The featured image at the start of this article is from 2018 and features art by Mike Shine, Porkchop, and Haculla.
I lived on the Jersey Shore from 2008 to 2020, and during that time I was a frequent visitor to Asbury Park. My town (not Asbury) already had a beach and bars. I went to Asbury for the culture: live music, record stores (Groovy Graveyard & Holdfast (RIP)), and art. In the 2000s murals began to appear around town, accompanying its rebirth and the rise of music venues like Asbury Lanes. Many of the murals were attributed to a local artist named Porktomic aka Porkchop, whose art is frequently shown at the Asbury Park art gallery Parlor Gallery. The murals amplified the total vibe of the town. There was all this great music happening, great galleries, music & antique shops, great bars, and interesting people — and the murals provided a cinematic backdrop for it all.
A mural by Porkchop on the Baronet Theatre
Photo taken in 2009. Both the mural and theater are gone.
Octopus Flapper mural by Porkchop inside the Casino building
Photo taken in 2011. This mural still exists, but it is hidden behind plywood.
The town and its murals attracted the attention of national artists. Around 2011, world-famous Shephard Fairey (best known for Obey Giant stickers, and the Obama Hope poster) put up murals in the boardwalk area and the Baronet Theatre wall, celebrating punk rock heroes.
Portraits of Joey Ramone, John Lydon, Joe Strummer, Glenn Danzig, Ian McKay, and Henry Rollins by Shephard Fairey (2011) on the Fastlane.
Both the mural and the Fastlane are gone.
Wooden Walls
The Wooden Walls project was established in 2015 to bring more artists and murals to Asbury Park. Wooden Walls is responsible for murals and art projects along the boardwalk on iconic buildings like the Casino, the Stream Plant Building, the Carousel House, and some low-key wooden buildings like the Sunset Pavilion.
Now that I no longer live near Asbury Park, the murals give me a reason to return, particularly in the fall and winter when the beach crowds have diminished, and there is more time to focus and enjoy the art uninterrupted.
A mural by Pau Quintanajornet
Photo taken 2016. You can see that the artist is in the process of completing the mural. It is on the Sunset Pavillion along the north side of the boardwalk.
Boombox Saint by Dylan Egon
Photo taken 2017. It is on the Sunset Pavillion along the north side of the boardwalk.
Ruthie & Andre by Porkchop
Photo taken 2017. It is on the Sunset Pavillion along the north side of the boardwalk.
“Sea Pegasus” (my name for it) by Mike Shine
Photo taken 2017. This one is about 50 feet wide. It is on the Sunset Pavillion along the north side of the boardwalk.
A detail of a painting by Porkchop inside the Carousel Building
Photo taken 2018.
ONEQ mural on the side of the Carousel Building
Photo taken in 2019.
Whimsical frog mural by Matt Crabe
Photo taken in 2023. It is on the Sunset Pavillion along the north side of the boardwalk.
An OBEY sign by Shephard Fairey from 2011.
Photo taken in 2023. This mural has faded and becomes a “ghost sign”. You can see it from Ocean Avenue North.
A new Octopus Flapper by Porkchop
Photo taken 2023. It is on the boardwalk’s south side and blocks the Casino entrance. Her sister is boarded up inside the Casino building.
This article is part of a three-article series on Asbury Park, including Asbury Lanes (Asbury Park, NJ) The Best Years and Photos from Asbury Park, New Jersey from the 2000s.