MARK KRAJNAK FOR MCHA
Items on display in “Springsteen: His Hometown” include a leather jacket and boots he wore in the ’80s; a painting from Asbury Park’s Upstage Club; and the four-track tape recorder he used for his “Nebraska” album.
After being shut down for more than a year, “Springsteen: His Hometown,” an exhibition at the Monmouth County Historical Association in Springsteen’s hometown of Freehold, is beginning sponsor access this weekend, and will reopen to the general public on May 27. It will remain open through July 31.
According to the MCHA web site, “MCHA will be adhering to all current CDC and New Jersey health and safety guidelines. Facial masks will be required while in the museum.”
Click here to read my original review of the exhibition, which opened in September 2019 but had to close in March 2020 due to the pandemic. Springsteen himself made a guest appearance at the 2019 opening celebration, performing with Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers.
The exhibition features about 150 items from the MCHA’s collection and from the collection of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, as well as items loaned from Springsteen’s family and management, fan-created art, and fan-taken photos.
As I wrote last year, “There have been other Springsteen exhibitions over the years, of course, at various locations. But what makes this one … unique and special is the fact that it doesn’t just tell the story of Springsteen’s career, but also takes a deep look at his family roots, and the environment into which he was born.”
Linda Bricker, president of the Monmouth County Historical Association’s board of trustees, said in a press release: “Springsteen remains an essential part of the fabric that comprises the deep history of Monmouth County and MCHA is honored to continue to have the opportunity to share some of the most unique, as well as several never-before-seen, items that reflect his unparalleled career.”
Timed entry tickets will be available starting May 24. For information, visit monmouthhistory.org.
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