Tillie Asbury Park Commemorative T-Shirt

Tillie is the character name of two identical, flesh colored grinning face murals overlooking Cookman Avenue & the Boardwalk of Asbury Park, NJ. ̴Ì_A locally employed artist, Lesile W. Thomas, painted these 2 faces on the sea foam green fa_ade of Palace Amusements (Fun Palace) during the winter of 1955 1956. For forty-eight years, Tillie watched over all things representing a seaside community: the merry-go-round, the ferris wheel, the boardwalk, wheels-of-chance, cotton candy, etc. The Palace Amusements building was constructed in 1888 and closed a century later in 1988. Unfortunately, the neglected unmaintained historic building fell into disrepair. When the Fun Palace site was targeted for demolition and redevelopment Asbury Park residents, Tillie fans, and Bruce Springsteen fans formed a grassroots movement̴Ì_ to Save Tillie_. lobbying the state to block the demolition or at least remove the mural prior to demolition. The group was partially successful, as the left-side Tillie