West End Images …
The West End of Long Branch has always been its own kind of place — from wealthy to hippie. Here are some images to show — and I’ll keep adding to the collection:
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Anthony Drexel cottage on Ocean Avenue in West End, 1890s. Drexel was one of nation’s top bankers-financiers after the Civil War.
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First in Business — The John Guire Company on Brighton Avenue, 1939. The West End coal and feed grain business was started in 1898 by two brothers (John and James). Still in operation, it’s the city’s oldest retail business — MORE INFO.
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What”s Good Tonight? — West Coast Video logo, 1990s. Kit Morris opened the popular West End video rental shop on Brighton Avenue in the mid-1980s.
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Dorothy Parker birthplace marker in West End, 2005. The celebrated writer, citric, wit and founding member of the Algonquin Hotel Round Table, was born in Long Branch in August 1893. She died in NYC in July 1967 — MORE INFO.
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John Hoey — a major developer of “West End.” In December 1862, he acquired 273-acres in the area from the Green family and built his “Hollywood House” mansion.
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On a Roll — The Roseland Roller Rink on Brighton Avenue. The West End arena (with 10,000-square-foot skating floor) was opened in February 1938 by William Schmitz and operated until an April 1943 fire.
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West End Grows — New strip-mall on Brighton Avenue nears completion, Long Branch Daily Record, May 1958. Builder Rudy Primavera opened an Italian grocery store here with his sons. It also held a drug store and US Post Office. The architect of the four, one-story cinder-block stores was James W. Mancuso.
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Long Branch Losses — West End Family Pharmacy on Brighton Avenue closed forever in December 2022, a month shy of 60 years in business. Harold Blumenkrantz (a US Army veteran and 1961 Rutgers College of Pharmacy honor graduate) opened the drugstore in January 1963. That year was rough for several landmark city businesses. Among those to close their doors (I’m sure I’ve missed some) in the 12 months were: Tuzzio’s (57 years), Seashore Day Camp (95 years), Ink Well (57 years), West End Family Pharmacy (59 years), Brighton Bar (105 years) and Ron’s West End Pub (40 years). Going soon: Monmouth Medical Center (135 years). If you’re counting, that’s 500+ years of city commerce — gone. Anyone care?
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Big Bet — West End Casino, 1910. “Last of the great gaming clubs built in Long Branch,” was at the corner of Ocean Avenue and West End Court; it cost $250,000 to build. Gambling flourished openly in Long Branch, according to city historian James Durnell, from 1893 to 1903 when “private clubs” became betting parlors.
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San Alfonso Retreat House on Ocean Avenue in West End, 1950s. The property, once owned by Diamond Jim Brady, opened in 1925
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Takanassee Bridge connecting West End and Elberon, early 1900s. In the background are old US Life-Saving Service buildings.
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West End Gateway — The West End Cottages (1881-1912) across from the Takanassee Hotel (1907-1934) on Brighton Avenue (looking west), 1900.
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West End Hotel on the oceanside, 1902. Up until 1870, it was known as the Stetson House hotel. It was wrecked in 1906 and the Takanassee Hotel was built on the site.
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A very young Bruce Springsteen hanging out in West End, 1973. “The Boss” — just 25 at the time — is outside the “Turntable Record Store” on Brighton Avenue.
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Long Branch cottage at 7 1/2 West End Court where local musician Bruce Springsteen wrote “Born to Run” in 1975. Springsteen’s first hit tune, the song is ranked #27 on the 2021 Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
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Bruce Springsteen and friend ride tandem past Steven’s Bait & Tackle shop on Brighton Avenue, 1973. Steven Vajo first opened the West End business in 1956 catering to local surf fishermen. In 1977, Joe LaPresti acquired the store that’s just steps from the Atlantic Ocean. Tom Karandrikas bought the business in 1998 and Bryan ZImmerman took change in 2000. The business closed in Feb. 2007.
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Running & Being— Dr. George Sheehan, Jr. (r) races in a Takanassee Lake 5k, August 1981. Regular summer races along the West End lake began in 1964 organized by the Shore Athletic Club. “The Doc” called the Long Branch course his favorite place to race. After the celebrated physician, author and runner died in 1993, a remembrance plaque for him was placed on the north side of the lake (SI Photo). More on Dr. Sheehan — HERE.
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Living Large — Ocean Blvd in West End looking south, June 2022. The “Renaissance on the Ocean” at upper left off Brighton Avenue — its 10 acres are some of the city’s finest oceanfront. Opened in 1999, it’s a gated beach community with 87 luxury condominiums built in Mediterranean style. The development includes pool, spa, clubhouse, tennis courts and underground parking. Back then prices ranged from $300,000 to $2 million. The magnificent West End Cottages once stood on the grounds. The distinctive red Windmill is at the bottom; the restaurant opened in 1965.
