Tillie sort of saved
The Palace Amusements building in Asbury Park may not be saved, but Tillie will survive, Karen DeMasters of the New York Times reports. New Jersey will allow the town's oceanfront development group to tear down the 1887 building as part of their wider $1.2 billion plan, but a comprise will require the developers to maintain artifacts, including Tillie.
If you're unfamiliar, Tillie is the original American smiley, grinning and hoisting the tone for Northeast amusement parks in the early 20th century. The smile hangs on both ends of the Palace's main wall, not lit with neon anymore but not too far faded either. See the face in 1980 and today.
The site and I've got an interest in the preservation debate. We don't lean much in either direction because we've never been there, but the fact that we've never been there is precisely the basis of our interest. It'd be nice one day to see, in some form or another, what those hemi-powered drones were screaming beyond.
Plus, there's the postcard thing.
For more information, the Web's got several sites worth visiting. I Love Tillie features color photos and video of the Palace and surrouding area in its heyday. Save Tillie has detailed information on the Palace Preservation group and the ongoing battle over Asbury Park's buildings. The developers are also on the Web, presenting the Oceanfront Asbury master plan.
