Imperial Beauty Parlor
Known Name(s)
Imperial Beauty Parlor
Address
1107 Springwood Ave. Asbury Park, NJ
Establishment Type(s)
Beauty Parlor
Physical Status
Demolished
Description
The Imperial, at 1107 Springwood Avenue on Asbury Park’s West Side, was found on the north side of Springwood between Sylvan and Union Avenues (https://tinyurl.com/SpringwoodAveHeritageWalk). The location noted on the map is approximate, as the block has been reorganized. The buildings that lined that block during the Green Book years are gone, the site now townhomes.
Detailed History
Despite being listed for many years, little is currently known of the Imperial Beauty Salon. According to the 1940 Polk’s Asbury Park City Directory, the owner or operator of the Imperial was E. Louis Menyard; by 1945, the directory listed Walter E. Lee as such. The 1940 census cited Mr. Lee as born in Virginia in 1886, and he appeared in Asbury city directories by the first decade of the twentieth century. He was married to Rose E. Lee, who was identified as a “beauty operator” in the 1940 city directory. According to the Asbury Park Press, Mabel Gravely, who died in 1971 in Asbury after living there for 27 years, was employed for a time at the salon as a beautician.
Sources: Polk’s Asbury Park City Directory, 1940 and 1945; “Mrs. Irving Gravely,” Asbury Park Press, 19 October 1971; “Mrs. Walter C. Lee,” Asbury Park Press, 8 June 1960.
J. Shaffer
