Monmouth Discovery

History & Lighthouses · Ocean Grove

Great Auditorium

Ocean Grove's 1894 Great Auditorium, home to camp meetings, concerts and a large Hope-Jones organ, run by the Camp Meeting Association.

The Great Auditorium in Ocean Grove, a yellow timber building with three spires, a cross and the date 1894 on the gable.
Photo: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Great Auditorium is the centerpiece of Ocean Grove, run by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association. Ground was broken on December 2, 1893, and the association says it was constructed in 1894 and is mostly unchanged. It is the fourth structure on its site, measures 225 by 162 feet and was planned to seat at least 10,000 people.

The association's pages give different capacity figures, from 6,250 at present to about 7,000, after wooden seats were replaced with cushioned theater-style seating. Presidents who spoke from its platform include Grant, Garfield, McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, Eisenhower and Nixon. A camp meeting has been held since 1870.

The building houses a Hope-Jones organ. The association lists summer organ concerts as free, non-ticketed events with a freewill offering, with the 2026 series on Thursdays at 7:30 PM from July 30 through August 27. Free parking is available along the boardwalk and around town, though spaces near the Auditorium fill quickly.

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Last checked 2026-10-24. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit

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