4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) the Northeastern United States, including the coast of New Jersey, where Asbury Park is located. The irony of Asbury Park being battered by the storm was not lost amongst Springsteen's fans. On December 12, 2012, Springsteen participated in , but did not perform "Sandy" at the event. One of the song's most famous lines is: The "Madam Marie" mentioned in the song was a real-life fortune teller on the Asbury Park boardwalk named Marie Castello, who died June 27, 2008, aged 93. Springsteen offered memories and condolences of her on his website, saying: "Back in the day when I was
Asbury Park, New Jersey a number of grand hotels were built, including the Plaza Hotel. Uriah White, an Asbury Park pioneer, installed the first artesian well water system. As many as 600,000 people a year vacationed in Asbury Park during the summer season in the early years, riding the New York and Long Branch Railroad from New York City and Philadelphia to enjoy the mile-and-a-quarter stretch of oceanfront Asbury Park. By 1912, "The New York Times" estimated that the summer population could reach 200,000. The "country by the sea" destination experienced several key periods of popularity. The first notable era was the 1890s, marked