Hi Dan, hope your trip went well.
I hope that you and everyone here will note that Werner attacked me
first on this. I never would have brought anything up if he hadn't,
because I try to make it a policy to encourage people in their
pursuits. I applaud when my friends do well. Heck, I even gave Jim
Keady money for his Nike movie not because I believe in it, but
because I want everyone I know to succeed. That includes Werner as
a historian.
But, he attacked me first, so a fight is a fight.
I believe a Historian has to make value judgments and prioritize.
You can't save every building, nor should you (particularly in a
comparatively young City like Asbury Park). Redevelopment is the
real world, so you can't operate in a vacuum outside of financial
considerations. This isn't a classroom exercise. I'll admit
upfront you know more about that than I do.
Years back I asked the AP Historical Society to draft Standards for
saving buildings, so we could prioritize. The President of the
Society dismissively told me, "You go write standards." I guess it
escaped his attention that they were the Historical Society, not
me. Nonetheless, I researched, wrote standards and gave them to the
Historical Society. Last time I checked, they hadn't adopted mine
or anyone else's. They told me they would advocate for whichever
building they felt like helping. By them operating without
standards, deciding whose building would get saved and whose
building would die, was the genesis of me giving them the
name "Nostalgia Nazi."
As to those buildings that you mention, I ran them through the
analysis of historical standards, and being as objective as I could,
I couldn't make a case for intervention. I'm sincere about that. I
didn't use sentiment, and I have as much reason to be sentimental as
anyone. I used real world standards.
As to the Redevelopment Plan, I know it has some platitudes about
being consistent with history, but in truth the Plan is a complete
break from history. I think the Plan would take less criticism if
it proudly admitted its break with history rather than give history
lip service to placate some critics (of course that doesn't placate,
it infuriates).
A Historian need not fear the occasional break with history, because
in reality it is at times necessary. Actually, it is exciting to
create new history. Asbury Park has done this several times in the
past 80 years, and it was [mostly] better off because it did change
with the times. Certainly past historians did not fail the ones
before them by embracing some change when it was needed.
The City was founded for the purposes of the tourist's relaxation,
religion and (certain types of) recreation. The original
architectural stamp reflected that, particularly with boarding
houses.
Later in the 1920's, there was an attempt to bring in the Convention
crowd. The architectural stamp from that era had more short-stay
hotels, and what is left of then is the Convention Hall, the
Berkeley and the Casino.
When the downturn came, Asbury adapted again by housing the mentally
ill, and its once glorious single family homes were allowed to house
many families and sometimes "pay per head" situations. The sad
architectural stamp of that era is in the interior of buildings.
Well, times have changed again. Every tourist town in Monmouth has
gone residential instead. We are adapting with the times, and will
put yet another architectural stamp on the City. I have too much
respect for all of you to kid you with platitudes about consistency
with past history (as the plan documents say). High density
residential is new here. It is not an insult to history though,
because the change is necessary (my opinion I know others will
differ).
Now consider that unlike in Music where there is an Asbury Park
sound (you can hear it at the Pony on December 9), Asbury Park does
not have its own distinctive architecture. Just go North to South.
The Santander is Mediterranean. Down the street the Senior Tower is
modern. Within eyeshot of that is the Berkeley, a traditional
building that flirts with Deco. Convention Hall is clearly early-
Deco. Next-door is the Moderne Howard Johnson's. Across the park
is the stoic Salvation Army building. The boardwalk is dotted with
non-descript structures, until you reach the 50's-60's style of Deco
at the Empress. It all ends with Convention Hall's ugly sister, the
Casino, which is such a hodgepodge of shapes and styles it nearly
defies description. The housing stock primarily alternates between
Post War and Victorian-inspired.
I bring up the various architectural stamps and the mixed
styles/designs to ask a question: Which history is Werner
supposedly trying to save? The original one? The one from the
1920's? The 1970's? And which architectural style/design is the
right one? The answer is, there is no "right" one. No matter what
you build on the beachfront, there will be a building within
eyesight whose style is opposed to it (just like there is now, so no
need to panic about that - we're eclectic).
Werner acts as ad hoc about what is important as the Historical
Society does. As a Historian, I know from history that there were
times when Asbury Park has realized it needed to change, and we've
reached that point again. Historians also record current history, so
how could I ignore that fact and not note it? It is a Historian's
job to recognize current reality and a dereliction of duty to
ignore it.
We will, by necessity, bring a new architectural stamp to the City.
Our job now is not to look back (there is no high-density
residential back there to look at), but to be bold enough to be new
again. It's a rare opportunity to be expressive, and not have to bow
to the dead-hand control of the past. Let's show people 80 years
form now we did something good for Asbury Park too.
I know what Werner does is romantic - to be the little guy railing
against the power, the protagonist sure in his cause. It's fun to
root for him because of that. I just happen to believe if he acts
without standards, priorities and the flexibility to know (from
history) that sometimes change is necessary, then all he is left
with is the romance.
If this doesn't convince some of my detractors, not that I'm right,
but of the sincerity in my study and thought on the matter, then I'm
just talking to people that don't wish me as well as I wish for
them. Those people I'll never convince.
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