Low resolution samples — prints are significantly sharper and more detailed.

🌊 Coastal History

Island Beach — Ten Miles of Untouched Barrier, Post–Ash Wednesday

Island Beach State Park — ten miles of the most pristine barrier beach on the East Coast — was purchased by New Jersey in 1953 and protected from development. The 1962 aerial captures Island Beach just after the Ash Wednesday Storm of March 1962, which struck before the summer season with catastrophic force. Without groins, seawalls, or any protective structures, Island Beach's natural dunes absorbed the full force of the storm surge. The aerial shows dramatic overwash fans where surge poured through the dunes and across the island — the very processes that create and sustain barrier islands, on a dramatic scale. This is what the entire Ocean County coast looked like before it was built upon.

Order Prints

Available in three sizes: 11×14″ Matted ($20) • 11×17″ Framed ($30) • 13×19″ Framed ($35)

1962 Print
11×14″ Matted $20
11×17″ Framed $30
13×19″ Framed $35

← Back to Town Menu