Anthony Licciardello | July 1, 2026
Ocean Grove, NJ
History & Preservation · Ocean Grove, NJ
Ringing the Great Auditorium stands the most photographed — and most misunderstood — sight in Ocean Grove: a colony of 114 canvas tents, lived in every summer just as they have been since 1869. Visitors always ask the same things. Are people really living in tents? Can you buy one? How do you get one? The answers are wonderful, and a little surprising. Here's how the Grove's beloved Tent City actually works.
See Tent City up close — Watch on YouTube →
This is part of our history and preservation series. For the landmarks around them, see the landmarks guide.
114 Tents
Arranged in rows around the Auditorium.
Canvas + Cabin
A canvas front joined to a small wood cabin.
May to Fall
Raised each spring, taken down each autumn.
Years-Long Wait
The waiting list often runs over a decade.
A Tent City tent is not a backpacker's pup tent. Each one is a generous canvas pavilion — the living and sleeping space — permanently joined to a small wooden cabin at the rear that holds a kitchen and bathroom. The canvas comes down for the off-season, while the cabin stays put and stores the tent's furnishings through the winter. Erected each spring and struck each fall, the tents trace directly back to the camp-meeting canvas of 1869, which is why they sit closest to the Auditorium: they are the literal origin of the town.
Did You Know
Tent City was once several times larger — about 660 tents at its peak in the late 1800s — before settling at today's carefully preserved 114.
Here's the part that astonishes newcomers: you don't simply rent a tent. With only 114 of them and devoted families who return year after year, demand vastly outstrips supply, and the waiting list is famously long — often more than a decade. Many tents have been held by the same families for generations, the cherished spots effectively handed down through the years. It's less a rental market than a community you wait to join, which is exactly why a tent is so prized once you have one.
It's less a rental than a community you wait years to join.
Tents are leased for the season — not by the week or month — through the Camp Meeting Association, typically for somewhere around $4,000 to $7,000 for the summer, with tenters furnishing and caring for their own space. Prospective tenters are interviewed and placed on the list, and the rules reflect the Grove's character: no subletting, no pets, no barbecuing, and all furnishings cleared out each fall when the canvas comes down. Because existing tenters renew year after year, turnover is very low — which is exactly what makes the list so long. Exact figures and rules are set by the Association and evolve over time, so confirm current terms directly — but the essence has held for over 150 years.
In a word, no — not the way you'd buy a house. The tents are leased, not sold, and the path to one runs through that years-long waiting list. So if your heart is set on actually owning a piece of Ocean Grove rather than waiting for a summer tent, the answer is one of the Grove's cottages or condos — which come with their own famous quirk, the land lease. That's a real-estate transaction we can help with today, rather than a decade from now.
Insider Tip
Love the tent life but don't want to wait a decade? A Grove cottage or condo lets you put down roots now. Start with our land-lease explainer to understand how ownership works here.
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From the Broker
The tents are the heart of the Grove — but they're a tradition you join, not a property you buy. When clients fall for that magic, I show them how to own near it.
Want to own near Tent City?
A cottage or condo near the Auditorium puts you steps from the magic — no decade-long wait. The Prodigy Team helps buyers, many from New York and Staten Island, find and finance the right home in the Grove. We work both sides of the water.
Anthony Licciardello, Broker, The Prodigy Team · 718-873-7345
See What Your Ocean Grove Home Is Worth →
Yes — each summer, families live in the 114 tents around the Great Auditorium. Each tent has a canvas living area joined to a small wooden cabin with a kitchen and bathroom, and they're used seasonally from spring through fall.
No. The tents are leased seasonally from the Camp Meeting Association, not sold. To secure one you join a waiting list that often runs more than a decade. To actually own property in town, you buy a cottage or condo instead.
It's famously long — commonly cited as more than ten years — because there are only 114 tents and many are held by the same families for generations. Confirm current details with the Association.
Seasonal leases are commonly cited in the range of about $4,000 to $7,000 for the summer, with tenters furnishing and maintaining their own tent. Exact figures are set by the Association and change over time, so verify current rates directly.
Prodigy Real Estate is an innovative real estate company offering high-end video production, home valuation services, purchasing, and home sales. Serving New York and New Jersey.
