ABOUT THE POINT PLEASANT BEACH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
-Board of Directors- -Membership Benefits- -History of Point Pleasant Beach- -Directions-
The Point Pleasant Beach Chamber of Commerce is organized to advance the general welfare and prosperity of the Point Pleasant Beach area so that its citizens and all areas if its business community shall prosper. All necessary means of promotion shall be provided and particular attention and emphasis shall be given to the economic, civic, commercial cultural, industrial and educational interests of the area.
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Point Pleasant Beach Chamber of Commerce
517A Arnold Avenue
Point Pleasant Beach, NJ 08742
Voice: 1-888-PPBFUN2 (772-3862)
Fax: 1-732-899-0103
Email:
info@pointpleasantbeachnj.com
Board of Directors
PRESIDENT.
LYNNE MAHONEY
LYNNE’S MEN’S & LADIES FASHIONS
707 ARNOLD AVE., PT. PLT. BCH.:
732-899-4000
e-mail: lynnesllc@verizon.net
1st VICE PRES.
VINCENT J. CICALESE
SOVERIGN BANK
848-299-0303
e-mail: vcicalese@aol.com
2nd VICE PRES.
DEE HECKEL
JENKINSON’S
300 OCEAN AVE., PT. PLT. BCH.
732-892-3274
e-mail:
groupsales.jenkinsons@comcast.net
TREASURER
GREG SHULMAN
KINGSBRIDGE FINANCIAL
501 BROADWAY PT. PLT. BCH
732-899-1000 EX.104
e-mail: gregs@kingsbridge .com
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT.
PATRICK ENGLISH
WILLIAM M. BALL AGENCY
161 OCEAN AVE., PT. PLT. BCH.
732-899-2181
e-mail: pme49@aol.com
DIRECTORS
JOHN BEZERRA
EUROPA SOUTH
521 ARNOLD AVE. PT. PLT. BCh
732-899-5333
e-mail jbezarra1@gmail.com
ED DEFELICE
DEFELICE CHEVROLET
2506 HWY # 88 PT. PLEASANT
732-899-2844
e-mail: ed@defelicechevy.com
BERNADETTE GRYGIELKO
OCEAN FIRST BANK
701 ARNOLD AVE., PT. PLT. BCH.
732-240-4500 EXT: 4200/1
e-mail: BGRYGIEL@oceanfirst.com
KAREN KAVANAGH
MERIDIAN LIFE FITNESS & REHAB.
801 ARNOLD AVE., PT. PLT BCH
732-899-3812 .
e-mail:
kkavanagh@meridianhealth.com
JIM McCLURE
ALL POINTS PRINTING & GRAPHICS
831 ARNOLD AVE., PT. PLT.
732-892-6670
e-mail:
allpoints.printing@verizon.net
MARK PALIZZOLO
ALEX’S BAIT AND TACKLE
9 INLET DR. PT. PLEASANT BEACH
mpala123@verizon.net
NANCY RHINESMITH
PROVIDENT BANK
610 LAUREL AVE. PT. PLT. BEACH
732-295-3801
e-mail:
nancyrhinesmith@providentnj.com
RACHEL ROGERS
INVISUAL NEW MEDIA DESIGN
2ND AVENUE, MANASQUAN, NJ 08736
732-701-2578 203
e-mail: rachel@invisual.us
PETER SANDOMENO
BROADWAY COURT MOTEL/SHORE POINT MOTEL
304 BROADWAY. PT. PLT. BCH
732-892-0850
Shore Pt. (732-892-7075)
e-mail: psandomeno@comcast.net
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
CAROL VACCARO
PT. PLT. BEACH CHAMBER OF COMM.
517A ARNOLD AVE., PT. PLT. BCH.
732-899-8076/899-2424 FAX: 732-899-0103
e-mail:
carol@pointpleasantbeachnj.com
COUNCIL LIASON
Tim Lurie
e-mail: tlurie@dwsmith.com
Jeff Dyer
e-mail: jeffreydyer@comcast.net
COUNCIL
DENNIS CANTOLI
SINN, FITZSIMMONS, CANTOLI, BOGAN & PARDES
501 TRENTON AVE., PT. PLT. BCH.
732-892-1000 ext. 216
e-mail: dcantoli@comcast.net
- Strength in numbers: Collective Marketing
- Advertising Discounts to Chamber Members
- Worldwide listing on Chamber Website
- Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
- Notary Public Services Free to Members
- Guide book privileges (circulation 25,000)
- Seafood Festival benefits
- Networking Events
- Take part in sponsoring events that brings us all business
- Receive Membership List
- Business referral service to Chamber Members
- Invitation to business expos
- Keep up to date on community information
- Bi-Monthly newsletter
- Use of highway sign
- Receive emotional support
- Opportunity to serve community
- Serve on committees
- Access to incoming & outgoing email
- Make new friends!
- Monthly General Membership Meetings
- Guest Speakers
- Benefit of partnerships
History of Point Pleasant Beach
On September 2, 1609, Henry Hudson and the crew of his ship, Half
Moon, noticed Point Pleasant Beach on their way north to explore the
Hudson River. Crewmember, Robert Juet, noted in his journal, “This is a
very good Land to fall with and a pleasant Land to see.” The Borough of
Point Pleasant Beach was established 277 years later on June 2, 1886.
