Images of Long Branch …
Dedicated to Tom Booth of Long Branch (1951-2019).
Rich in historic imagery, as a place offering shore sun and fun Long Branch has few peers. Here is a photo collection on this amazing city. (Again, I claim no ownership of the images — I track them down and post them). I’ll keep updating this section, so please return. And I’m always searching for more Long Branch photos. If you want to share any contact me HERE.
• Long Branch: City by the Beach — HERE
• Long Branch and the Presidency — HERE
• Long Branch City Hall — HERE
• Monmouth Medical Center: City’s Healthcare — HERE
• Grand Hotels of Long Branch Past — HERE
• Long Branch Pier: Boardwalk Fun & Games — HERE
• North Long Branch: Another Time & Place — HERE
• Learning in Long Branch Schools — HERE
• Long Branch Railroad — HERE
More Long Branch images …

1990 Long Branch city mayor’s race debate: Candidates from left: Adam Schneider, Bill George and Reuben Williams. At right is the moderator, Michael Booth Atlanticville News publisher. APP, April 1990. Mayor Schneider won his first of seven four-year terms.

Peddler Bike Shop on Ocean Blvd, 2012. Tony Schiavo opened his first bicycle store in 1970 on old Ocean Avenue.

Aerial image of Lake Takanassee, 2000s. The body of water is the city’s geographic boundary line separating West End from Elberon.

St Luke’s United Methodist Church on Broadway, 1920s. The original St. Luke’s church was burned in a January 1893 fire. A new one costing $45,000 opened in 1894.

Harbour Mansion in West End, 1970s. At left is the Surfside Beach Club, at right is the Harbor Island Spa. When first opened in 1968, the 10-story, 115-unit building was called Harbour Towers.

Second Baptist Church on Liberty Street, 2000s. Worship started there in 1887 and the first church was built in 1904. The Rev. Cornelius P. Williams led the church from 1938 to 1995.

Siperstein’s Paint & Wallpaper store on Broadway. The family-owned business was started there in 1962 by Larry Katz, a former Linden high school teacher. Nathan Siperstein opened the first of a 21-store chain in Jersey City in 1904. The LB business moved to Joline Avenue in 2005 into the old Brunswick Monmouth Lanes bowling alley building and operates today as Sip’s Ace Paint & Hardware. Larry, who held a Master’s Degree in retail marketing from NYU and was known for his 60-hour work weeks, died in March 2014.

Skateplex at Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park in North End, 2016. The popular county-owned facility opened in 2005 and received upgrades in 2015 and 2019.

City women promoting a Suffrage event at LB Casino, 1915. The speaker, Anna Howard Shaw, was a leader in the women’s vote movement. Born in the UK, she was a physician and a Methodist minister.

Bruno’s Pharmacy at Broadway and Second Avenue, 1910s. Owner Basil Bruno was a LB native. A Republican, he also served on the LB city commission (1948-1952) and represented Monmouth County in the NJ State Assembly for three terms in the 1920s and 30s. A 1910 graduate of the New Jersey College of Pharmacy, he died in 1955.

Nip-n-Tuck Bar & Grill on Norwood Avenue, 2019. Co-owners Bob Burtchaell (since 1996) and Jaime Healy (since 1996) run the place today. Julius “Ju-Ju” Tomaini, a LB city councilman and WW II US Army vet, was the popular owner there from 1963 to 1990. He died in 2006.

Grand Carousel at Pleasure Bay, 1911. Its 1897 designer was Charles Looff, who built the first Coney Island merry-go-round in 1876. Moved from LB in 1910, ultimately the structure ended up at a Central Massachusetts amusement park until 2000.

The old Pleasure Bay Bridge connecting Long Branch and Oceanport, 1930s. Opened in 1885, this swing bridge was replaced with a fixed span in 1965. The new bridge built by Wittberg Construction cost $1.3 million.

Pleasure Bay Bridge connecting Long Branch and Oceanport under construction. The new fixed bridge cost $1.3 million and opened in Sept. 1965.

