Current Photo Display at Cultural Center

Bathing Belles – MBBP members enjoy the breeze. From left: Leona Woolley McConville, May Peterson Mass, Betty Talmadge Kahle, Pat Ryan Zweig, Helen Schumacher Butts, Marian Ryan Tuttle, Rosa McDaniel Green, Irene Saller West and Betty Smith, Summer 1943

Faith & Fish -- The St. Peter’s Church of Galilee was an Episcopal house of worship dedicated in August 1873. This classic image of the majestic structure and fishermen doing their trade in the sandy beach foreground is iconic Monmouth Beach. Frequently under assault from major storms -- a bolt of lightning struck the steeple during an August 1902 service -- for protection the large wooden Gothic church was moved to the westside of Ocean Avenue (north of today’s Cultural Center) in May 1933. Closed as a church in 1941, the borough rejected a plan by Broadway theatrical man, Clinton P. King, to use the building as a summer theater in August 1949. It all burned to the ground in a spectacular May 1955 fire, as strong east winds from the ocean fed the flames.

Police Presence -- The first official borough police department building was a small kiosk constructed at the intersection of Beach Road and Ocean Avenue. Completed for Summer 1922, it remained until 1927. First moved to the Galilee section of town, by the 1930s the structure had become the office for Sheridan’s Garage and later an outhouse for Pete’s Inn (now Boyle’s Tavern). It sat at private home on Valentine Street for many years. Saved and restored by the Monmouth Beach Business Association in the early 2000s, today it stands on Beach Road on the old bank property.

God’s Territory -- The Church of the Precious Blood on Riverdale Avenue, 1940s. The Roman Catholic house of worship was opened in 1891; John Burke of Asbury Park was the builder (he also built Rumson’s Church of the Holy Cross in 1885). First a mission of Star of the Sea, it officially became its own parish in 1910, with a comprised local congregation (Monmouth Beach, the Port-au-Peck area in Oceanport, and North Long Branch). The all-wood structure — it’s known to sway in strong winds — is noted for its fascinating interior architecture (a gabled ceiling). In 2006, the parish completed a large $500,000+ rehabilitation project. Restrooms were added, all stained-glass windows were restored, and new roof and siding were added. New pews were installed later.