Bruce Springsteen Archives Outpost is the new must-see spot for Boss fans in Asbury Park
Attention Bruce Springsteen fans, there's a new must-see stop in Asbury Park.
The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University Outpost in Asbury Park, inside Convention Hall, is open for business.
“A lot of Bruce fans stop by because they're visiting Asbury Park because of him and they're stopping by the Stone Pony and they're traveling through Bruce's legacy on their own,” said Annalaan LeMay, administrative assistant at the Springsteen Archives.
Springsteen and Monmouth University, an affiliate of the Grammy Museum, announced the creation of Springsteen Archives during the “A Conversation with Bruce Springsteen” at the university’s Pollak Theatre in 2017.
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The Outpost opened earlier this summer and features items like alternate albums covers for “Nebraska” and “Born in U.S.A.,” the original stage back-drop for the Stone Pony, and a copy of a letter Springsteen wrote to his landlady in Long Branch explaining why the rent for the bungalow where he wrote “Born to Run” wasn't paid.
“If you don't have it now it's in the mail and should arrive tomorrow or the next day. Your ever gracious tenant, Bruce Springsteen,” reads the letter to Marilyn Rocky.
Fans can pose next to the life-size pic by Jo Lopez of the Boss playing Hyde Park in London in 2009.
There's some interesting merch on sale, too, including E Street Kings and E Street Queens muscle T-shirts, copied from the ones band members used to wear to area softball games in the '70s. There also are “The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Band” tour T-shirts.
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“There was no merch for the tour so we worked together with Rich Russo (host of the ‘Anything Anything’ radio show) to make these shirts and people love that,” LeMay said. “It hits home for a lot of people, especially on the boardwalk here in Asbury Park.”
The Outpost is a preview of what will be as the Springsteen Archives announced an expansion in late 2023. A new archives and center and museum is currently under construction on the university's campus. The building will house archives and include exhibition galleries and a 230-seat theater. Target opening is 2026.
The Springsteen Archives, currently located in a house on campus, preserves and promotes the legacy of Springsteen and his role in American music while honoring and celebrating American greats like Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Hank Williams, Frank Sinatra and more. There are more than 40,000 items from nearly 50 countries, ranging from books and concert memorabilia to articles and promotional materials. The collection serves the research and informational needs of music fans, scholars and authors from around the world.
The Outpost provides a glimpse.
“We also get a lot of fans who didn't know the archives existed,” LeMay said. “It's exciting because people think of Monmouth University and they don't think of us all the time so it's really cool to get our name out there so people can put the two together.”
Go: Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University Outpost, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays to Sundays, Convention Hall, 1300 Ocean Ave., Asbury Park; springsteenarchives.org.
One for Jesse
Springsteen and Jesse Malin have performed together multiple times over the years, primarily at the annual Light of Day Parkinson's benefit in Asbury Park.
Unfortunately, Malin suffered a spinal stroke in May 2023 that left him unable to walk. More than a dozen notable rockers are coming together for a Malin benefit album called “Silver Patron Saints: The Songs of Jesse Malin.” The lineup includes the Boss, who will perform the soulful “She Don't Love Me Now” from Malin's 2015 album, “New York Before the War.”
Other artists on “Silver Patron Saints” include Billie Joe Armstrong, Ian Hunter, Bleachers, Rancid, Steven Van Zandt, and Elvis Costello and Lucinda Williams. The album is due out Friday, Sept. 20.
Two benefit concerts for Malin will take place Dec. 1 and 2 at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, with Lucinda Williams, Jakob Dylan, the Hold Steady, Rickie Lee Jones, Danny Clinch scheduled to perform. Proceeds will go toward Malin's Sweet Relief fund.
Visit sweetrelief.org/jessemalinfund for more info or to donate.
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Bruce Springsteen Archives Outpost is must-see spot for Boss fans
