Centennial Hall's reopening came with a lunch. At the October reopening on the second floor of Longport Borough Hall, Library President Joanne Clayton said the day was the start of a new monthly luncheon tradition, Downbeach BUZZ reported. Mayor Pat Armstrong thanked the Library Board and the team that finished the project quickly, which returned 3,500 square feet of public space to residents.
The library paid for the renovation, and it has first claim on the room's calendar. For a town with no boardwalk and only a short list of winter gathering places, that puts the library at the center of the off-season. Most of what happens in Longport between now and New Year's Eve either takes place at 2305 Atlantic Avenue or is booked through the library's phone line.
One room, three earlier uses
Centennial Hall wasn't built as a meeting room, and its history explains why it is on the second floor of a municipal building with bay views.
- 1924: The building goes up as the Betty Bacharach Home for Afflicted Children, and this second-floor space is its infirmary.
- 1990: Borough Hall offices, the Police Department and the Public Library move into the building.
- 1998: Former Mayor Mike Cohen opens the room during Longport's 100th anniversary celebration and dedicates it as Centennial Hall.
- 2019: The room stops being used.
- 2025: The Borough approves a major renovation.
- October 2026: The hall reopens with larger bay-view windows, a fully updated kitchen, a new HVAC system, taller ceilings, renovated bathrooms and full elevator access.
With a working kitchen and elevator access, the hall can now host sit-down meals on the second floor. Library Director Ricky Gerhardt said the new hall lets the library expand its community programs and events.
Who paid, and who gets the room first
The arrangement behind the renovation explains who controls the room's schedule. In September 2025, Down Beach News reported that the board amended the library's 25-year lease for its space in Borough Hall so the Library Board could fund substantial upgrades to what was then called the Centennial Room.
The amended lease makes the room a shared space for the borough and the library, and the library gets priority when bookings conflict. The borough is responsible for major systems such as HVAC, the roof, electrical service and plumbing. The library handles regular upkeep of the kitchen equipment, furnishings and lighting. The Foundation of the Free Public Library of the Borough of Longport, a 501(c)(3) set up in 2021 to support the library, its Historical Museum and its programs, lists help with holiday events among its activities.
The library is also the one setting the building's evening calendar this fall.
The November evening calendar
The November 10 Fall Concert Series featured Jay Daniels playing Simon and Garfunkel hits. The rest of the month's evening programs run Mondays through Fridays, mostly at 6 p.m., all from the Longport Public Library calendar.
| Date | Time | Event | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday, Nov. 16 | 6:00 p.m. | Classic Movie Night | Some Like It Hot, with snacks and water |
| Tuesday, Nov. 17 | 6:00 p.m. | Library Feud | Teams answer questions; the winning group gets a prize |
| Friday, Nov. 20 | 5:00 p.m. | Dinner and a Movie | Dinner in Centennial Hall, then Spiderman: Brand New Day; registration required |
| Monday, Nov. 23 | 6:00 p.m. | Holiday Movie | Meet Me in St. Louis; call to register |
| Tuesday, Nov. 24 | 6:30 p.m. | Trivia | A prize for each member of the winning team, up to six prizes |
The November 20 dinner is the only event on that list the library says will be held in Centennial Hall. Longport residents could register as soon as it was posted, and nonresidents can call starting November 13. The number is (609) 487-7403. Thanksgiving Day and the Friday after it show up as holidays on the November calendar.
The weekly schedule
The evening events change from week to week. The daytime programs mostly repeat each week, and in November they look like this:
- Monday: Opening Gaming at 2 p.m., with the Mystery Book Club also meeting at 1 p.m. on November 2
- Tuesday: Yoga at 9 a.m.
- Wednesday: Chair Yoga at 9:30 a.m. and pinochle at 11 a.m.
- Thursday: Yoga at 9 a.m. and Opening Gaming at 2 p.m.
- Friday: Chair Yoga at 9:30 a.m. and Friday Mahjong at 10:15 a.m.
- Saturday: Tai Chi at 10 a.m. and Italian Classes at 11:15 a.m.
Two of these need a phone call first. Tai Chi meets weekly and requires registration. Italian Classes are for beginner and intermediate speakers, run an hour from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., require registration and are open only to Longport residents.
The schedule carries into December with yoga, chair yoga, Opening Gaming, Tai Chi and Italian Classes still on the December calendar. Friday Mahjong is listed for December 4 and 11. The library closes at 1 p.m. on Thursday, December 24, and is closed Friday, December 25, and Thursday, December 31.
December's town events also go through the library
The borough's own 2026 Save the Dates sheet shows how much the borough relies on the library for its winter events. Two of its three December listings send residents to the library's phone number instead of a borough office.
- Friday, December 11: Tree and Menorah Lighting. For details, the sheet says to call the library at (609) 487-7403. Last year's lighting was at 4 p.m. on Friday, December 12, in the park behind Borough Hall at 2305 Atlantic Avenue, with the library and the borough as sponsors, Down Beach News reported in November 2025.
- Monday, December 14, 6:30 p.m.: The Longport Volunteer Fire Department escorts Santa through Longport to check on children's holiday lists.
- Thursday, December 31, 1 p.m.: A New Year's Eve Celebration, again with the library's number for details. The library is closed for regular service that day, so call (609) 487-7403 to find out where and how the celebration will run.
The tree lighting, the menorah, New Year's Eve, the dinner, the movies and the trivia nights all run through that one number. In a town of Longport's size, the library staff is effectively running the off-season events calendar.
Next door, the previous Borough Hall
The Longport Historical Museum, listed at the same 2305 Atlantic Avenue address, sits next to the library in a 1939 Coast Guard Station that served as Longport's Borough Hall until the 1990 move into the old Bacharach building. It opens Friday and Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. Its exhibit, "Longport - The Way We Were," fills eight rooms: The 1882 Room, The Devonshire Room, The Police Room, The Ocean Room, The Storm Room, The Volunteer Fire Company Room, The Betty Bacharach Room and The Map and Reference Room.
The Betty Bacharach Room ties in with the reopening, because the children's home it documents is the institution whose 1924 building now holds Borough Hall, the library and Centennial Hall. The Volunteer Fire Company Room covers the department that will drive Santa through town on December 14. On a Saturday morning, a museum visit fits easily around Tai Chi at 10 and Italian at 11:15 next door at the library, on the corner of 24th and Atlantic.
A room people can use again changes how a small town spends its winter, and it also gets noticed when someone is weighing what owning a home here involves. When you'd like to know how Longport's year-round community life figures into what your home is worth, Dorothy Phillips can put together a private valuation built on what's happening in town this season. Get a Free Home Valuation, and we'll walk you through it in person.