Patten Point Yacht Club, 2017. Thomas Patten, Sr. built the 22-room mansion on the banks of Shrewbury River in 1892.

Baldanza’s Brothers Bakery on Prospect Street, 1930s. Italian-born brothers Joseph and Harry founded the city business in 1919.

Oceanic Fire Engine Company, #1, 1912. Fire Chief Charles Brown is front center. The company was organized in January 1872.

Shadow Lawn Savings & Loan association bank at the Broadway and Norwood Avenue intersection, 1950s. The new bank opened in July 1949 as a headquarters. Fred Baxter was the builder and James Mancuso was the architect. Willis A. Woolley was bank president at the time. Additions were made in 1956. Sovereign Bank acquired Shadow Lawn assets in 1994.

Inkwell Coffee House, 1973. When Joe Distasio opened the business in 1965, the original coffeehouse was on the corner of Brighton & Second Avenues in West End.

Inkwell in West End, 2010s. The eatery moved a couple of blocks south in 1979. The Esposito family acquired the business in 2001.

The massive Baruch family home on Atlantic Avenue, 1900. The 35-room, 12-bath, 15-acre estate built around 1900 was known as “Anchorage.” Bernard Baruch (1870-1965) was a financial advisor to seven American presidents.

Ad for Schneider’s Famous Tap Room on Broadway, 1970s. The bar-restaurant was started in 1933 by Isadore Schneider, a Lithuanian-born Jew who died in 1983.

US President William McKinley (l) and Vice President Garret Hobart vacationing at Long Branch, Summer 1899. By that fall, VP Hobart would be dead.

Dilger’s Market on Joline Avenue and Washington Street, 1950s. It was the old Branchport train depot.

The Phil Daly Houses — “Phil” & “Kathleen” — at the corner of Second and Chelsea Avenues, 1930s. (Note the new Star of the Sea Church at back left).

Coast Hardware (r) on Upper Broadway, 1943. Arthur Harmon started the hardware business in 1939; Rich Eyerman acquired it in 1989.

Anniversary celebration at Sam Sirianni‘s Bar (later to be Sirianni‘s Friendly Cafe), 1949. Father and son owners Sam and Tut Sirianni are behind the bar.

The Surf Lounge & Restaurant, 1970s. The Ocean Avenue spot was known for its fine dining and Mafia connections.

Surf Lounge on fire, March 1982. The business had been owed by local gangster, Anthony “Little Pussy” Russo who sold it in 1965. and was murdered down the road in 1979.

Letter from US President Harry Truman congratulating the LB Daily Record on its 50 years of publishing, 1951. The city’s last daily newspaper folded in 1975.

News account of the wreck of the steamship St. Paul at Long Branch, January 1896.

Brighton Bar on Brighton Avenue in West End, 2018. Known popularly as the “home of live original music,” current owner Greg Macolino says the establishment dates to 1915 when started by the Beatty family.

Adventurer Motel on Ocean and North Bath Avenues opened in 1959. The 78-room complex included a pool, coffee shop, cocktail lounge, 200-seat restaurant and TV in every room. Frank Montemurro built and ran the $400,000 motel. It was torn down in 1974.

Temple Beth Miriam, 1907. The oldest synagogue among Atlantic coast resorts, it was built on North Bath Avenue in 1888.

Star of the Sea Church on Chelsea Avenue, 1930s. Built at a cost of $200,000, the Holmesburg granite house of worship was dedicated in June 1929.

Lake Takanassee in West End, early 1900s. Originally called “Green’s Lake,” the Peter’s family gave it to the city in 1949.

Guttenplan’s Bakery on Third Avenue, 1970s. The family run business started in 1908. The Third Ave. shop opened in 1956 and shut in 1992.

Wellington Inn on Brighton Avenue, early 1900s. It was Phil Daly’s Pennsylvania Club, a very popular gambling house which closed in 1902. John Hoey was the builder back in the 1860s.

