HoJo's

Nobody reads this photoblog for the history. I'm not sure why I ever bother. But here goes...

One of the many interesting sights of Asbury Park: formally known as the "Fifth Avenue Pavillion," most people know it as the former Howard Johnson's. From what I can tell, John Duhring Fridy designed it, and the restaurant opened in 1963.

(If you're interested in the history, also check out page 2, page 3, and page 4, which have comparative photographs between the 1960s and 2000s. And here are some semi-modern undated photos... courtesy of someone in the Bridge and Tunnel Club, presumably.)

The structure currently houses the Salt Water Beach Cafe, but according to the Asbury Park Press (Nancy Shields, "Picking up pace on the boardwalk;" Jan. 15, 2008; A1 & A4), well-known restaurateur Tim McCloone will "take over" the current establishment (which only opened this past summer in 2007) and open a nice little restaurant on the ground floor and a "supper club" on the upper floor. It's all part of the Asbury Park Revival. (Briefly: Asbury Park USED to be quite the vacation spot until riots in the 1970s made it a dangerous place to be; recently, various groups have been trying to mold the city back into the beautiful and desirable town it once was.)