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West End movie theater, 1983. It opened as Grant’s Movies 1 & 2 in February 1974. The first two films were: “Crazy Joe” and “Fantasia.” Music Makers Theatre Circuit acquired the business in 1978 and Loews Theatre took over in 1988.
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Lowes Theatres in West End, 1993. The city movie house closed down in June 1995 and the building was torn down in August 2017.
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Developer Celeste Carlesimo at her “West End Mini Mall” on Brighton Avenue, October 1976. Russomanno Contracting had owned the building which she bought for $100,000 in 1974. When competed — “a new concept in community shopping” — nine different stores covered 6,000-square-feet. She later opened the Tasti D-Lite in West End.
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Long Branch Trust Company drive-in branch on Brighton Avenue in West End, 1961. Another LBTC branch was on Broadway, first opening in 1866.
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West End Family Pharmacy on Brighton Avenue, 2022. The venerable drugstore closed in December, a month shy of 60 years in business. Harold Blumenkrantz — a US Army veteran and 1961 Rutgers College of Pharmacy honor graduate — opened the drugstore in January 1963.
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San Alfonse Retreat House in West End, 1930s. It was started by the Redemptorist Fathers — a congregation of Catholic missionaries — in 1922.
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Last Call — Old Brighton Bar on Brighton Avenue is ready for the wrecking ball, November 2022. West End’s ultimate live-music venue dates back to 1915 when started by the Beatty family. The bar closed for good in March 2021 — a victim of the pandemic.
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West End Watch — The Windmill restaurant on Ocean Avenue at sunset, September 2022 (Debbie Callano Parnell Photo).
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Takanassee Bridge, 2020. The bridge connects West End with Elberon over Lake Takanassee. Jesse and Corlies Howland built the original 260-foot long span — it opened in December 1912. Then the county’s first concrete bridge, it cost $27,000.
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Bonforte’s Market in West End, 1948. Roy and Albert Bonforte opened the new store at the corner of Brighton and Sairs Avenues in 1940. The business was started by their father in 1857.
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Old U.S. Life-Saving Station at Lake Takanassee. An early and eager advocate for better conditions here was Captain Asher Wardell who served as “Station Keeper” at #5 from 1894 to 1904. A Long Branch native, Wardell had served in the Civil War — enlisting in the Union’s 1st New Jersey Cavalry as a teen and rising to sergeant. He died in June 1905 (Painting by Peder Johnson).
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San Alfonso Retreat House in West End, 1980s. The re-built religious facility opened in 1967 and J. Gerald Phelan was the architect. The Redemptorist Order first acquired the 10-acre oceanfront property in 1925. St. Alphonsus Liguori founded the order in 1732.
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Savoy Apartment Building in West End is engulfed in flames, Long Branch Daily Record, March 1933. The fire burned through the night wrecking two city blocks along Ocean Avenue and West End Court.
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Keller Hotel on Brighton Avenue. Burned in July 1909, William Keller of New York built the four-story brick structure for $60,000.
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Sand & Surf Hotel undergoing construction on Ocean Avenue in West End, May 1950. By March 1961 it was owned by the Paskow family and was growing larger — becoming the Harbor Island Spa.
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Anthony “Little Pussy” Russo’s Cadillac sits in front of the Harbor Island Spa in West End, where the notorious local mobster was murdered in April 1979. The man “everyone feared” was shot four times in the head. Born in July 1916, he grew to be considered by law enforcement as Monmouth County’s top organized crime boss. No one was ever changed in the crime.
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Harbour Mansion in West End, 1970s. At left is the Surfside Beach Club, at right is the Harbor Island Spa.
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Harbour Mansion aerial image, early 1980s. When first opened in 1968, the 10-story, 115-unit building was called Harbour Towers.
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Pennsylvania Club at Ocean and Brighton Avenues, 1905. John Hoey was the builder in 1868 but it became a betting house through NYC professional gambler Col. John Chamberlain (he also opened the first Monmouth Park in 1870). He kept a French Chef on staff and fed his patrons for free (women and locals weren’t welcome). Even greater glory came with Phil Daly who took over in 1877. It was “easily the highest class and most exclusive gambling club in the Unites States,” according to the APP, March 1910. Among the games of chance were: roulette, poker, faro, and baccarat.
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The Pennsylvania Club in West End, early 1900s. Known as the “Monte Carlo of America” — is was finally closed after a police raid in 1902. The glided-domed palace was demolished in September 1909.