to all members of the public.

Interstate 195 provides highway access to Ocean Grove from the New Jersey Turnpike, Philadelphia, and points west.

The close-by Garden State Parkway joins Ocean Grove with points north and south, such as New York City and Atlantic City.

New Jersey Transit offers service between Ocean Grove and Philadelphia on the 317 route and small-town bus service on the 830 route. Additionally, Academy Bus has regular service to region shore suburbs and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan. People who were born in, inhabitants of, or otherwise closely associated with Ocean Grove include: "The brainchild of festival co-founder and creative director David Spelman of Ocean Grove (below, second from left), The Nebraska Project, held at the World Financial Center's Winter Garden, feat a b c d Gazetteer of New Jersey Places, United States Enumeration Bureau.

Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ocean Grove Enumeration Designated Place, Geographic Names Information System.

DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data for Ocean Grove CDP, New Jersey, United States Enumeration Bureau.

Look Up a ZIP Code for Ocean Grove, NJ, United States Postal Service.

Zip Codes, State of New Jersey.

Area Code Lookup - NPA NXX for Ocean Grove, NJ, Area-Codes.com.

New Jersey: 2010 Population and Housing Unit Counts 2010 Enumeration of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32), United States Enumeration Bureau, August 2012.

GCT-PH1 Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 County County Subdivision and Place from the 2010 Enumeration Summary File 1 for Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States Enumeration Bureau.

Images of America: Ocean Grove.

"Ocean Grove, about six miles south of Long Branch, was established in 1869 as a Methodist camp meeting ground; by the early 20th century it had been dubbed the 'Queen of Religious Resorts.'" a b Home page, Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association.

Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association.

"Organist Gordon Turk to headline concert at Ocean Grove's Great Auditorium".

Ocean Grove Record.

DP-1 Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 from the Enumeration 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Ocean Grove CDP, New Jersey, United States Enumeration Bureau.

The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606 1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969.

"Ocean Grove tries to retain ideals, but not some civic burdens", The New York Times, August 22, 1982.

"In 1979, however, the New Jersey Supreme Court found its charter unconstitutional because it decreed 'that in Ocean Grove the church shall be the state and the state shall be the church.' Since then, Ocean Grove has had to disband its police department and municipal court and to rely more on its parent community, Neptune Township.

"Ocean Grove is a dry town: No alcohol can be bought or sold.

Ocean Grove Summer Calendar of Events 2007.

Ocean Grove, NJ: Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, 2007.

Ocean Grove, NJ: Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association.

"Organ Recital Too Noisy: Ocean Grove Cottages Say 'The Storm' Disturbs Their Naps", The New York Times, July 16, 1909.

""OCEAN GROVE, July 15.

Ocean Grove's new pipe organ, the biggest in the world, is causing trouble for its owners, the Camp Meeting Association.

Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association.

2009 Summer Events, Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, p.

"Ocean Grove Tent City Rises Again".

"Tent City: Life in Ocean Grove's one-of-a-kind improve - but no barbecues or dogs, please".

2013 Summer Events, Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, pages 16 17.

"As Shore Towns Repair Boardwalks, Ocean Grove at a Standstill Because of FEMA's Denial".

"Even with FEMA denial, Ocean Grove bands together for Sandy stone ".

"Ocean Grove tries again to gain FEMA funding".

"Methodists and gay inhabitants reconcile at Ocean Grove fund-raiser".

"Kirk Cameron appearance in Ocean Grove draws protests from gay supporters".

"Asbury rates low on list of state's LGBT friendly metros/cities Ocean Grove rated more LGBT friendly in comparison".

"State sides with lesbian couple in fight against Ocean Grove association".

"Ocean Grove boardwalk appeal for FEMA aid denied".

"Judge: Ocean Grove Church Violated Law by Preventing Civil Union".

"Lesbian couple discriminated against by Ocean Grove association, state says".

"Academy Bus Commuter Bus from New Jersey to New York City".

"OCEAN GROVE, N.J., March 1 The Rev.

Swim", News 12 New Jersey, September 5, 2013.

"OCEAN GROVE A New Jersey woman has a special appreciation for Diana Nyad's recent accomplishment.Michelle Davidson, 43, paddled from Cuba to Florida as part of a relay team back in 2004....

Bell, Ocean Grove (Arcadia Publishing 2000): 56.

"Haydn Proctor, 93, a Judge And New Jersey State Senator", The New York Times, October 5, 1996.

"That would be Scott Rasmussen, who is following this anxious election with contentment from his home town of Ocean Grove, N.J., confident that he is divining the mysteries of democracy with the help of a computerized phone bank in Texas and a several pleasant-voiced women in the Midwest." George Sheehan, a cardiologist who became the philosopher of the recreational running boss in the 1970's and 1980's, died yesterday at his home in Ocean Grove, N.J." Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ocean Grove, New Jersey.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Ocean Grove.

Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association official website the beginning organization Ocean Grove Chamber of Commerce Ocean Grove Historical Society Municipalities and communities of Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States

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21st-century Chautauquas - 1869 establishments in New Jersey - Census-designated places in Monmouth County, New Jersey - Chautauqua - LGBT topics and Christianity - Places in New Jersey that prohibit the sale of alcohol - Evangelicalism in the United States - Former boroughs in New Jersey - Former municipalities in Monmouth County, New Jersey - History of Methodism - Jersey Shore communities in Monmouth County - National Register of Historic Places in Monmouth County, New Jersey - Neptune Township, New Jersey - Populated places established in 1869 - Protestantism in New Jersey - Gay villages in the United States - Religion and politics - United Methodist Church - Beaches of Monmouth County, New Jersey