A Cathedral of Memories

Let's Take a Trip to Coventry in England

Casino, Asbury Park, September 2025.

On the night of November 14-15, 1940, the German air force - or Luftwaffe - firebombed Coventry, a manufacturing city in the Midlands of England. Among the casualties was the city's cathedral, which was built during the middle ages. 

It was a defining moment in World War II. And then, after the war, as with so much of the other damage, people needed to figure out what to do with the wreckage of the cathedral. The architect hired for the project, Basil Spence, suggested preserving the ruins - primarily the tower, spire, and outer wall - as a garden of remembrance, and constructing a new, complementary, structure, next to the ruins. The two buildings, new and ruined, were to be seen as one church. And so it was done.

In the summer of 1966 my brother and I visited Coventry cathedral. I found the ruins, or garden of remembrance, to be a very emotional place. 

I'm telling you all this because I have an idea for Asbury Park's Casino building, or what's left of it. The structure is quite ghostly right now. People don't seem to know what to do with it. I think we should turn it into a garden of remembrance. There have been a number of proposals for creating things such as a new performance space. I think that would be expensive and probably a risky investment. It would also be a distraction from Convention Hall, which is in need of significant restoration and where right now the city seems to be making good progress.

Instead, I suggest stabilizing the structure of the Casino so that you can once again walk through it. You can use the walls to tell the story of the bad times in Asbury Park, and the good times that preceded and have followed the bad times. Lest we forget. 

This would cost money, and it would require sustained attention, but it would cost much less than a new building, and I think a lot of people would be happy to help make sure the project stays on track.

Winston Churchill visits Coventry Cathedral in 1941.

See also The Uncertain Eighties, The Wreck of the New Era, Layers at the Beach Front, Umbrellaville, The Beach Without People, Coney Island 2022.