Pharmacist, Doctor, Mayor — All in North End

The city’s longest operating pharmacy was started in North Long Branch more than 125 years ago. Now Diamond’s Pharmacy located in Ursula Plaza on Ocean Blvd, its drugstore beginnings were as Monmouth Pharmacy at 22 Atlantic Avenue — probably in the late 1880s.

It’s been quite a journey too. From the very origin of community pharmacies (offering pills and capsules for the first time) to modern healthcare today (when two out of three Americans take at least one prescription drug). It’s still there — still working.

Dr. Walter S. Reed

The North End pioneer who started it all was Walter S. Reed — born in Long Branch in 1865 (a gifted student, he went through the local schools with a 99 average). An active and ambitious healer, he held both pharmacy (New York College of Pharmacy in 1888) and medical (Bellevue Hospital Medical College in 1900) degrees.

He had the civic resume to match: He was Long Branch mayor (1902-03) and before that did a decade as a city commissioner. He was also an elected a member of the NJ State Assembly, the LB school board and as LB controller. Plus, he was a city school physician and volunteer fireman. Oh, and a very busy local druggist.

According to Asbury Park Press and Long Branch Daily Record reports, Reed first opened his Atlantic Avenue store after getting his pharmacy degree in 1888. His medical practice was opened in the same North Long Branch building in 1900.

Upon taking the mayor’s seat in February 1901, the Asbury Park Journal assessed Dr. Reed as “small in stature but a giant when it comes to maintaining his rights and dignity.” He died in February 1937.

444 Ocean Blvd, Long Branch, NJ 07740

From 1894 to 1927, Dr. Reed’s brother, William, was US postmaster in North End right next door on Atlantic Avenue. Charles Wood, another Long Branch pharmacist, trained under Dr. Reed before buying the business from him in 1916. Wood, a New York College of Pharmacy grad and father of seven, died in August 1935.

By February 1929, Joseph Diamond had acquired the drugstore. The Russian-born  Diamond graduated from Chattle High School in 1923 and the Columbia College of Pharmacy in 1926. As part of a major upgrade, he added a soda fountain to the store in May 1938. He died in November 1963.

In 1962 Salvatore Trocchia acquired the North End drugstore. A Red Bank native and US Army veteran, Sal graduated from the St. John’s University School of Pharmacy. An able and friendly pharmacist for more than 20 years, he sold the business in 1985. Sal died in December 2017 at age 82.

The pharmacy still operates in Ursula Plaza around the corner and south. Owned by pharmacist Stuart Eisenberg, the business re-opened in that brand new mini-mall on Ocean Avenue in November 1988. Word around town is the pharmacy business was sold at the end of 2021.

The old building on Atlantic Avenue where the drugstore began is still there. It currently houses the Branded Skate Shop. Makes sense. In 2005, Monmouth County opened a large and very popular skate-plex nearby.

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Over its history Long Branch has had at least 30 pharmacy businesses. According to my research, they include:

Open (6):

Ace Pharmacy (186 Broadway), CVS Pharmacy (71 South Broadway), Diamond’s Pharmacy (444 Ocean Blvd), Homestead Pharmacy (601 Broadway), Walgreens Pharmacy (205 Morris Avenue), Barnabas Health Retail Pharmacy at MMC (300 Second Ave).

Closed:

Anastasia Pharmacy (101 Broadway), Atwood & Moore Pharmacists (Brighton Ave), Beachview Pharmacy (Broadway and 2nd), Richard W. Bennett’s Pharmacy (187 Broadway), Britton’s Pharmacy (601 Broadway), Brokaw’s Pharmacy (187 Broadway), Bruno’s Pharmacy (180 Broadway), Birk’s Drug Store (160 Broadway), Burrow’s Pharmacy (Broadway), Central Drug Store (Ocean Ave), R.G. Chasey’s Drug Store (Main Street),  T.G. Chattle Drugstore (Main Street), Clark’s Pharmacy (175 Broadway), Columbia Pharmacy (93 Broadway), Dangler’s Pharmacy (581 Broadway), J.F. Emmons Pharmacist (563 Broadway), Family Drugstore (Brighton Ave), Wallace Fesler Druggist (187 Broadway), Filece’s Pharmacy (411 Prospect St), Gano’s Drugstore (Broadway), Garfield-Grant Pharmacy (Broadway and 5th Ave), J.O. Green Druggist (Main Street), Hollywood Pharmacy (92 Brighton Ave), Jackson’s Pharmacy (Broadway), Liggett’s Pharmacy (Broadway & Third Ave), Mauro’s Drugstore (351 Broadway), Mazzacco’s Pharmacy (427 Prospect St), J.F. Mazza Drugstore (563 Broadway), McGuire’s Pharmacy (344 Joline Ave), Madeline Pharmacy (171 Pavilion Ave), Ocean House Drug Store (Beach Drive), Ocean View Pharmacy (114 Broadway), Plaza Pharmacy (272 Third Ave), Rite-Aid Pharmacy (205 Morris Avenue), Rothenberg Pharmacy (169 Broadway), Sacco Drugstore (638 Ocean Ave), Seiler’s Pharmacy (216 Broadway), Smyth’s Drugstore (211 Broadway), Taber’s Drugstore (551 Broadway), Tindall’s Pharmacy (224 Broadway), Wert’s Pharmacy (175 Broadway), West End Pharmacy (at West End Hotel), and West End Family Pharmacy (134 Brighton Ave).

