OPINION: Time for a remake of Ocean Beach Park?
May 16—It's been close to 84 years since New London cut the ribbon on a magnificent public works project, a remake of the city's hurricane-devastated shoreline into a remarkable public park.
Ocean Beach Park has stood the test of time well, still earning high consumer marks as one of the New England's best summer beach destinations, a broad swath of sugary sand, nature paths, an Olympic pool, rides, miniature golf and an endless boardwalk.
I will grant some of its critics that a lot of it has gotten rundown, the ward of a poor city that always has more pressing needs for its money and attention. But it remains remarkably true to its nostalgic spirit of summer beachfront fun and, all in all, is pretty well maintained.
But with annual losses under the current operator piling up, city officials have finally acknowledged the need to consider new management. This is certainly long overdue, a bad habit of not putting city contracts regularly out to bid.
I would hope, though, as long as the city finds itself at a fork in the road for the park, that it consider a few new directions, rather than simply a round of requested proposals from prospective managers who would maintain the status quo.
The original park, created at breakneck speed, opening the second summer after the Hurricane of 1938, was spectacular in its execution. In very short order the city took title to the ruined properties at the shore and mustered the public will to design, finance and build an enviable public park, with no help from the state.
Modeled after the enormously successful public Jones Beach in New York, Ocean Beach Park was built in the Art Moderne style, an evolution from Art Deco, with the horizontal and curved architecture following a broad nautical theme. The main buildings were meant to suggest two big ships, with port holes as windows, meeting at sea, known in marine lore as a gam.
A centerpiece of the creation was a tall clock tower in a gathering space at the center of the boardwalk, where visitors could meet as if in their own rendezvous at sea.
Budget-driven repairs and renovations over the years have wrung all the architectural detail out of the facility and it is, at best, a tired hodge-podge of buildings that don't much relate to each other or the setting.
Finding a new operator who is going to wave a wand and transform it into a big money-maker for the city seems like wishful thinking.
It seems like a good time to maybe think bigger.
After all, the timing for a reassessment of the city's beachfront jewel seems opportune, as a downtown renaissance is percolating, with a lot of job growth and new housing being built.
The General Assembly just launched a study to look at shoreline tourism from New London to Rhode Island, and the city hopes to get a bigger bite out of that tourism pie, with its National Coast Guard Museum.
This might be a good time to consider how a better, more modern Ocean Beach could contribute to the growing new tourism culture the state is ready to nourish.
Could Ocean Beach be repositioned as a resort with more to offer than bathing suit fare? Look at the grand new hotel being built by developers at Mystic Seaport Museum. Can't the new New London support a seaside hotel and conference center?
Would the region's two American Indian tribes, who have been so successful in building attractive resorts all over the world, play a role in redeveloping one in their backyard?
Maybe Ocean Beach should be more than burgers and beer and fudge on really hot summer days.
It should always make accessible, inexpensive recreation for its residents a priority.
But there may be no better time to look at whether it could be more.
How about creating a committee to look at ideas. Harness some of the city's creative talents. There are lot of prestigious design schools a short drive from New London with talented students eager for a challenge. Invite the public to bring ideas to some hearings.
There seems to be no better time for New London to think big and consider all its options.
It's been 84 years since New London unveiled its magnificent new gam, a grand meeting at sea now lost in the fog of time.
Set a new course?
This is the opinion of David Collins