Originally a seashore playground for the Leni Lanape Indians, settlers
arrived during the 1700’s. Fishermen and farmers by trade, many owned
hundreds of acres of land. Summer tourism began in the early 1800’s,
when Thomas Cook, Jr. opened his farmhouse on the site of the current
Antrim Elementary School to boarders. Soon, the four or five other farm
families who owned most of the local property were also taking in
guests. The fee of $8-12 a week for room and board would often include
meals and a wagon ride through the cornfields to the beach. Visitors
enjoyed the seclusion, cool sea breezes, picnicking in cedar groves
along the Manasquan River, fishing and hunting. They probably did not
drink or party, as Cook and other early landowners were devout Quakers.
Captain John Arnold did the most to establish Point Pleasant Beach as a
destination for visitors in the 1870’s, when he retired from a career at
sea and bought land. In 1870, he built a roadway to the ocean, now known
as Arnold Avenue. In 1875, he was instrumental in building the first
bridge over the Manasquan River to Brielle. Later, he convinced the
Central Jersey Railroad to extend its service to Point Pleasant Beach by
giving it right-of-way, land for a depot, and about $6,000 cash. On July
3, 1880, the first passenger train rolled into Point Pleasant Beach.
The 1870’s was also an era of major tourism expansion, driven by
developers who subdivided old farms for vacation home lots. Captain
Arnold devised Arnold City between Central and what was to become Arnold
Avenue. In 1877, the Point Pleasant Land Company bought the old Forman
Farm, 250 acres on what is now Route 35 South, between Forman and
Elizabeth Avenues, and began selling lots. To attract buyers, it built
the Resort House in 1878 and began horse-drawn trolley service for
tourists.
The grand four-story, 200-guest Resort House was, by far, the largest
building in town. It featured shaded groves of oak and locust, a velvet
lawn and a commanding view of the beachfront dunes. Inside, was a
ballroom and bowling alley. About a half dozen other gracious hotels
were built before the turn-of-the-century. The Leighton was the largest,
located on the dunes between Forman and Trenton Avenues. The Beacon
Hotel, on 18 acres of oceanfront near the Bay Head border, advertised
the beneficial qualities of its spring water. Zimmerman’s on Bay Avenue,
now a residential hotel, emphasized ’92 New York trains, 20 Philadelphia
trains, trolley lines, water works, electric light plants and no
mosquitoes. Many of these edifices, including the Resort House, burned
to the ground, while others succumbed to changing tastes in lodging. The
Leighton was dismantled for scrap wood during World War II.
Boardwalk enthusiasm came relatively late. In the earliest years,
visitors focused their attention on the Manasquan River, cedar groves
and farmhouses; but eventually, wanted to be near the ocean. The first
beachfront pavilion was constructed on Atlantic Avenue in 1880. Ten
years later, the first boardwalk was built—a flimsy, portable structure.
It washed away within two years.
Around 1892, visitors flocked to Clark’s Landing, the original amusement
area, on the Manasquan River in Point Pleasant. It featured a
merry-go-round with a steam organ and ice cream making machine. In 1896,
a small snack shack on the Manasquan Inlet served coffee, sandwiches,
ice cream and pie. In 1897, the decision for privately owned beaches in
Point Pleasant Beach was made when, as noted in the August 16th Council
minutes, “Ownership of the Beach turned down by the Council because of
the extreme cost to the Borough for maintenance.”
The first permanent boardwalk, which ran between Philadelphia and
Central Avenues, came in 1915. It would eventually be expanded to run
the entire length of Point Pleasant Beach; but was shortened to its
present length by the hurricane of September 1938, which destroyed the
southern portion. The boardwalk was slowly transformed from a place to
stroll to an active amusement area. It was already the long-time home of
a merry-go-round and several other amusements when, in the late 1920’s, Orlo Jenkinson built Jenkinson’s Pavilion and Swimming Pool. The
boardwalk pavilion became the place to go for a night of sophisticated
dancing to well-known big bands. Sometimes, a live nationally broadcast
radio hookup added to the excitement.
Nowadays, Point Pleasant Beach has a thriving downtown business
district, hosting diverse shopping experiences, as well as premiere
antique establishments. It is famous for its annual Seafood Festival in
September. The Boardwalk is home to a first class aquarium, as well as
rides, arcades and diverse dining experiences, ranging from the
traditional sausage sandwich to sushi.
Directions:
NEW YORK
NJ Garden State Parkway to Exit 98, Route 34 to second traffic circle.
Take Route 35 South over Manasquan River bridge to third traffic light
(downtown Point Pleasant Beach). Turn left onto Arnold Avenue, go to the
end (Ocean Avenue).
PENNSYLVANIA
NJ Turnpike North to Exit 7A then take Highway 195 East to Exit 35A
(Brielle). Take Route 35 South over Manasquan River bridge to third
traffic light (downtown Point Pleasant Beach). Turn left onto Arnold
Avenue, go to the end (Ocean Avenue).
TRENTON
Take Highway 195 East to Exit 35A (Brielle). Take Route 35 South over
Manasquan River bridge to third traffic light (downtown Point Pleasant
Beach). Turn left onto Arnold Avenue, go to the end (Ocean Avenue).