An abandoned amusement park and family fun center at the Jersey Shore will soon be erased from the landscape. Its future will be filled with green thanks to a new deal.
It was a place where many memories were made, but now there is deterioration and disarray.
An old commercial for Blackbeard's Cave shows the family entertainment center in Berkeley Township once overflowing with fun.
Blackbeard's shut down for good in 2020 due in part to the pandemic, and now the crumbling park is becoming an eyesore along the busy Route 9.
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In a nearly $6 million deal, Ocean County is purchasing about 27 acres that will be preserved as open space. The site is adjacent to more than 800 acres of existing natural lands.
"In essence what we’re having is a total connection of a greenbelt," Ocean County planning director Anthony Agliata said. “Green space, open space where people can walk, enjoy the property, enjoy the natural vegetation.”
The current owner is footing the bill to have everything demolished.
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The remaining rides and other attractions are set to be torn down and taken away. Officials hope it will all be cleared out by late winter or early spring.
"It's just that we need to start to preserve some of our land. We don't want everything to be blacktop over. We want to have some land that's going to be preserved," Ocean County commissioner Virginia Haines told NBC10.
A haven for family fun for decades is now set to go back to nature.
