Things to Do in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey

Jenkinson's Boardwalk: One Family, Nearly a Century

Charles Jenkinson had already run soda fountains in Asbury Park and Ocean Grove before he bought property in Point Pleasant Beach in 1926. In 1928 he opened Jenkinson's Pavilion, and the description of what it contained is worth stating plainly: a candy shop, a soda fountain, a refreshment stand, a novelty store, and a swimming pool built across the boardwalk from the rest of the operation. Local accounts describe the boardwalk before Jenkinson's arrival as "sleepy," and his Pavilion is credited with changing that. A dance hall followed in 1929, and a miniature golf course opened not long after -- expansion that continued even as the Depression set in. By 1934, Jenkinson had acquired additional beachfront property out toward the inlet, extending his footprint along the boardwalk.

Charles Jenkinson died in 1937, and his son Orlo took over the business rather than selling it -- the first of several generational hand-offs that make this operation genuinely different from a franchise or a chain of separately owned boardwalk attractions. Orlo added a miniature train ride in 1949 and a kiddie park in 1954, steadily building out the family-oriented side of the business through the middle of the twentieth century.

Pat Storino and the Turnaround, 1978-1989

By the late 1970s the business had declined, and it was purchased by Pasquale "Pat" Storino, whose renovation and expansion effectively rebuilt Jenkinson's into something closer to its present form. In 1978 Storino renovated the Pavilion itself and added an arcade, a restaurant, and a dinner theater. He then went on an acquisition run along the boardwalk, picking up Fun Fair in 1980 and Holiday Playland -- later known as Jenkinson's South -- in 1983, unifying what had been separate properties into a single connected destination running along the boardwalk.

That growth was interrupted by a devastating fire in 1989 that destroyed the original Pavilion Charles Jenkinson had built more than sixty years earlier. Storino rebuilt rather than walking away, constructing a new 1,200-seat Pavilion with restaurants, bars, and arcade facilities in its place -- the third distinct built structure to carry the Jenkinson's name on that same stretch of boardwalk across three ownership generations.

Jenkinson's Today: Aquarium, Fun House, and Roughly Two Dozen Rides

The operation that exists today grew directly out of that rebuild. An aquarium opened in 1991, followed by a fun house in 1998, and the complex now includes an amusement park with roughly two dozen rides, mini golf courses, dining venues, and arcades spread across the boardwalk. The boardwalk itself runs about one mile, from the Manasquan Inlet at the south end up to New Jersey Avenue, and its central third is where most of the amusement activity concentrates: rides, the aquarium, arcades, pizza and ice cream stands, games of chance, and mini golf, all within walking distance of one another. Because no confirmed current ride lineup or pricing is available, this page presents that history as documented fact rather than as a current visitor guide -- check directly with Jenkinson's before planning a specific trip around a specific ride or exhibit.

The 1900 Wreck of the County of Edinburgh

Decades before Jenkinson's existed, this stretch of coast made national news for a very different reason. On February 12, 1900, the steel-hulled Scottish barque County of Edinburgh ran aground here, and the wreck was significant enough to be reported by The New York Times -- genuine national coverage of a local event. The wreck was later depicted in a painting by Antonio Jacobsen, a maritime artist noted for his ship portraits, giving the event a lasting visual record beyond the newspaper coverage. It stands as a reminder that Point Pleasant Beach's identity as a place worth visiting predates the boardwalk and amusement history by nearly three decades.

Two Storms That Actually Shaped the Boardwalk

Two real storm events, not a generic "hurricanes happen at the shore" framing, changed the boardwalk's physical shape. A September 1938 hurricane destroyed the southern portion of the boardwalk, and it was never rebuilt to its earlier length -- the storm permanently shortened the boardwalk to roughly the length it holds today. Then, in 2012, Hurricane Sandy destroyed nearly 2,800 feet of the borough's boardwalk, with repair costs estimated at up to two million dollars. In Sandy's aftermath, the borough built a seawall and required residents to elevate homes on pilings above the storm's surge level -- real, documented mitigation measures, though no source gives an exact total seawall length or cost beyond that boardwalk repair estimate, so this page does not invent one.

Planning a Visit Honestly

Point Pleasant Beach was incorporated as a borough on May 18, 1886, following a referendum passed the day before, carved from portions of Brick Township -- one of several Barnegat Peninsula towns incorporated in that same stretch of the 1880s. Development traces back further: the Lenape originally occupied the area, Henry Hudson's crew noted it favorably on September 2, 1609, and summer tourism began around 1800 when Quaker Thomas Cook Jr. opened his farmhouse to boarders. Captain John Arnold drove 1870s development, including the roadway now called Arnold Avenue and the first bridge over the Manasquan River in 1875, and the first permanent boardwalk went up in 1915 between Philadelphia and Central Avenues -- more than a decade before Jenkinson's arrived. The 2020 census counted 4,766 residents, up 2.2% from 4,665 in 2010, with a median age of 50.2.

What we could not find, and will not invent: exact current 2026 home-price, property-tax-rate, or flood-insurance figures for Point Pleasant Beach, a confirmed current Jenkinson's ride lineup or pricing, or an exact seawall length or cost figure beyond the up-to-two-million-dollar boardwalk repair estimate tied to Sandy. New Jersey carries its own state sales tax and its own property-tax structure, distinct from shore markets in states without a sales tax -- verify any current cost figures directly with the borough and with Jenkinson's rather than relying on assumptions carried over from other markets. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or financial advice.