Long Branch in Monmouth County, New Jersey — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Norman Mailer 1923 - 2007 / Scarboro Hotel 1882 - 1941
Corner of Ocean Avenue and South Bath Avenue
Photographed By Beth Woolley
1. Norman Mailer/Scarboro Hotel Marker
The big news of the 1882 summer season in Long Branch was the construction of a grand hotel, the Scarboro, at the corner of Ocean Ave. and S. Bath Ave. The ornate Queen Anne-style hotel contained 200 rooms within its 4 stories and attic. In 1916 the Scarboro was acquired and remodeled by Louis and Rebecca "Beck" Shapiro, the hotel served a largely Jewish clientele.
On September 12th, 1941, the Scarboro was destroyed by fire. It was the last of Long Branch's grand hotels. Beck Shapiro's father, Hyman Schneider, came to Long Branch in 1892 and opened a kosher grocery, he was a founder of Congregation Brothers of Israel. Beck's sister, Fan, married Isaac B. "Barney" Mailer. Their first child, Norman Kingsley Mailer, was delivered by Dr. Slocum in Long Branch on January 31, 1923. Norman started writing at the Scarboro hotel. He entered Harvard at 16 and continued to summer in Long Branch, where he wrote numerous stories. His first novel, The Naked and the Dead, was published in 1948. The Armies of the Night in 1969 and The Executioner's Song in 1980 won Pulitzer prizes. Mailer had a long career as a novelist, journalist, biographer, filmmaker, politician, and activist.
"There was that law of life, so cruel and so just, that one must grow or else pay more for remaining the same."The Deer Park, 1955
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Sponsored by the Norman Mailer Society 8/31/17
Erected 2018 by Norman Mailer Society.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical date for this entry is January 31, 1923.
Location. 40° 17.497′ N, 73° 58.843′ W. Marker is in Long Branch, New Jersey, in Monmouth County. Marker is at the intersection of Ocean Avenue and South Bath Avenue, on the right when traveling north on Ocean Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Long Branch NJ 07740, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Long Branch Post 316 Jewish War Veterans of the USA Memorial (approx. 0.4 miles away); Corner of Ocean and Brighton Avenues (approx. half a mile away); Steinbach's Cobblestones (approx. half a mile away); Mansion House (approx. 0.7 miles away); Dorothy Parker Birthplace (approx. 0.9 miles away); William McKinley (approx. 0.9 miles away); Chester A. Arthur (approx. 0.9 miles away); Benjamin Harrison (approx. 0.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Long Branch.
Also see . . .
1. Norman Mailer (Wikipedia). Excerpt:
Norman Kingsley Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007) was an American novelist, journalist,(Submitted on June 25, 2018.)essayist, playwright, film-maker, actor, and liberal political activist.Photographed By Beth Woolley, May 22, 20182. Norman Mailer/Scarboro Hotel Marker
His novel The Naked and the Dead was published in 1948 and brought him renown. His best-known work is widely considered to be The Executioner's Song (1979) winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Armies of the Night won the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction and the National Book Award. ...
Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S. Thompson, and Tom Wolfe, Mailer is considered an innovator of creative nonfiction, a genre sometimes called New Journalism, which uses the style and devices of literary fiction in fact-based journalism. Mailer was also known for his essays, the most famous and reprinted of which is "The White Negro".
He was a cultural commentator and critic, expressing his views through his novels, journalism, essays, and frequent media appearances. In 1955, Mailer and three others founded The Village Voice, an arts- and politics-oriented weekly newspaper distributed in Greenwich Village. In 1969 he ran an unsuccessful campaign for the mayor of New York. ...
While principally known as a novelist and journalist, Mailer was not afraid to bend genres and venture outside his comfort zone; he lived a life that seemed to embody an idea that echoes throughout his work: “There was that law of life, so cruel and so just, thatone must grow or else pay more for remaining the same.”Carl Van Vechten (photo courtesy of the Library of Congress), September 13, 19483. Portrait of Norman Mailer
2. In Long Branch, a rock for native-son Norman Mailer (Asbury Park Press, May 23, 2018). Short article and 35-second video of the marker unveiling. (Submitted on June 25, 2018.)
3. The Norman Mailer Society. A non-profit organization, the Society was founded in 2003 to celebrate Norman Mailer, author of 40 books and the chronicler of the American Century. It has approximately 300 members and meets annually for three days for panels, papers, films and informal discussion about the life, work and reputation of the late Mr. Mailer. (Submitted on March 19, 2021, by Beth Woolley of Neptune, New Jersey.)
4. The Mailer Review/Volume 11, 2017/Norman Mailer in Long Branch. An address by Barbara Mailer Wasserman to the annual meeting of the Norman Mailer Society on Saturday, October 1, 2016 at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey. (Submitted on March 19, 2021, by Beth Woolley of Neptune, New Jersey.)
circa 1938
4. Scarboro Hotel, Long Branch, N.J.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 22, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 24, 2018, by Beth Woolley of Neptune, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 628 times since then and 42 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on April 20, 2020, by Beth Woolley of Neptune, New Jersey. 2. submitted on May 24, 2018, by Beth Woolley of Neptune, New Jersey. 3, 4. submitted on June 25, 2018. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
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