The Gaskin family retail fish operation in North Long Branch dates to the early 1900s; started by Conover Gaskin, Sr. In 1939, Conover, Jr. and George C. Gaskin took over the business and competed against each other (with side-by-side stores above) until 1961.

Long Branch Elks Lodge on Garfield Avenue, 1940s. Previously, the Garfield Hotel, the Elks took over in 1908.

Long Branch Daily Record headquarters on Broadway, 2010s. The city’s “hometown newspaper” was founded as a weekly in 1883 by Louis Bennett and Robert Stults. It became a daily in May 1901. When the paper folded in October 1975, Walter B. Potter of Virginia was the Publisher. The Slocum family were also owners (for 27 years). The paper’s longest serving publishers were the father-son duo, Edmund and Richard DeWitt, who ran things from 1929 to 1957.

Long Branch Daily Record building, 1909. The paper left the 8,000-square-foot building in 1971 and moved to South Seventh Avenue. The longest serving editor was Houston Brown (1929-1942). In 1976, Michael Booth launched the Atlanticville, a weekly newspaper, a few doors from the old LB Record building.

Chabad of the Shore on Ocean Avenue, 2020. A brand new $20 million synagogue-shopping center combo in West End that “spreads Jewish awareness.”

“Aladdin’s Palace” Elberon mansion at the foot of Park Avenue. The “House of Many Gables” was built in 1881 for C.K. Garrison, an early transportation tycoon. In 1900, Solomon Guggenheim (the fabulous NYC museum namesake) acquired the property for his daughter who lived there until 1936.

Vogel’s Department Store on Broadway, 1940s. The business was run by Abe and George Vogel, second generation furriers who learned the trade from their father, Israel Vogel, who first opened a Broadway shore in 1918. Prior to 1944, the location above was a Steinbach’s store founded by brothers, John and Jacob in 1870. Vogels closed in 1975.

Christopher Columbus monument in Long Branch. The 6-foot statue is located in Slocum Park and was dedicated in October 1961. The marble statue cost $5,000 and was purchased in Carrera, Italy. Ralph Damiano chaired the monument committee.

Elberon Casino, 1885. Built in 1882 at Lincoln and Elberon Avenues. An exclusive private men’s club when opened, later it was owned for many years by Frederick Houseman, a LB mayor and Wall Street financial wiz. Designed by Peabody and Stearns, it was torn down in 1959.

West End movie theater, 1983. Opened as Grant’s Movies 1 & 2 in February 1974. First films: “Crazy Joe” and “Fantasia.” The founding proprietor was Edward Grant of Fair Haven. Music Makers Theatre Circuit bought out Grant in 1979 and Loews Theatre took over in 1988.

Lowes Theatres in West End, 1993. The double-decker twin theater held 340 rocking-chair seats each. The city movie house closed down in June 1995 and the building was torn down in August 2017.

The original St. James Episcopal Church in Long Branch, 1910. Located on Broadway, the wooden house of worship was dedicated in August 1855. Rev. Harry Finch was founding rector. It was replaced with a stone church in 1913.

Long Branch Trust Company sketch proposal for new drive-in bank in West End, 1955. Samuel Morris was president and the new branch was designed by Farmer and Cranmer of Asbury Park. Today, it’s a Chase Bank branch.

New San Alfonso Retreat House in West End, 1969. It has been run by the Redemptorist Fathers — a congregation of Catholic missionaries — since 1925.

Original San Alfonso Retreat House in West End, 1949. The oceanfront complex was the combination of several large summer homes.

Perry’s Bowling Center on Broadway, 1960s. James “Chitti” Perri opened his first bowling alley (and pool hall) on Morris Avenue in 1924 and moved the bowling to Broadway 1939, which included 8 lanes. A city native, he retired in 1966 and died in 1995. His son Steve, a decorated B-17 ball turret gunner in WW II, also ran the business.

US Life-Saving Station #5 in Long Branch remains, 2011. All of the land in the area was originally owned by Henry Green.

He was a United States Senator for NJ — in between two terms as Long Branch mayor, December 1903. A Democrat, he died in October 1910 at age 76.

