The Great Auditorium at Ocean Grove
The Great Auditorium at Ocean Grove
The Great Auditorium at Ocean Grove is truly a sight to behold. Almost the size of a football field, it continues to be used for Sunday services during the summer and serves as a showcase for the world's greatest preachers and evangelists. Billy Sunday, Billy Graham, Gypsy Smith and Norman Vincent Peale are among the well known religious personalities who have addressed the congregation.
Mostly unchanged more than 110 years after being constructed on bridge-like iron trusses laid on stone foundations, the building still features lighting systems quite advanced for their time, such as rows of then-novel incandescent bulbs on the ceiling of varnished wood paneling. Also novel is a large American flag (c. 1916) covered with light bulbs that flash in an undulating manner.
Illuminated signs flanking the organ's pipework proclaim "Holiness to the Lord" and "So be ye holy," a reflection of the emphasis at camp meetings. Another reflection is the illuminated Memorial Cross, placed on the Auditorium's front facade at the end of World War II. Facing the building is another historical reminder: 114 tents, which are occupied from May to September just as they have been for almost 140 years. These rustic throwbacks adjoin more comfortable cabins with modern amenities including electricity and plumbing. Cabins are in such demand that there is a waiting list of some ten years for summer rentals.
The Great Auditorium always has been known for its excellent acoustics, and over the years has featured famed hymn writer Fanny Crosby, band leader John Philip Sousa, and tenor Enrico Caruso. More recently, singers Tony Bennett, Mel Tormé and Ray Charles have performed, and organist Virgil Fox gave his last solo concert in the building in 1980.
The Auditorium remains the focus of cultural life in Ocean Grove. Concerts fill the summer schedule with star-studded attractions. Among them are the acclaimed Summer Stars chamber music programs, which bring some of the finest classical musicians from Philadelphia and New York each Thursday night in July and early August. Saturday nights feature popular entertainment, including recent appearances by Johnny Mathis, Ronan Tynan, Linda Eder, comedian Bill Cosby, and Christian rock stars like Michael W. Smith, Nichole Nordeman, Hillsong United and Sonic Flood.
The Auditorium houses a magnificent pipe organ, one of the 25 largest in the world. Installed in 1908 by the innovative Robert Hope-Jones, the instrument's components have been rebuilt several times and expanded under resident organist Gordon Turk since he took his post in 1974. The organ now contains five manuals, 165 ranks, and over 10,000 pipes. He and guest concert organists play free recitals on most Wednesday evenings and Saturday afternoons in July and August.
Since 1980, the Auditorium has hosted an annual memorial service for New Jersey law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. The service includes a full Honor Guard, bagpipe procession, and singing by state high school choirs (Princeton High School and the West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South choirs have performed in the past). Police, soldiers, National Guardsmen, executive-level officials, and typically the governor attend.