Hamburg, New Jersey - Gingerbread Castle

I stopped by what's left of the Gingerbread Castle last summer and it definitely wasn't open, but I found out some info from the Hamburg Historical Society to incorporate into an article for the Society of Commercial Archaeology (SCA). Not sure where things stand now, but here's a brief update as of last fall:

After operating as a children's fairy tale theme park for nearly 50 years, Gingerbread Castle finally closed in the late 1970s. It reopened for a few years as a haunted Halloween venue before a fire closed it permanently in 1993 [RA: It was still running a seasonal haunted attraction on the property in 1997]. Attempts to restore the castle as a children's theme park hadn't gotten far. NJ resident Frank Hinger and his wife Lou purchased the property in 2003 with plans to revitalize it, even securing a grant from Hampton Hotel’s Save-a-Landmark program in 2004, which was used to repaint the castle exterior. But raising additional funds proved difficult. After unsuccessfully offering the castle on eBay, it was auctioned off by sheriff’s sale in January 2007 for approximately $680,000.

As of fall 2008, local real estate developers Gene Mulvihill and Pat Barton were the Gingerbread Castle’s current owners. Mulvihill, who owns the neighboring former Plastoid building and a share in nearby Ballyowen, the state’s highest-rated public golf course, seemed interested in preserving the castle. In a January 2007 article in the New Jersey Herald, Mulvihill states, "It’s in (Hamburg’s) blood. We're not going to rip the place down, that's not going to happen. Not going to happen." [Laura K., 08/17/2009]

I visited Gingerbread Castle as a child in Hamburg, NJ. I remember the horse with the knight, witches at the top of the castle, and Humpty Dumpty. We revisited several years ago, and wish that all children could have had the neat experience that my brother and I had as small children. [Kathie Greene, 08/23/2008]

According to a news article in the paper for that area, the castle was first on EBay for $649,000 and did not sell. What a summer house that could have been! A local developer bought it about a year and a half ago and promised to restore it.

As a child I had gone several times with family, plus on a class trip in the first grade. Small children are not raised on those nursery rhyme characters any longer as prior generations were, so they don't connect as we did. I think with any sort of restoration promise fulfilled, small kids today would still find it exciting, not to mention the parents. [Bill Woodier, 07/24/2008]

My husband and I just visited this area, and we found that no renovations have been made to the Gingerbread Castle or to the house next to it. The factories are also in disrepair. However, we found something very interesting. We had been out earlier taking photos of different things and animals, but when we took the digital photo of the Gingerbread Castle...we found a very large amount of Orbs covering the photo. We checked every other photo, all 208 that we had taken that day and none had come up with what we caught. [Beverly Vriesema, 07/15/2008]

[RA: Those damnable orbs!]

The Gingerbread Castle and fairy tale land in Hamburg, New Jersey are being put up for sale by their owner, Frank Hinger. He's asking for $636,0000 and is hoping to sell it to someone who will restore it, so if you have ever wanted to own a classic roadside attraction, now is your chance. [Dominic Ryan, 04/06/2006]

[RA: Yow... we'd heard from Frank a few years back about his efforts to raise money, but apparently the restoration costs were too high. He's also selling the Castle Grill restaurant/bar.]