Exploring an Abandoned Gingerbread Castle Amusement Park in New Jersey

Before the Gingerbread Castle was envisioned, the site of the castle was one of New Jersey’s early industrial locations, home to Joseph Sharp’s Iron Works which dated back to 1768.

The Mill was constructed in 1808 as a grain mill and operated continuously until 1943.It was purchased by F.H. Bennett in 1921 and renamed Wheatsworth Mills in 1927.

The business was sold to Nabisco in 1931, again in 1937 to Canterbury Mills, and then again to the Plastoid Company in 1943.

In the 1960s, Plastoid constructed a new factory in on an adjacent site, but continued to use the historic 19th century mill building as offices through the 1980s.

The Gingerbread Castle was originally the centerpiece of an amusement park built around 1930 adjacent to Wheatsworth Mill by then-owner F.H. Bennett.

F.H. Bennett was inspired to build the castle after seeing a production of Hansel and Gretel at New York's Metropolitan Opera.

He hired the opera's set designer, Austrian architect Joseph Urban, to create what became his children's amusement park where Grimm's fairy tales came to life.

Some of Joseph Urban’s other architectural credits include the Zeigfield Theatre in New York City and Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.

The castle is a three story concrete structure with circular towers decorated in stucco that is finished to appear smooth or textured, like cake icing.

Decorative ornaments, brackets, windows, terraces and finials add to the whimsical quality of the structure, which was constructed on the foundation of a 19th century kiln.

The property once featured several sculptures representing popular fairy tale characters, as well as a train that chugged visitors around the park.

The park remained in continuous operation for 50 years, closing initially in 1978. In 1989 the castle re-opened, but lasted only a few years before once again closing down.

The entire site lacks a purpose; the milling industry no longer viable, and the small amusement park no longer self-sustaining.

The current owner, a successful regional developer, purchased the property at foreclosure in 2007 but the complex continues to deteriorate.

The future of the site remains unknown. The Gingerbread Castle is a significant structure as one of a limited number of surviving works designed by Joseph Urban.