Ocean City’s Music Pier is the center of the city’s Boardwalk and the home of summer concerts.
The Music Pier opened in 1929
OCEAN CITY, N.J. — Ask any Ocean City summer reveler — after they’ve had their day in the sun and surf and stuffed themselves with fudge and Johnson’s popcorn — where the action is and you can be pretty sure the answer will start the same nine times out of ten.
“Well, head to the Music Pier …”
Oh sure, there are other attractions on a Boardwalk lined with amusements, miniature golf courses and restaurants. And yes, there are even other venues in the city to hear a concert or see a theatrical production.
But when it’s summer in Ocean City, all walks on the boards lead to the Mediterranean-style concert hall with the pastel stucco and tiled roof that sits on the Boardwalk at Moorlyn Terrace.
From concerts, to fairs and beauty pageants, to even having your freckles judged, the Music Pier, including its open-air loggia, never sees a quiet day after Memorial Day.
“It really is the center of everything,” says Mark Soifer, Ocean City’s public relations director. “Between the Ocean City Pops [which have called the pier home for 83 years] and the concerts, the flower shows and the fairs, and everything else people want to use it for, yeah, you’d have to say it’s the hub. It’s definitely booked solid.”
Soifer should know as he’s responsible for many of the activities that make the Ocean City Music Pier the center it is.
From Martin Z. Mollusk Day to the Businesspersons Plunge to start the season, to an array of sand-sculpting contests, freckle competitions and just plain goofy events, the pier and adjacent beach seems always in use.
But historically, the Music Pier has been much more than just an obvious landmark to attract people to see costumed hermit crabs.
It has been and still is the center of the city’s musical soul.
“There’s a very long history attached to the pier,” says Soifer. “I mean the Ocean City Pops have been playing there for more than 80 years. That’s the longest running municipal concert program anywhere.”
Actually, music and the Ocean City Boardwalk go back even farther.
“The pier was built in 1928, but it really wasn’t ready for the summer that year, so it opened in the summer of 1929,” says Fred Miller, Ocean City historian and the author of seven books on the city’s history. “It was built after the great fire of 1927 that destroyed the Boardwalk. But there actually had been a music pavilion there since 1905. It did survive the fire, but they moved it and built the pier.
“Music has always been a very central part of the city and I think it goes back to its founding in 1879 by Methodist ministers,” says Miller. “When you look at clippings from those days, they always seem to have bands. There are just numerous examples of bands and I think that was an integral part of the religious services. We’ve had either the pavilion or the pier since 1905.”
For most of the time, that has included the Ocean City Orchestra, now the Ocean City Pops.
Whenever you think of Ocean City, your mind usually calls up images of warm tropical breezes and an island archipelago covered in rain forest. No? Then maybe you haven’t heard, but Ocean City New Jersey has a sister city out there, namely San Jose Occidental Mindoro of the Philippines. And that relationship has resulted in an annual tribute to the Philippines each year in the southern New Jersey beach town. And what a tribute it is. This year’s celebration is this weekend, July 23-24, and will be centered at the city’s Music Pier, Boardwalk and Moorlyn Terrace, as most city celebrations are. Included are a craft...
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Atlantic City isn’t the only spot for concert action this weekend as the Ocean City Pops start their summer season with a performance Sunday at the Music Pier with guest star Lucie Arnaz.
Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes play Ocean City's Music Pier Saturday May 28.
Herman's Hermits with Peter Noone and The Marshall Tucker Band headline the summer concert series at Ocean City's Music Pier.
Usually, when the blustery winds of October hit the Boardwalk, the Ocean City Theater Co. and the Ocean City Pops have called it a season. But as the city actively promotes a “second season” of events this year, the two have come together to put on a rarity for the city’s Music Pier — a Halloween show. And If you’re going to do a Halloween production, you might as well make it one of the best, such as the Broadway hit Little Shop of Horrors. “It’s a show I’ve always wanted to do and it fits in really well with all the hayrides and Halloween events the city is doing,” says Michael Hartman, artistic director of the company. The show stars Justin Macijewski, a company vet, as Seymour and Alyssa Larderer (recently seen in Fame at the Tropicana) as Audrey. But the real star is always Audrey II, the villainous man-eating plant. “It’s always a challenge to have an effect like her on stage, but in this case they actually rent out Audreys,” Hartman says. “They have several that travel...
� Music Over the Ocean � The bassoonist took a breath, then fit his lips over the mouthpiece and squeezed off a half-dozen bars. The year was 1933 and the nation's economy was hitting a low note, but that was not reflected by the crowd assembled for the evening's concert: the men in dress flannels and white shoes, the women in gloves and stoles. Cool ocean breezes filling the hall justified their wardrobes. The man loosing those deep tones from his bassoon was Frank Ruggieri, who had joined the orchestra during the Ocean City Music Pier's inaugural season four years before. Now he had an idea for broadening the repertoire, and new conductor J. Fred Manne appointed him orchestra manager and gave him the go-ahead. Talkies were taking hold on motion picture screens, and Ruggieri wondered about all those powerful scores that had accompanied silent flicks. When he subsequently purchased a library of film music from Philadelphia's Stanley Theater for only $500, his hometown orchestra was awash in symphonic overtures. Ruggieri would take the podium 45 years later and stay there for seven seasons, and remain sharp and musical well into his 90s. Meanwhile, the Music Pier is as timeless as the...
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1. RAD said... on Jul 7, 2011 at 08:25AM
“Two Shows THURSDAY, JULY 7 at the Ocean City Music Pier.
Les Miserables at 2pm & 7:30pm
Youth Opera of South Jersey
INCREDIBLE TALENT!”
2. GJH said... on Jul 8, 2011 at 09:10AM
“RAD is right. The talent is incredible. My wife and I attended the Broadway production last week and it was amazing!
The Ocean City Pops, the Theater Company and many other talented and dedicated people make Ocean City the wonderful place it is!
Support The Arts!”
3. Noonatic Donna Lynn said... on Jul 8, 2011 at 10:42AM
“Herman's Hermits August 8th!!! It's going to be a great show - don't miss it.
I can't wait!!!”
4. sharon said... on Jul 8, 2011 at 06:41PM
“Herman's Hermits!!! figures that is the day i go home!!! Waaaaaaaaa!!”