Still missing: state officials to discuss Convention Hall panels next week
Public urged to attend meeting set for March 14 at Stephen Crane House
About one year ago, the public learned that six tons of antique copper panels dating back to 1929 had gone missing. The rectangular panels had adorned the sides of Convention Hall [pictured above] since the building’s construction.
Despite two police investigations, the case remains unsolved. Next week, state historic preservation officials will visit the city to discuss the apparent theft, as well as the preservation of the history Stephen Crane House.
State Historic Preservation Office [SHPO] Administrator Dan Saunders and an official from the Department of Environmental Protection will attend the meeting on Thursday, March 14, as will state Senator Jennifer Beck.
“We urge other government representatives and the public to attend the meeting,” Asbury Park Historical Society president Don Stine is quoted as saying in a press release. “There [will] be a number of important issues discussed and this will be a good opportunity to meet the SHPO representatives.”
A public meeting will be held at the Stephen Crane House, at 508 Fourth Ave., at 4 p.m. Prior, the state officials will visit the National Guard Armory building at Lake Avenue and Bond Street. They will also visit Convention Hall to examine any damage incurred due to the loss of the copper panels.
The 27 panels were stored in a boardwalk pavilion after being removed from Convention Hall several years ago by boardwalk redeveloper Madison Marquette, according to reports. The redeveloper said the panels were removed to do a structural inspection on the interior of the building.
Madison Marquette reported to the police that the panels were stolen on Aug. 2, 2011, and announced publicly that they were stolen in March 2012.
The panels, which were original to the building’s 1929 construction, are about 5.5-x-16.5 feet in size, about an eighth of an inch thick, and weight about 450 pounds each, for a total of more than six tons, according to the release. Their scrap value has been estimated at as much as $60,000.
Police have investigated the theft, but came up with no viable leads.
SHPO is an agency within the state Department of Environmental Protection. It administers federal rehabilitation tax credits and historic preservation tax easements placed on buildings like Convention Hall, which is listed on both the state and federal Register of Historic Places. Convention Hall’s federal tax credit on Convention Hall is $2.3 million, according to the release.