Anyone who has been to LBI knows it’s a beautiful, cozy community that thrives during the summer months. Whether you own a home there or you just take day trips to the beach, you probably love to visit.
So if you love to visit Long Beach Island, you might enjoy knowing a little more about it. With that in mind, we have some interesting facts for you. Take a look:
- Long Beach Island has been battered by some major storms. In 1920, most of the island was destroyed by a devastating winter storm that even reopened a once closed inlet in Holgate. In 1923, another storm smashed the island and knocked out rail service for a full three years, and in 1935, a storm washed out the railroad bridge to the mainland.
- Perhaps the worst storm was the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962. That storm split the island into several pieces and causes the USS Monssen, a Navy destroyer, to run aground. The storm is considered one of the 10 worst storms of the 20th Century in the United States, and almost destroyed all of Long Beach Island.
- Long Beach Island was also battered by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The storm flooded the island and cause the bridge to the island to be closed for 13 days.
- The current causeway that connects Long Beach Island to the mainland was constructed in the late 1950s.
- Long Beach Island is known as a fairly well to do area of New Jersey. Even as far back as 1970, Philadelphia Magazine joked that “the haves turn right and the have mores turn left,” referring to the turns south and north people make after arriving on the island.
- The communities on the north of the island, including Loveladies and North Beach, feature sprawling Victorian homes that often spark rumors of celebrities vacationing there.
- Though Long Beach Island is a highly desirable resort and vacation area, it is not comparable to nearby Jersey Shore communities like Seaside Heights, Wildwood, and Belmar. Instead of a thriving night club scene and rides and boardwalks, it’s a family oriented vacation spot with more focus on restaurants, museums, and beaches.
- Long Beach Island is home to many fishing and charter boats, some of which get 100 or more miles off the coast.
- Long Beach Island is home to the famed Surflight Theater. Built in 1950 by Joseph P. Hayes, for decades the theater has offered a place for the local arts to be performed, including music, dance, theater, and comedy.
What do you know about the Long Beach Island community? How in touch with its history are you? If you know some interesting facts we didn’t mention, tell us about them in the comments!