If I’ve missed any, please let me know — HERE.

Images from the past …

Diamond’s Pharmacy on Atlantic Avenue, 1970s (Dan Hennessey Collection).

Diamond’s Pharmacy in North End, 1950s.

Diamond’s Pharmacy in Ursula Plaza, 2022.

Diamond’s Pharmacy next to West’s Market on Atlantic Avenue, late 1970s. (Dan Hennessey Photo).

Diamond’s Pharmacy on Atlantic Avenue, 1970s.

Salvatore Trocchia at his pharmacy counter, 1960s.

Sal Trocchia at his North End pharmacy, 1965.

Branded Skate Shop at 22 Atlantic Avenue, 2011. Thanks to the county’s large skate-park nearby, commerce at the spot continues.

North End: Then a US Post Office and “Monmouth Pharmacy,” 1909.

North End neighborhood at dawn, 2021.

In the neighborhood, 1970s.

Atlantic Avenue in North End, 2010.

Ursula Plaza Shopping Center on Ocean Blvd, 2020. Diamond’s Pharmacy has operated in the North End mini-mall for over 30 years.

Ursula Plaza, 2010s. Jack Caputo owned the land and named the mini-mall after his wife. The family bakery/pastry shop is in this mall; it had all begun on Lower Broadway in 1960. The 33,000-square-foot shopping complex was built by Patock Construction with a Grand Opening in November 1988.

Homestead Pharmacy

Homestead Pharmacy on Broadway, 2019. Originally Britton’s Drug Store, Angelo Vasiliades assumed control in 1942. He renamed it and then built a new $140,000 building in 1954; he expanded again in 1964. Born in Greece, a 1930 Columbia University College of Pharmacy grad, he sold the business in 1972 and died in June 1988.

Homestead Pharmacy on Broadway, 1960s.

Ace Drugs

Still Dispensing — “Ace Cut Rate Drug Store” on Broadway, 1970s. George Shaw started the pharmacy business in 1937 and sold to Bernard Whitman in December 1942. Sol Grabelle acquired the drugstore in 1947 and he and Frank DeSantis became partners in 1956. All four men were Rutgers School of Pharmacy grads. Shaw died in 1986. Then housed in the old F.W. Woolworth store (above r), Grabelle bought the building when the “five-and-dime” closed in Jan. 1960. The Russian-born Grabelle retired in 1975 and died in August 1987. DeSantis was involved with Ace until he retired in 1998. He served as a medic under General George Patton during WW II; the city native died in April 2002.

Ace Pharmacy at 186 Broadway, 2020s. Still in operation after 88 years.

Britton’s Pharmacy

Britton’s Pharmacy at Broadway and Norwood Avenue, early 1900s. John T. Britton established the drug store in 1867. When the family sold the business in 1943, it was the oldest pharmacy in the state.

Britton’s Pharmacy sold, Long Branch Daily Record, April 1943.

Britton’s Pharmacy ad, Long Branch Daily Record, July 1910.

Anastasia’s Pharmacy

City Rx — 5 Corners Broadway, 1934. At left is Anastasia’s Pharmacy, opened in 1926; damaged by fire in July 1969. Relocated to 120 Broadway, the drug store closed in 1976. Owner, Amerigo A. “Doc” Anastasia, was a longtime city pharmacist and school board president. A graduate of the Columbia University College of Pharmacy, the much-admired city native (he had two city schools named for him) died in May 1982.

Wert~Druggist

88 Years of Dispensing — Wert~Druggist on Broadway, 1910s, J. Runkle Wert opened a Lower Broadway drugstore in 1888. Call “Doc Wert” for his health wisdom, his death in August 1905 at age 41 from heart attack shocked the new city. He proved to be a fine role model. After his death, his wife, Pauline, became a registered pharmacist (the first woman in NJ), and ran the pharmacy for two decades before selling to Harlo Clark 1924. A city native and Chattle High School graduate, Pauline died in April 1962. Second generation Clark pharmacist, Franklyn, finally shut the Broadway drugstore in September 1976.

Bruno’s Pharmacy

Bruno’s Pharmacy at Broadway and Second Avenue, 1910s. Owner Basil Bruno was a city native. A Republican, he also served on the 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.

Clark’s Pharmacy

On Broadway … Clark’s Pharmacy (r) and the Long Branch Trust Company (l), 1953. Harlo A. Clark bought the drug store in October 1924 (it had been Wert’s Pharmacy). It moved to Oakhurst in 1953. A city native and 1921 Columbia University University College of Pharmacy graduate, Clark died in 1973.

Birk’s Drug Store

Birk’s Drugs on Broadway (l), 1905. James F. Birks operated the drugstore until his death in October 1916. Born in Canada, he had acquired the Broadway drugstore from Fred Harding in 1895.