To celebrate our wedding anniversary earlier this month, my wife and I enjoyed a short stay at Asbury Park, New Jersey. The weekend was wet and dreary. Perfect beach weather for us. Seriously.

We spent a good portion of our time walking through Convention Hall–one of the landmarks of Asbury’s boardwalk–and marveling at its crumbling, distressed, yet still beautiful architecture and design.

Any visitor can imagine how inviting, grand, and awe-inspiring Convention Hall must have appeared during its heyday. One hopes that this building might someday be returned to its initial glory.