Asbury Park Press, Aug. 18, 2008

Don't let Tillie just fade away


Asbury Park is poised to reach new heights. But it shouldn't come at the expense of its glorious past.

Tillie, the iconic face of the city and lowbrow equivalent of the Mona Lisa, is moldering away in a shed not designed to fully protect the mural, which once adorned the walls of the now-demolished Palace Amusements building and was made internationally famous by its use in promotional material for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

The same fate has befallen two other murals from the same building depicting a joyous bumper car ride. Immediate steps should be taken to adequately protect the artwork until a permanent home for it is found.

Four years after Asbury Partners contractually committed to preserving and eventually reusing the mural, Tillie rests in a shed on the grounds of Asbury Park's wastewater treatment plant. Two protective sheds made of stronger materials and built according to the specifications of a private conservator to control air flow and moisture, sit empty on city property. Madison Marquette, which now has the legal responsibility for preserving the murals, should transfer them immediately to ease growing concerns about the deterioration of the famous face.

Unfortunately, Asbury Park hasn't pressed Madison Marquette forcefully enough to honor its commitment. If the developer continues to stall, the city should press harder. If necessary, the City Council should use the issue as leverage in negotiating a new redevelopment agreement with Madison Marquette. As a last resort, the city should move the murals and bill the developer for the cost.

Former Asbury Park council member Kate Mellina says of the whole sad, sorry mess, "I'm convinced that Madison Marquette is intent on seeing the murals destroyed. There's no other explanation for the delay."

Let's hope that's not the case. Let's hope that given all Madison Marquette has had on its plate, moving Tillie to a safer place has not been high on its list of priorities. If so, it's time to move it up.

One of the saddest love-gone-wrong lines in Springsteen's catalog is "I don't want to fade away."

Tillie needs to be spared that fate.

www.savetillie.com to sign the petition today!

Save Tillie - Sign The Petition!!!!

I've decided to try and blog again. My last attempt was abandoned by yours truly rather quickly, but I figure I have more to say now and perhaps more time to say it.

Which brings me to:

Your help is needed to save an icon and historic part of Asbury Park.

In a nutshell -
Four years ago, Springsteen fans helped rescue three very large wall murals from the Palace in Asbury Park. The murals include Tillie, the Palace fun face used by Springsteen in a famous 1973 publicity photo. The State of New Jersey ordered the City and the developers who are rebuilding the waterfront to preserve the murals, and to reuse them in a new building. But as of today, the developers and the City of Asbury Park have ignored the order. To help preserve the murals, before time runs out, please sign the preservation petition at www.PalacePetition.com and ask your friends and family to help.

There's plenty of more info at www.savetillie.com
and http://www.beyondthepalace.com/newjersey/thepalace.html

I had planned to hold a Save Tillie Trivia Contest on Backstreets.com/BTX, but had to reschedule it till next Sunday, August 24. We've had some terrific prizes donated. Check them out at the bottom of page 2 here......

http://www.backstreets.com/btx/viewtopic.php?t=109950&sid=8f494d3bf97bd464fe86c76502541db9

I've been putting some serious hours into helping Bob and Carl and the crew, so please join me in signing the petition and, perhaps, finding 5 other people to sign it too. It takes about 5 minutes and doesn't cost you a red cent. And it's an important thing....to preserve the past.

Peace Out!!!