Long Branch Free Public Library, 1940s. The Broadway building was designed by Edward Tilton (who was architect on over 100 US libraries). Opened in November 1920, it was built through a $30,000 grant from the Carnegie Corp., the last of its kind in the nation (which funded nearly 1,700 new libraries across the USA). The facility got a major $40,000 addition in 1962. The city’s library association dates to 1878.

Elberon Library, 1957. The library was formed in Sept. 1900. The land had been owned by L..B. Brown, the founder/developer of the Elberon section of LB.

Elberon Library, 1920. The library had its grand opening in May 1911. The cost of construction was $8,000. The first president was Mrs. Katherine Kean, a wealthy summer resident and the wife of US Senator Hamilton Fish Kean (R-NJ).

Members of the KKK march down Broadway as part of its Tri-State Klonklave held at nearby Elkwood Park, July 1924. It’s a sad and disgusting moment in city history.

City Stadium overview postcard, 1940s. Seating capacity was 2,500. The facility was condemned in 1956 and torn down in 1962.

Long Branch Stadium, 1950s. Also called City Stadium, it was built by the Long Branch Kennel Club for $75,000 opening in 1934. After just one season, greyhound racing was declared illegal in NJ. The city took over and held various events over the years: stock-car racing, night baseball, and boxing/wrestling.

Oceanic Engine & Truck Co. No. 1, 1911. Formed in 1878, it is the city’s first volunteer fire company.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in front of Reed’s Bicycle Shop in West End, 1973. The photo became a cover for the band’s second album: The Wild, The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle.

St. Michael’s Church in West End, early 1900s. Dedicated in August 1891, the first pastor was the Rev. Richard Crean (from 1892 to 1928). The popular Monsignor Paul Bradley led this Catholic church from 1969-1989.

Simpson Methodist Church on Third Avenue, early 1900s. Opened in 1883. Today, it is the Long Branch Church of God.

Dorothy Parker birthplace marker in West End, 2005. The celebrated writer, citric, wit and founding member of the Algonquin Round Table, was born in Long Branch in 1893. She died in NYC in 1967.

US Life-Saving Station #5 at Long Branch, 1905. Built in the 1890s, it later became the Takanassee beach club.

The massive West End Cottages, 1910. Built in 1880 on the southeast corner of Ocean and Brighton Avenues.

NJ Governors: Foster Voorhees (1889-1902), John Fort (1908-11) and Edward Stokes (1905-08) vacationing at LB, 1905.

Cats Meow ad, 1975. In 1985, the location became Casa Comida Mexican Restaurant on Branchport Avenue run by Paul and Kris Catlett. The building dates to the 1860s.

Elberon Memorial Church on Park Avenue, 1949. Construction was paid for by Catherine Taylor. It was dedicated in 1886.

Seaside Chapel on Chelsea Avenue, dedicated July 1867. The church was struct by lightning and burned down in 1886.

Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church on Broadway. President Grant was at the dedication in 1880. It burned in 1894 and was rebuilt as St. Luke’s.

Independent Fire Engine & Truck Company #2 on Third Avenue, 1940s. Founded in 1910, it is the city’s youngest fire company.

Tuzzio’s Italian Cuisine on Westwood Avenue, 2019. The Tuzzio family bought the Silver Dollar Bar in 1965 and (now led by Joe Tuzzio) have been running the popular local eatery ever since. Tony and Angelina Grande owned the Silver Dollar for 25 years.

Sketch of the house of Arthur H. Hearn, a replica of William Shakespeare’s birth home at Stratford-on-the-Avon, built at the corner of Second and South Bath Avenues in 1890. It burned in 1920.

Pleasure Bay Park on Atlantic Avenue, 1905. The park had a trolley line, boat dock, floating theater for concerts and shows, amusement rides and picnic facilities. The area was once owned by George M. Harvey, a former US Ambassador to Great Britain.

Sea Verge Apartments on Ocean Blvd, 2018. The seven-story oceanfront high-rise opened in 1964. Construction cost was $2 million.

