The Bradley Beach Historical Society and Museum in partnership with Bradley Beach Business Community Alliance is embarking on a long-term comprehensive research project to identify and document all the businesses that have graced the Main Street in Bradley Beach. The goal will be to create historical maps of Main Street from the founding of the Borough through present day.
This project will be a detailed history, and it may take a few years to capture all the data. As the most readily available information dates from the 1950s through the early 1970s, that period will be used as a starting point.
Success is predicated on community participation. If you owned, worked for, or frequented any establishment on Main Street in the past, please help us fill in the blanks by sharing any of the following:
- Addresses of each location and establishment/owner/use and years in business
- Stories
- Maps
- Memorabilia
- Advertisements (yearbooks, journals, programs, newspapers)
- Press clippings and articles
- Photographs
- Postcards featuring Main Street
- Photographs of each current lot
Mapping Main Street is a volunteer project, and your input is vital: If you would like to share information or volunteer to help with this important project – we would be thrilled to have you participate. Please contact Bette Blum at mappingmainstreet@bbhistory.org, who will be leading this effort.
Memory Triggers:
Bakeries; Bars; Restaurants; Banks; Shops, including Clothing, Hardware, Florists; professionals, including Doctors, Dentists, Attorneys; Drug Stores; store fronts, Army, Navy, Marine recruitment; Bait & Tackle; Movie theatre; Real Estate; Sweet Shoppes; Bowling Alley; Hair Salons/Barbers; Gas Stations; Auto Repair; Pet Stores; Convenience/general stores; Post Office; Municipal Buildings; Residences; Gyms, etc.
We hope to gather enough information to report on and publish what we have discovered next summer. Long-term, Mapping Main Street could develop into a fascinating exhibit with associated community activities.
Call For Art:
