Shawmont Hotel on Ocean Avenue, c. 1948. All illustrations and historic information courtesy of Mr. Rich Amole
By Paul Goldfinger
Rich Amole is an electronics salesman from Philadelphia who loves to visit Ocean Grove. He comes here several times per year and he always stays at the Shawmont Hotel—17 Ocean Avenue, at Olin. He was charmed by the building, its decor and its friendly staff. He was intrigued by the old photographs hanging about the hotel. When he inquired about the Shawmont’s history, he learned that “they had very little.”
Rich had enjoyed photographing old houses in the past, so he set out to do some research; he wanted to prepare a report and present it to the hotel staff.
He utilized a variety of sources including the Internet, the HSOG Museum, the Manalapan Library, and old maps, photographs and drawings.
Perspective view 1881
Perspective view 1897. Note how much bigger the structure is
The property began as a boarding house around 1870 and then was turned into a hotel in the 1930’s called “The Ocean Avenue House.” He found drawings from the 1870’s and a surveyor’s map dated 1879. He learned that a Mrs. Ann Barnett owned the property in 1890. In the late 1800’s, there were push carts rolling along the boardwalk in front of the rooming house.
OG Boardwalk late 1870’s to early 1880’s
OG Boardwalk c. 1890.
In the 1920’s there was an expensive “renovation” costing $20,000. When they redid some of the structural elements, they found that many of the beams were from old shipwrecks, a common practice from that era.
In 1944, Ocean Grove was hit hard by a major hurricane, but the hotel was not severely damaged. We heard about that storm during the news reports of the August 2011 Hurricane Irene.
In 1948 Mr. Ira P. Shaw bought the property and named it “the Shawmont Hotel .” In 1949 the hotel had its grand opening, and an announcement was in the newspapers.
Postcard 1949
Rich found a postcard written by Mr. Shaw to a guest telling him, “Why not come for a Memorial Day visit. It’s so nice in May and June, and the rates are lower too.” Photographs from the 1950’s show the striped awnings.
In 2005 some work was done on the Olin side, creating porches on the 2nd and 3rd floors and a new entrance. The same 3 story structural design was retained.
This past week, Rich Amole presented an album with the results of his research to the Shawmont staff to keep on display for their guests.
GIPSY KINGS. “Hotel California.” Spanish version
Rich Amole with his Shawmont album
Shawmont Hotel 2011