April 2012 Update: Save Tillie Requests Inspection of Palace Artifacts
In light of the revelation that 34 antique copper panels temporarily removed from the façade of
Convention Hall have been stolen, Save Tillie has requested that the city of Asbury Park conduct an
PALACE ARTIFACTS DESTROYED
BY ASBURY PARK HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
CITY OF ASBURY PARK
Over 125 artifacts which had been saved from Palace Amusements, the National Register of
Historic Places amusement arcade in Asbury Park, have recently been destroyed while under
the protection of the City of Asbury Park and the community's Historical Society.
City officials confirmed that artifacts were removed from storage at the City's Public Works
Building, and said most were discarded to make way for a boxing gym on the building's second
floor.
The artifacts had been salvaged over five days of work in the spring of 2004 by membersof Save
Tillie, a non-profit preservation group, prior to demolition of the Palace during the early phase of
Asbury Park's waterfront redevelopment plan.
Johna Karpinski, president of the Asbury Park Historical Society, said only four Palace items of
the lot were saved and that in some instances, items were destroyed on the advice of the city's
Fire Marshal, since combustible materials were used in their construction.
In reality, however, "these irreplaceable items were all viable candidates for restoration, and all
told a part of the Asbury Park story that is now lost," said Save Tillie President Bob Crane.
"These acts of destruction serve to emphasize that in Asbury Park, historic artifacts stand a far
greater chance of long-term survival in the hands of private collectors than in the care of authorized
institutions." According to Crane, destruction of the items began over a year ago, and at no time
was Save Tillie alerted to the impending loss or given a chance to reclaim the items it had jointly
turned over to the City of Asbury Park and the Historical Society in 2004 for safekeeping.
"We would have taken all of them," he said.
The list of destroyed items includes the following:
* Plywood murals from the Orient Express ride, painted by Ralph Lopez Sr.
* Plywood Twister ride wall mural, painted by Ralph Lopez, Jr.
* Murals and other art work from the Fun House including the Sleeping Beauty scene
* Mechanically animated hands of the Fun House giant
* Upper body of the giant (paint on plywood)
* Illuminated section of Fun House facade
* 27 murals from inside the Haunted Castle dark ride
* Virtually mint sign from the Asbury Park Rock 'N' Roll Museum
* Heavy plastic from the rooftop "FUNHOUSE" sign letters
* Papier mache tree from inside the Haunted Castle
* Turret from the roof of the Fun House mirror maze
* Spinning floor disc from Fun House walkway
* Exhibit descriptions from the walls of the Rock 'N' Roll Museum
* Metal sign, "Asbury Park Business District"
* Atari 1980 "Tempest" video game circuit board, s/n 0113098
* Atari Audio/Regulator II video game power supply
* 3 Skee Ball pull lever dime coin mechanisms on mounting plates
* Small Cabbage Patch style doll
* Midway 1975 "Gun Fight" video game circuit board, control panel, & coin door
* Pepsi bottle from ring toss game
* 6 red light fixtures from Casino carousel house roof
* 3 Bacchus Games "Morgana" fortune teller marquee signs (some broken)
* 6 bricks from exterior wall of Ernest Schnitzler's apartment (original owner of the Palace), painted green
* Atari 1974 "Qwak!" video rifle game plexiglass
* Gottlieb 1952 "Chinatown" pinball backglass
* Gottlieb 1953 "Poker Face" pinball backglass
* Unknown pitch & bat type arcade game backglass
* Ticket payout chart from electromechanical ("Pop-A-Ball" style) poker redemption game
* Two decorative wooden cutouts from doors of Orient Express ride
* Raised plastic letters "H," "O," "U," and "S" from "Fun House" sign left side of the big slide.
* Metal channel letter "S" from the exterior neon sign
* Tunnel of Love ghost chain mechanism
* Yellow incandescent lamps and a section of scalloped façade which was mounted next to the carousel
* Score unit from unknown electromechanical rifle game, likely manufactured by Midway MFG Co.
Neon tubes from exterior Tillie mural (Theater side of the Palace):
1. Hair - left side - completely intact tube
2. Hair - right side - top edge
3. Left eyebrow - portion of top edge
4. Connector wire between eyebrows
5. Right eyebrow - top edge
6. Right eyebrow - bottom edge
7. Right eye - inner circle
8. Right eye - outer circle
9. Right eye - oval border (portion)
10. Left ear and curve over smile
11. Nose - center 1/3
12. Nose - right 1/3
13. Smile - left corner
Misc. Parts:
1. Glass housings (4)
2. Threaded mounts for tubing (6)
3. Insulator from left (Beach side) Tillie's chin hole
The Asbury Park Historical Society said the following items survive:
* Ticket box, locked, with many Palace ride tickets visible inside through slot
* Rifle & base from unknown electromechanical gun game
* Box containing two buckets full of carousel rings
* Three-panel interior sign
Also surviving is a portion of the entryway to the Haunted Castle dark ride. Removed to storage
by Save Tillie at the request of the Historical Society, the artifact was reclaimed by Save Tillie several
years ago shortly before the Historical Society planned to destroy it. It is currently preserved in the
care of a Save Tillie member.
