Ocean Grove has been a Methodist seashore community with vibrant religious and social life. The village remains a historically significant community of Victorian homes and inns. The Allentown Band made its 18th appearance in the summer concert series in 2004, and returns to the Great Hall in 2006.

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Great Hall at Ocean Grove

From the 2004 Summer Events pamphlet:

Following the Civil War, people living in rapidly growing urban and industrial regions who wanted to escape the noise and heavy summer air were drawn to new communities built on ideal principles. Ocean Grove is one such place, beginning in 1869 as a Methodist Camp Meeting site. It is one of a very few such places that remains true to its original purpose.

The site for Ocean Grove was chosen by its founder, Dr. William B. Osborne, for its high beach, thick grove of pine, cedar and hickory trees, and the absence of disease-carrying mosquitoes. In 1869, a charter was obtained from the state and Elwood H. Stokes was selected as the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association’s first president.

The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association continues to meet “for the purpose of providing and maintaining, for the members and friends of the Methodist Episcopal Church, a proper, convenient and desirable permanent Camp Meeting ground and Christian seaside resort.”

A quaint and charming town quickly grew around the Great Auditorium and families flock here every summer. Some stay in the small white tents that cluster near the Great Auditorium, but this is more to maintain a tradition than out of need. Ocean Grove is listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places. It boasts the highest aggregate of authentic Victorian homes in the country. Visiting Ocean Grove today is like stepping back in history to a gentler era.

  1. From the Lehigh Valley, take I-78 East to I-287.
  2. I-287 South to the Garden State Parkway
  3. Take the Garden State Parkway South
  4. Leave the parkway at Exit 100B, NJ 33
  5. Take NJ 33 East
  6. Follow NJ 33 to Neptune City, crossing NJ 18, passing the “Unexcelled Fire Co. No.1”, and crossing the NJ Transit tracks.
  7. Turn left at light onto NJ 71 North. Immediately facing you at this intersection is an Ocean Grove events sign.
  8. Watch for a small “Ocean Grove” sign and the Neptune High School, an old brick building, on your right.
  9. Turn right at light just past high school onto Main Ave., passing through the ornate brick gates into Ocean Grove.
  10. Follow Main Avenue. You can drive to its end at Ocean Ave. behind the boardwalk, turn left and drive north a short way. The Great Hall is visible to your left (west) at Ocean Pathway, and Asbury Park is visible to the immediate north.

Allow 2 hours for this trip.

Google! ® Maps Directions to The Great Auditorium at Ocean Grove

Ocean Grove