When my family goes down the shore, we pass countless old, rundown buildings that hold my interest. However, we only pass one Quonset hut--appropriately named "The Hut". When we pass by, it's hard to tell if it's still operational or what. I was hoping someone on this forum could tell me or give a little history of the place. It looks like it is/was a bar at one point. I want to say it's on Route 73, but don't quote me on that.
The Hut
- Thread starter Dusty
- Start date
It was called Finnerty's Hut for a long time and it was a bar.
The highway is 322 a.k.a. Black Horse Pike.
I stopped in a few times in the late 70's for package goods on the way to the shore but can't tell you much more than that.
According to this it is still open.
http://www.wantickets.com/function/venue/VenueDetail.aspx?v_id=23677
The highway is 322 a.k.a. Black Horse Pike.
I stopped in a few times in the late 70's for package goods on the way to the shore but can't tell you much more than that.
According to this it is still open.
http://www.wantickets.com/function/venue/VenueDetail.aspx?v_id=23677
That link is the "wrong hut" - it is in Atlantic City. I believe this is the one you want:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...-74.792669&spn=0.005106,0.007242&z=17&iwloc=A
Heh, whenever I drive past that place, it makes me think of "Bob's Country Bunker".
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...-74.792669&spn=0.005106,0.007242&z=17&iwloc=A
Heh, whenever I drive past that place, it makes me think of "Bob's Country Bunker".
That link is the "wrong hut" - it is in Atlantic City. I believe this is the one you want:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...-74.792669&spn=0.005106,0.007242&z=17&iwloc=A
Heh, whenever I drive past that place, it makes me think of "Bob's Country Bunker".
Right you are Boyd. I never looked past the name and the BHP address in the link.
I'm happy I joined this website, you guys know tons... I live just outside the Pine Barrens, so I've seen many rundown bars or old farmhouses or buildings (like the Hut) that are just plain interesting, but I've never been able to look into any of them till now. Thanks guys!
I love run down bars and I spent or misspent a lot of my late teens in one in West Berlin known as the Old Ship Inn. (Now known as Oceanos)
They had shuffleboard, darts, bumper pool, regular pool and cold, cheap beer.
The place was more fun than my own hometown Gibbsboro Tavern.
The barmaid was an older woman named Mary who loved to see us young guys breathe a little life into the joint and even invited us to her house a few times for her family barbecues.
We were quite a mess usually. I jumped over her fence and snagged my leg and landed on my head and was out of commission for an hour and my buddy sunk a clam knife into his palm trying to shuck clams and had to got to the emergency room for stitches.
Ahhh, youth, alcohol and stupidity.
We used to love that old dive! Back in the late '70's; early 80's, we had a saying... "all roads lead to the 'Gibby!" On weekends, a bunch of high school friends and I would meet there before going clubbing in Cherry Hill, and those who "struck out", ended up up back at the 'Gibby for cheese fries and $6 pitchers. Sometimes, we never made it to Cherry Hill.
It was a shame to see it turn in to a pizza shop... and then finally get levelled.
John-
We used to love that old dive! Back in the late '70's; early 80's, we had a saying... "all roads lead to the 'Gibby!" On weekends, a bunch of high school friends and I would meet there before going clubbing in Cherry Hill, and those who "struck out", ended up up back at the 'Gibby for cheese fries and $6 pitchers. Sometimes, we never made it to Cherry Hill.
It was a shame to see it turn in to a pizza shop... and then finally get levelled.
John-
I probably spent more time in the Gibby with Dottie but I just enjoyed the Ship more when it was just me and the guys because we had the pool tables and basically had the place to ourselves most nights.
When I was a kid, I would ride my bike to the Gibby because the end of the building closest to Berlin Road was a gas station with a great penny candy store called Rudy's .
The guy that ran it was named Rudy Mehner and he also sold caps for your cap gun, sparklers and magic snakes. Magic snakes were the little black plugs of flammable material that once lit, would keep unfurling into a snake of ash.
Campbells General Store only 300' away sold all the same stuff.
The gas station was a Citgo and it had two pumps under the car port. In the 70's they took out the pumps and the
Gibby expanded into the candy store and made it a package goods area.
The Gibbsboro Tavern was a hopping place before the paint factory closed
Finnertys Hut!!! Just hearing that makes me laugh, its the first place I got served, and whenever we would go to the beach for a weekend or whatever we'd stop there to stock up. Today the sign says private parties only.
We used to love that old dive! Back in the late '70's; early 80's, we had a saying... "all roads lead to the 'Gibby!" On weekends, a bunch of high school friends and I would meet there before going clubbing in Cherry Hill, and those who "struck out", ended up up back at the 'Gibby for cheese fries and $6 pitchers. Sometimes, we never made it to Cherry Hill.
It was a shame to see it turn in to a pizza shop... and then finally get levelled.
John-
That's funny, because we probably saw each other there on numerous occasions. Back in the early 80's the Gibby was the place we'd always head for cheap, cold beers and bar snacks. At least, I think I'm getting my bars right. That was the place not far from the paint plant, right?
If I am not mistaken, I think all three of us went to different schools together !
The Gibby was across the street from the paint factory at the intersection of U.S. Avenue and Berlin Road. The clock was always ten minutes ahead for "factory time".
The owner when I was a kid was Lou Wright, a quiet nice man.
The owner through my formative drinking years (1978-1983+/-) was Roger Brock a large boisterous man who would give you one on the house if your life depended on it.
Wow, this does bring back memories. I remember passing the Hut but never went in. I do remember "Old Ships Inn" in West Berlin. In the early 1980's I lived in Alluvium which was down the street from the place and I can remember cold beer and crabs, bad pizza and more cold beer. It was a fun place.
The pizza was made from a circular cut out of a Frigidaire box, a little ketchup and some "I can't believe it's not cheese" topping.
Yup... That's the way I remember it, but for some reason, we kept going back.
Pretty cool to think we lifted mugs from the same tap so many years ago, and now we're acquainted through this site... Thanx, Ben.
John-
A friend of mine, who just got out of the marines, wanted something to eat with a beer. We went to old Ships Inn and he ordered one of those award winning cardboard pizzas. He also asked for some garlic. They gave him a restaurant sized container of powered garlic. Tom opened the quick pour side of this container and naturally a large amount of this powered garlic landed on top of his pizza. It was about a 2 inch mound of this stuff. Tom didn't know how to get rid of the excess so he took a deep breath and blew it across the bar. The folks across the bar started to cough and scream fowl words at my buddy Tom. Needless to say, my comment was, "Lets get out of here." Tom said no, he would take on the bar if he had to, I said that the last fight I had I was in the 4th grade and I wouldn't be much help. Tom bought the bar a round to calm things down and we all laughed and continued drinking.
On my way to the shore last weekend I noticed there is a for rent sign out front of Finnerty's Hut. I always wondered what it looked like inside.
I saw that too... I wonder what you could do with that big ol' hut besides tun it back into a bar. It'd make an interesting little market, maybe.
It's funny...for all the traffic along that section of the pike, none of the business along there seem to make a go at it. When I was a kid, Finnerty's was always busy. A sort while ago the doors were open and a few cars were out front, mostly on Friday's. Would see it on my way home from work. Then it was shut up again.
The same with the Hallowich. Some one bought it, opened it, and hardly anybody there. They even had a bar-b-q somer going. Now it's permanently closed....just a private residence.
Maybe there aren't enough locals to patronize them to get them established.
The 2 farm markets are always busy.
a couple of miles before Finnetrys on the right side heading eastbound there is a vacant lot with a sign that just says "bar". Anyone know anything bout that?