In-person: Jones Beach with Professor Ron Brown

When Jones Beach opened to the public on August 4, 1929, the city, the nation, and the world had no doubts that the Roaring 20s would go on forever. A triumph of Art Deco architecture and accessible to the masses, Jones Beach was more than just a beach. It hosted a band shell for free concerts, restaurants, two swimming pools, a nature center, a museum, the boardwalk, a marina and playgrounds. Barely three months after it opened the nation was plunged into the Great Depression. Learn the history of this amazing beach as it opened during the automobile age.