Toms River Goes Boom: Population Growth 1950s-70s

The crush of development in Dover Township saw its population soar from 7,707 people in 1950 to nearly 10 times that many in 1979, when it seemed that no matter where you turned, new public service facilities were opening in response to that growth.

Toms River High School East opened in October, providing room for another 1,600 students. The regional school district’s enrollment was about what it is today, and new schools were being built to accommodate a student body that size.

Also  that October, Community Memorial Hospital opened an addition, adding another 128 beds to what began in 1960 as a facility with 50 beds. The new addition brought the number of beds to 365. The hospital continued to grow, becoming one of the largest in the state, with one of the busiest emergency departments in the region.

The next month, at 2 p.m. Nov. 4, a Sunday, a new municipal building and three level parking garage were dedicated.

Committeeman Robert Brune, who was there when planning for the new facility began in 1971, predicted the building would “serve the community well for years to come.’’

Harold Walsh, executive vice president of the Greater Toms River Chamber of Commerce, predicted it would be “the beginning of a renaissance of downtown, yet not a disruption of its character as a center of history and commerce.’’ Walsh longed for a return of the retail businesses to the downtown Toms River area. Most had relocated to Route 37. He said the opening of the Ocean County Mall, “a major boost to the Toms River area economy,’’ had caused “a temporary dislocation in the central business district.’’

Others optimistically predicted the rebound was underway, with the purchase of the Community Theater across the street from the municipal building, and a pledge by its owner to make it a modern office building with no changes to its exterior.

The new municipal building was actually a blend of the old and the new. Retained was the home built in 1902 by Capt. John Holmes. A massive addition reached south and east from the home on Washington Street.

“Town Hall is still the same building in the same place, just larger and more efficient,’’ said architect Andrew Sullivan.

The parking garage was part of a deal to keep the Ocean County Library headquarters in downtown Toms River. Parking then, as now, was at a premium around the Ocean County Courthouse. Democratic Dover Township officials struck a bipartisan agreement with the Republican freeholders to vacate part of Horner Street, give the county library system the old Presbyterian Church building and make the Bishop Memorial Library part of the county system in exchange for the county building a 50,000 square foot library that would incorporate the old church in its design.

When the new municipal building and garage were dedicated there was great anticipation about the opening of the new library in 1981. It was such a hit that the library was doubled in size a few years ago.

With a $55 million addition to the Ocean County Jail about to open farther up on what used to be Horner Street, how much was spent on the new municipal building and the parking garage? The total tab was $3.3 million. Uncle Sam kicked in $1.4 million through the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, leaving Dover Township to pay $1.9 million.

Peter Brown, the other partner in the Brown/Sullivan Associates, presented Mayor William McGreevy with a gavel to be used at committee meetings. The other committee members included Democrats Brune, Richard P. Strada and Michele B. Rosen and Republican John D. Greenhall. Brune was unable to attend the dedication due to the death of his mother.

Religious leaders brought an ecumenical flavor to the ceremony. Msgr. Lawrence Donovan of St. Joseph’s Parish said the invocation. Rabbi Richard Hammerman of Congregation B’Nai Israel offered a prayer. Rev. Ansley G. Van Dyke of the Presbyterian Church of Toms River gave the benediction after the ribbon was cut.

The Toms River High School South Marching Band presented a concert in the building. A film: “Dover Township: Jersey Shore’s Year Round Community,’’ produced by the Dover Township Performing Arts Program and the township’s Department of Community Affairs, premiered in the second floor meeting room. After it was shown the concert band from Ocean County College performed.

The architects said the building was designed to provide offices for government workers, but also included three large areas the public could use, including the 300-seat meeting room named for L. Manuel Hirshblond, who was then the clerk-administrator,  a first floor exhibition room, and a community room with a kitchen on the lower level.

“The new complex is more than just a new Town Hall. It is a civic center and community facility which all can share,’’ McGreevy said.