Firemen’s Park (aka Woodlawn Park). All photos by Paul Goldfinger © Click left to enlarge all photos.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger 2014.
I was walking by a park at the South End, near Cookman and Clark Avenues. It’s a lovely place; neighbors like to plant flowers there. Dogs enjoy walking there. But I didn’t know its name. A neighbor walked by and said, “It’s Poop Park.”
Later, I found out it is actually Boswell Park. The Ocean Grove parks often have multiple names because of changes over the years. This park is also called “Park Heights.”
Some of the parks in town are managed by Neptune Township while others are managed by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association.
Those managed by the Township have signs banning smoking. The OGCMA parks do not.
It’s confusing, but I am told that the CMA actually owns all the parks and permits the public to use them.
Another park which has puzzled me is the one bounded by New York Avenue, Mt. Carmel Way and Mt. Tabor Way. I like to walk through it on the way past the tents to arrive by the Beersheba Fountain, near the Great Auditorium. It’s a beautiful shady place, but what’s its name? It turns out that it is “Greenleaf Park” and is managed by Neptune Township.
Here is a list of the parks and their names, followed by a gallery of some of the parks. If you don’t see your favorite here, please send us a photo, and use its real name.
Source: ?
Ocean Pathway Blogfinger photo ©
South End Recreation Area. Blogfinger photo ©
Greenleaf Park at New York Avenue, Mt. Carmel Way and Mt. Tabor Way. Blogfinger photo ©
Poop Park (Boswell Park) Blogfinger photo ©
Triangle Park at NJ and Asbury Avenues (among others). Blogfinger photo ©
Auditorium Square Park near the Tabernacle. Blogfinger photo ©
JOHN COLTRANE; “Central Park West” from his album Village Gate
Oh—-one more; can you guess it?
DON AND JUAN:
blogfinger.net 
I see I got my directions confused. Central Park was east of Pilgrim and north of Broadway. The main sand dune started on the east side of Main and crossed over through Days and ended somewhat near Founders Park west of Central. It was called “Seadrift Heights” that sounded poetic such as Stokes would have dreamed up. This dune was removed and the sand used to fill the pond by Central Park.
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David. Wasn’t there also a giant sand dune on the east side of town that had to be removed?
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Ocean Grove has several vanished parks. There was McKendrie Park on the Wesley Lake bank that had a bridge to Fairy Island. The island was removed to improve water flow into the lake in 1880 and the park vanished.
There was Central Park, a somewhat irregular affair with a water feature located south of Pilgrim Pathway east of Broadway. The pond was filled in and the street grid continued in 1878.
Centennial Park was the square in front of the Arlington Court. This was developed in 1875 when what we consider Auditorium Park still had tents in it.
There was also Stokes Park that was an ill-defined area by the statue.
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Frank S,
Believe “poop” park got its name before the sidewalk installation. Walking the “dirt/weed lane” along the Cookman Avenue side required downward eyes and careful stepping!
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Thanks to the Neptune Twp DPW, there are bag and disposal stations in our parks.
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Interesting to see all the parks and their names.
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Re : Boswell Park. Why it is known as “poop” park I don’t understand. There is no more or less “poop” there then any other of the parks. It is a lovely hardly ever used quiet elevated well treeded park.
P.S. : Wooden rabbitt in foto was mine (was stolen from my yard. Always wandered where it ended up.) . The statue/shrine on western side is my creation.
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Can someone explain the split ownership of the parks?
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