Palace Amusements artifacts see re-inspection Thursday
31 pieces include one concrete section of wall with Tillie mural
Pieces of the old Palace Amusements building that were saved when the site was demolished ten years ago will be looked at once again by an independent conservator Thursday.
The inspection will be conducted by Paul Himmelstein, an independent, professional conservator who specializes in preventative conservation and paid for by the nonprofit group Save Tillie.
Himmelstein first inspected the 31 artifacts nine years ago, according to Bob Crane, president of Save Tillie, and “with a number of environmental events” taking place between then and now, including Hurricane Sandy, “it is time for the baseline inspection to be updated,” he said.
Pieces include a 16-foot section of the concrete wall that displayed a mural of the grinning funhouse face known as Tillie, two 10-foot concrete sections with bumper car murals on them, and 26 of the metal channel letters that spelled out Palace Amusements along sections of the roof line, Crane said.
They are stored in three sites along the waterfront, in the city’s sewer treatment plant, the Fourth Avenue Pavilion and the Casino building.
Palace Amusements, built in 1888, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It closed in 1988.
In 2004, brothers Glen and Larry Fishman, the original members of redevelopers Asbury Partners, LLC, received permission to tear down the 114-year-old iconic funhouse to redevelop the site. State approval to demolish the historic location came under the stipulation that pieces of the site would be preserved and eventually reused, Crane said.
The Wesley Grove condominium complex was built on the majority of the Palace Amusements site.
The original Asbury Partners later defaulted on loans and were replaced by boardwalk redeveloper Madison Marquette and Waterfront redeveloper iStar Financial, who now own the minority and majority interests in Asbury Partners, respectively.
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