Asbury Park History – The Morro Castle

We are broadcasting this morning in the shadows of Convention Hall and we often look back at the history of this area, and today we spotlight the Morro Castle tragedy of 1934.

If you've never heard of the SS Morro Castle, it was a popular cruise ship in the 1930's which traveled from New York City to Havana, Cuba, according to the Asbury Park Historical Society website.

On the morning of September 8,1934, the ship caught fire, and tragically 137 people died. The ship was just off the Jersey Shore coast and there were reports of people jumping off the burning ship and swimming to land in Sea Girt.

The tragedy's connection to Asbury Park is that the ship, which was still burning wound up coming to a stop near Convention Hall. Curious people from all over the area made their way to Asbury over the following few months after the tragedy to see the ship for themselves.

Something positive did result from this awful tragedy, as the rule book on safety for ships like this were rewritten to better protect ships and their passengers in the wake of the Morro Castle tragedy.

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