History: Cliffwood Beach Club Adds 200 Bungalows at Treasure Lake (1926)

The 19 Mar 1926 edition of The Matawan Journal included this front page article about the addition of 200 small bungalows near Treasure Lake for Cliffwood Beach Club owners to use. The developer -- Morrisey & Walker -- borrowed this trendy vacation idea from the West Coast. These small "bungalets," which were built only 100 feet from the bay, were all destroyed in Hurricane Donna in 1960.

NEW INNOVATION AT CLIFFWOOD BEACH

"DIVIDED HOTEL” IDEA OF THE WEST COAST INTRODUCED.

One Hundred Fifty One-Room Bungalets and Fifty Two-Room Structures Completed This Week.

Work will be completed this week on a unique bungalow's colony being constructed for thc Cliffwood Beach Club near Treasure Lake, Cllffwood Beach. The development consists of  150 one-room bungalets and 50 two-room structures adapted from the "divided hotel” plan in successful operation on the Catalina Islands and other Pacific Coast resorts.

Charles W. Morrisey, president of Morrisey & Walkcr, Inc., developers of Cliffwood Beach, and an organizer of the Cliffwood Beach Club, in announcing the approaching completion of the building operations, declared that the demand for large houses has shown a steady diminution during the last few years along the shore.

The Cliffwood Beach Club, he continued, has endeavored to keep abreast of the vacation trend by the erection of "bungalets," as they are known on the coast, which will be managed on the lines of a hotel from a central administration building.

Occupancy of the bungalets will be limited to members of the club, which will have a maximum roster of 200 families, who will be required to furnish adequate business and social references. Registrations for the single rooms wlll be limited to four and for the two-room structures to six persons.

The houses are of frame 10x20 feet, and are located 100 feet from the shore. Particular attention has been paid to sanitary provisions and there will be daily garbage collections.Water and electricity for lighting and cooking will be provided. Each bungalet is sufficiently distant from its neighbor to insure a maximum of privacy.

Members of the Club, in addition to occupylng rooms in the "divided hotel," will also have access to playgrounds, tennis courts, boating facilities on Treasure Lake, a private beach and band concerts.

If the Innovation proves as successful in the East as it has on the Pacific Coast, Mr. Morrisey said it is probable it will be extended to other parts of the north Jersey shore.

Morrisey & Walker, Inc, the developers of this bungalow colony, is the largest seashore realty organization in New Jersey. The firm has successful developments at Cliffwood Beach, Shark River Hills, Asbury Park, West End, Belmar, Keansburg and Laurence Harbor. This firm has offices at 951 Broad Street, Newark, N. J„ three offices in Asbury Park, one on Cookman Avenue and two on the boardwalk, the famous Pirate ship at Cliffwood Beach known all over thc country, and at Keansburg and Laurence Harbor.