- City:
- Spring Lake, NJ
- Site Type:
- Infrastructure and Utilities, Roads, Bridges, and Tunnels
- New Deal Agencies:
- Work Relief Programs, Works Progress Administration (WPA)
- Site Survival:
- No Longer Extant
Description
This WPA boardwalk was almost completely destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
“After Hurricane Sandy, pieces of the boardwalk lay strewn on the beach or across the street on residents’ lawns. Only the original concrete pilings were left standing. As a reminder of the boardwalk’s history, one piling shows a stamp with “WPA 1937” which stands for Work Progress Administration, a Roosevelt New Deal program intended to put public workers back to work after the Great Depression.” (https://www.prweb.com)
It has since been rebuilt, with the WPA pilings incorporated into the new structure.
Source notes
https://www.prweb.com/releases/2013SpringLakeTT/05/prweb10681769.htm
Site originally submitted by David Weiman on June 27, 2013.
Additional contributions by Bob Hespe.
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Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site3 comments on “Ocean Front Boardwalk – Spring Lake NJ”
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William Pearce
It’s very sad [about the Boardwalk]. I’ve lived in Sea Girt and Spring Lake, NJ my entire life. Did you know that the pools on the North End, as well as the South, were also WPA projects? There were tiles on the exterior that had wasted away over the years. I have found that Art is not a high priority within the community, although the current administration is working to change this attitude.
Corbett,
Do you have any further information about or photographs of the WPA pools? We’d be happy to add them to the archive & map, if you can provide something. Thanks for writing! DW
My grandfather, William Elmer Pearce was an out of work carpenter during the depresssion in 1937. He received a call one evening to take his tools to the Boardwalk before dawn at what was called Pier Beach then.
Before dawn he was part of a crowd of over 100 men looking for a day’s wage.
A man, the Foreman stepped through the fence gate and announced;
“The first men through this gate have a day’s work”
My grandfather stood only 5 foot 2 inches and was only ablout 130 pounds. He was behind a giant of a man who began tossing men out of his way in the scrum of deparate men.
Grand dad grabbed the man’s tool belt and pushed, or rode his way through the gate.
He was hired.
Instructions were simple; 4 hours, drive nails, an hour lunch, 4 hours till pay time.
If you slow down, or look up, there is a guy outside to take your job..
He drove nails all day. 3 men side by side on their knees with men bringing nails, boards and water to them. Got his pay at day’s end and was told to return the next day at dawn if he wanted. Many men did not return.
He worked many days on that long boardwalk. I never got the wage amount, or how many days he was there. He had a wife and 2 kids to feed.