If your vision of the Jersey Shore is shaped by your experiences watching the 2010s MTV reality series of the same name—with its constant cycle of gym, tan, laundry (simply known as “GTL”)—then you’re in for a surprise.
Nestled on the Atlantic Coast about a 75-minute drive south of New York City, Asbury Park, NJ, is a breezy seaside city that has offered visitors a respite from the heat and congestion for more than 100 years. The community offers a mix of early 1900s Beaux Arts style buildings, mid-century Americana, 1970s and ’80s rock—and a queer community that’s been here for more than a century.
“I don’t think there was a time when we weren’t here,” says Kathy Kelly, who leads queer-themed historic tours of the city.
Founded in the late 1800s, Asbury Park reached its heyday in the 1920s, when several of its historic buildings, including the now-iconic Paramount Theatre, Convention Hall and the Asbury Park Grand Arcade (all at 1300 Ocean Ave. N.) were built along its beach-hugging boardwalk. The city was home to several gay and lesbian bars and tearooms starting in the 1920s and ’30s, acting as a LGBTQ2S+ vacation hub along the Jersey Shore.
“It was a transient town because it started as a resort community,” said Kelly, who is also the owner of Paranormal Book & Curiosities and the Paranormal Museum (621 Cookman Ave.). “People were coming from all over to spend a few days and they could try new things, or meet new people, and then go back home to their lives.”
While the popularity of Asbury Park waned following the construction of the Garden State Parkway in the late 1940s, and then a civil rights riot in 1970, the LGBTQ2S+ community stayed and often prospered. Ironically, that success partly came about because of the destination’s decline in popularity. “No one was coming here, so no one knew what was going on here,” says Kelly.
Today, thanks to new investments in hotels and restaurants over the last two decades, Asbury Park has once again become a popular LGBTQ2S+ vacation spot. It is the home of Garden State Equality (1408 Main St.), an advocacy and education organization, and plays host each June to Jersey Pride, which attracted more than 30,000 attendees in 2023.
What’s a queer person to do in Asbury Park?
Since you’re on the Atlantic Ocean, grab your swimsuit and soak up the sun on the one-and-a-half kilometre-long Asbury Park Beach, which runs almost the entire width of the city along Ocean Avenue and is popular with swimmers, sunbathers and surfers. Summertime visitors need to get a beach pass, which costs USD $6 or $9 on weekends and holidays. The stretch between 4th and 5th avenues is popular with LGBTQ2S+ beachgoers. (If you prefer sunning sans suit, then you will need to head north of Asbury Park to Sandy Hook, where you will find the state’s only clothing-optional stretch of sand, Gunnison Beach.)
Once you get your Vitamin-D fix, walk along the shop- and restaurant-lined Asbury Park Boardwalk. Be sure to try the street corn, served on the cob and covered in chipotle lime mayo and cotija cheese, at Pop’s Garage (1000 Ocean Ave.), before playing some of the more than 200 classic pinball machines, produced from the 1930s to the ’80s, at Silverball Retro Arcade (1000 Ocean Ave.) and then stopping at Psychic Madam Marie’s Temple of Knowledge (1150 Ocean Ave.), a fortune-telling spot first opened in 1932.
There are several LGBTQ2S+-owned restaurants serving a variety of cuisines. A staple in the community is Moonstruck (517 Lake Ave.), which opened in 1995 in a multi-story Victorian-style building across from Wesley Lake. Its Mediterranean-inspired menu includes summer risotto with seared shrimp and scallops, as well as pan-roasted chicken in a lemon-garlic sauce. For breakfast or lunch, try The Chat & Nibble (932 Asbury Ave.) for hearty servings of huevos ranchero, fish and grits with eggs or fresh paninis served with a choice of sides. If the weather is good, be sure to snag a patio table so you can people watch.
LGBTQ2S+ nightclubs and bars have been staples of the queer social scene in Asbury Park for around 100 years, from its early tearooms to 1970s discos. Open for more than two decades, Georgie’s (810 Fifth Ave.) is a popular hangout that hosts drag show brunches and a weekly karaoke night. Located inside the Empress Hotel, Paradise (101 Asbury Ave.,) is a nightclub that hosts regular Latin, jazz, drag and dance nights.
No trip to Asbury Park would be complete without visits to The Stone Pony (913 Ocean Ave. N.) and Wonder Bar (1213 Ocean Ave. N.), two popular music venues. Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen, who you might remember titled his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.—are among the legendary musicians who have performed at these spots, which still bring in big name acts each summer.
Where to stay in Asbury Park?
Though the city can be a day trip from New York or Philadelphia, it certainly shouldn’t be. Stay at the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel (1401 Ocean Ave. N.), which features 257 pet-friendly rooms and suites in a historic Beaux Arts building across the road from the beach. It is home to the lively The Pool & Cabana Club, where you can lounge poolside in a private cabana while listening to live music or a DJ on the weekend while enjoying a full cocktail and food menu.
On the opposite end of the boardwalk from the Berkeley is the LGBTQ2S+-owned The Empress Hotel (101 Asbury Ave.). During the 1960s, the hotel hosted acts such as Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli—even a young Springsteen worked there as a busboy. The Empress closed in the late 1980s and was reopened in 2004 as an adults-only accommodation by record producer and long-time Madonna collaborator Shep Pettibone. It’s now a popular queer destination thanks to its large pool with adjacent tiki bar and its nightclub Paradise.
