POINT PLEASANT BEACH — On Wednesday afternoon, the Point Pleasant Beach Historical Preservation Commission presented a plaque to Mayor Doug Vitale designating the former Coast Guard Station Manasquan Inlet as historically significant.
“This is one of the first 15 plaques we’ve [dedicated],” said Greg Cox, chair of the Historical Preservation Commission upon presenting the plaque to Mayor Vitale. “It commemorates what a significant building this is in town, which is why we chose the Coast Guard station as our logo for not only the plaques, but the Historic Preservation Commission. We’re happy the town’s got their hands on the building; congratulations.”
The plaque was funded by the Fisher Family Fund, a fundraising organization that dedicates itself to financial projects within Point Pleasant Beach.
The 88-year-old building, located at 61 Inlet Drive, was closed by the Coast Guard in 2017, when it was replaced by a new station across the street. In 2021, the original building was named to the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service.
Constructed in 1936, it provided ocean access and mooring capabilities that enabled it to replace older Coast Guard facilities in Manasquan, Bay Head, Mantoloking, Chadwick Beach and Toms River. In 1939, a boathouse was added and in 1976, quarters for enlisted personnel. It was purchased by the Borough of Point Pleasant Beach for $1.05 million in 2023. While several ideas, including a community center or historical society museum, have been mentioned in recent years regarding the building’s fate, there are no imminent plans for the property.
The Historic Preservation Commission also took a tour of the building, from the basement — which included a room only known as the “morale locker,” according to the door’s label — to the kitchen and living quarters, to the cupola atop the station.
Mr. Cox told The Ocean Star that this style of Coast Guard building was common in the time period it was built, circa 1936.
“In 1936 it was built, one of many similar buildings like this up and down the coast,” he said. “It’s called the Roosevelt style. It hasn’t changed much since the original construction, and fortunately the town got a hold of it.”
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