US Post Office – Long Branch on Third Avenue, 1920s. Opened in 1914, the building was named the “Pat King Postal Building” in 2002, in honor of the city police sergeant killed in the line of duty in 1997.

Long Branch Poultry Farm on Branchport Avenue, 1960s. The city “chicken farm” was started by German immigrants Hermann and Anne Reimann in 1940.

LB Mayor Adam Schneider (r) endorses NJ Gov. Chris Christie for re-election, 2013. Christie won Monmouth County with 70% of the vote.

Paramount Theatre on Broadway, 1943. Built by Walter Reade and opened in 1912 and reconstructed in 1931; it closed in 1959. Used for years as storage by Siperstein’s Paints, it was torn down in 2017.

Henry R. Cioffi hugs his wife Jean upon being elected mayor of Long Branch, 1970. Known as “Skip,” he was elected to three mayoral terms serving until 1982. He was also a former city councilman, US Marine, and Ivy League finance graduate. He died in 2020.

H. Victor Newcomb house on Ocean Avenue in Elberon, 1880. The architects were McKim, Mead & White. Cost to build: $33,000. Newcomb was a railroad tycoon and banker.

Long Branch Inn at Third and Morris Avenues, 1963. It later become Casey Jones Restaurant with real Conrail boxcars and a caboose added in 1978.

Casey Jones Restaurant, 1980s. Opened in 1973, brothers-owners Marvin and Ed Moses sold the once very successful business in 2003 and after a failed diner effort at the location the building was torn down in 2019.

Charlie (r) and Joe Ilvento (l) at their West End Manor, 1981. The family restaurant opened on Ocean Avenue in 1949. The business was sold in 1987.

Sirianni’s Friendly Café family, 1988. Sam Sirianni started the Northern Italian restaurant on Brighton Avenue in 1938. He son Anthony “Tut” Sirianni and his sons ran the West End business through the 1980s.

Acerra brothers baseball team, 1940s. A semi-pro baseball team of 12 Long Branch brothers coached by their father, Louis “Pop” Acerra. They played from 1938-52 and won the Long Branch City League Championship 10 years in a row.

Johnny Brockriede, 1960s. “Long Branch’s finest supporter” died in April 2012 at age 67. One of the city’s most successful and generous businessmen and entrepreneurs, John left a mark all over LB.

Older city residents still rave about the great baked items from this Broadway shop. APP ad, May 1931. Carl Elenberger started the business in 1922.

Long Branch News building, 1868. The city’s first newspaper was launched in 1886 as a weekly. The publishers were James B. Yard and James B. Morris.

Club Spanky on old Ocean Avenue, 1980s. Band mates Rod Faccone, Jr. and Ron Rosenzweig opened the rock ‘n’ roll night club in August 1978.

W.H. Woolley’s men’s-wear business: from left: Howard, Jr., Howard, Sr. and Bill Woolley, 1986. The family-owned business operated on Broadway from 1911 to 1990.

Conte’s Car Wash, 1970s. Longtime owners, Louis and Mary Conte of Oceanport, started their very successful Joline Avenue business in 1961. Mary died in 2002; Lou in 2006.

Yvonne’s Rhapsody in Blue & Rendezvous Lounge, early 1970s. Opened in 1962, it was a popular dining and dancing night club in its day. Back then German-born hostess Yvonne Morel performed two shows a night, singing in English, French, and Spanish. The music stopped in 1987. The house was once the summer cottage of Anthony Drexel, the financier and Philadelphia college namesake.
I love looking at the pictures — new and old — and would love to see more. I was born in Long Branch. It’s changed so much.
I went to school in Long Branch NJ. In 1956 I moved after finishing the 8th grade at Star of the Sea school.
A fabulous look down memory lane. I grew up in Deal in the 1950s and 60s. I remember so much of Long Branch and how it’s changed. I miss some of the good ole days. We were a lot less populated then … liked it better. Thank you for sharing all of this.
A great image archive — along with the Sea Bright and Monmouth Beach collections. Much appreciated.