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"Asbury Park." The Jersey shore circa 1914. Nothing like a little sand in your shoes. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size.
It never ceases to amaze me that some men of the era would go to the beach fully dressed in business attire, sit right down on the sand, and subject themselves to the heat of the day. They must have looked pretty spiffy when they got up and headed elsewhere.
What are the semi-regular light areas between the reclining men and the shoreline? It almost looks like something written/painted onto the sand (which makes no sense to me).
[The dark areas are shadows. - Dave]
Wasn't there a guy with one arm that did the most AMAZING sand castles (sculptures, really) on that beach? Would LOVE to see some of those! I think there was some kind of turmoil about him being on the beach doing them because he wasn't white. But they were stunning!
Other than that, Asbury's beach (including the trash and sand) looks exactly the same today. Of course the saltwater swimming pool pavilion is gone after burning down in the late 1980's, but time has stood still for everything else. Even the lifeguard chairs are the same, right down to the bottled water!
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