I have posts on the wonderful Garden State of New Jersey in my blog, and several cities dear to me, However, I missed this memorable Atlantic City, After all, as said, this is my life’s history !! I found me picture in my cd rom vault that made me do this post for you and me, Awesome memories that brings my life to lighter days of youth, Therefore, here is my take on this is Atlantic City, NJ !!! Hope you enjoy the posts as I
The City of Atlantic City is located in Atlantic County on the Jersey Shore in the state of New Jersey, USA. It is built on the island of Absecon and surrounded by lagoons on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The city is located on 8.1 mi-long (13.0 km) Absecon Island, along with Ventnor City, Margate City and Longport. Atlantic City borders the Atlantic County towns of Absecon, Brigantine, Egg Harbor Township, Galloway Township, Pleasantville, and Ventnor City. Unincorporated towns, localities and place names located partially or completely within the city include Chelsea, City Island, Great Island and Venice Park ,The city is located 60 mi (97 km) from Philadelphia and 125 mi (201 km) from New York City.
The Atlantic City Boardwalk opened on June 26, 1870, a temporary structure erected for the summer season that was the first boardwalk in the world. At 5+1⁄2 miles (8.9 km) long, the Atlantic City Boardwalk is also the world’s longest and busiest boardwalk Casino/hotels front the boardwalk, as well as retail stores, restaurants, and amusements. Notable attractions include the Boardwalk Hall, House of Blues, and the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museum The first pier along the boardwalk, Applegate’s Pier, opened in 1884 in 1891, who expanded and operated it as Young’s Ocean Pier, but it was mostly destroyed in a 1912 fire. The remaining part of the pier was rebuilt in 1922 as the Central Pier, which is still in operation. The most famous Atlantic City pier was Steel Pier, which opened in 1898, and which once billed itself as “The Showplace of the Nation”. It closed in 1978, and was mostly destroyed in a 1982 fire. It was rebuilt in the late 1980s and is now operated as an amusement pier across from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The Steeplechase Pier opened in 1899 and operated until 1986. It suffered significant damage in a 1988 fire, and the remnants of the pier were removed in 1996. The “Steeplechase Pier Heliport” on Steel Pier is named in his honor. Captain John L. Young opened “Young’s Million Dollar Pier” in 1906, and on the seaward side erected a marble mansion, fronted by a formal garden, with lighting and landscaping designed by Young’s longtime friend Thomas Alva Edison. Million Dollar Pier once rivaled Steel Pier as Atlantic City’s leading pier, but after suffering decades of decline, was rebuilt into a shopping mall in the 1980s, known as “Shops on Ocean One”. In 2006, the Ocean One mall was bought, renovated and re-branded as “The Pier Shops at Caesars” and in 2015, it was renamed “Playground Pier”. In September 2023, it was renamed “ACX1 Studios” for the film and entertainment production studios that took over the building, containing a mixture of retail, restaurants, creative space, and production studios opened in summer of 2024. Garden Pier, located opposite Ocean Casino Resort, once housed a movie theater, and is now home to the Atlantic City Historical Museum.
Other things to see there are the Absecon Lighthouse is a coastal lighthouse located in the South Inlet section of Atlantic City overlooking Absecon Inlet. It is the tallest lighthouse in the state of New Jersey and is the third tallest masonry lighthouse in the United States. Construction began in 1854, with the light first lit on January 15, 1857. The lighthouse was deactivated in 1933 and although the light still shines every night, it is no longer an active navigational aid. Gardner’s Basin, which is home to the Atlantic City Aquarium as well as small shops and restaurants, is located a short distance north of Absecon Light Some of my anecdotes on the City tell of the streets of Atlantic City were used in the original American version of Monopoly. The city is the setting for Bob Rafelson’s 1972 film The King of Marvin Gardens, starring Jack Nicholson and Bruce Dern. The city is the setting for Louis Malle’s film Atlantic City in 1980. The song Atlantic City by Bruce Springsteen released in 1982 on the album Nebraska is about the city. The episode of season 5 of The Simpsons The Last Temptation of Homer , released in 1993 contains a part set in Atlantic City. Brian De Palma’s film Snakes Eyes, released in 1998, is set in Atlantic City. At the heart of the Boardwalk Empire series is the prohibition era in Atlantic City. The film American Bluff (2013), based on real events, describes the arrival of casinos in the city. Its night time party time! And of course, many others, The pic is from about 1980 ,and is my dear late Dad Elio at Ceasars‘ RIP.
A bit of history I like tell us that prior to Atlantic City’s founding, the region served as a summer home for the Lenape, a Native American tribe. While the date of European settlement in present-day Atlantic City is not precisely determined, it is commonly thought that it was in 1783, when Jeremiah Leeds built and occupied a year-round home there. In 1850, present-day Atlantic City was developed into a resort town. Three years later, in early 1853, it was named Atlantic City, The city was founded in 1854 by Richard Boyse Osborne, then chief engineer of the Camden and Atlantic Railroad, the same year trains began serving it, linking Atlantic City to the urban centers of New York and Philadelphia. Atlantic City has become a popular destination due to its proximity to Philadelphia. Along the boardwalk, the Brighton, Chelsea, Shelburne, Ambassador, Ritz Carlton, Mayflower, Madison House, and the Breakers. The Quaker-owned Chalfonte House, opened in 1868, and Haddon House, opened in 1869, flanked North Carolina Avenue at the beach end. Over the years, their original wood-frame structures would be enlarged, and even moved closer to the beach. The modern Chalfonte Hotel, eight stories tall, opened in 1904. The modern Haddon Hall was built in stages and was completed in 1929, at eleven stories. By this time, they were under the same ownership and merged into the Chalfonte-Haddon Hall Hotel, becoming the city’s largest hotel, By 1930, The Claridge Hotel, the city’s last large hotel constructed before the casino era, opened its doors. it would become known as the “Skyscraper by the Sea” By the late 1960s, many of the resort’s once great hotels were suffering from high vacancy rates. Most of them were either shut down, converted to cheap apartments, or converted to nursing home facilities by the end of the decade. Prior to and during the advent of legalized gambling, many of these hotels were demolished. The Breakers, The Chelsea, the Brighton, the Shelburne, the Mayflower, the Traymore and the Marlborough-Blenheim were demolished in the 1970s and 1980s. Of the many pre-casino resorts that lined the boardwalk, only the Claridge, the Dennis, the Ritz-Carlton, and the Haddon Hall survive to this day as parts of Bally’s Atlantic City, a condo complex, and Resorts Atlantic City. The old Ambassador Hotel was purchased by Ramada in 1978 and was gutted to become the Tropicana Casino and Resort Atlantic City, reusing only the steelwork of the original building.
In 1870, the first wooden boardwalk was built along part of the beach. The idea was a hit, and the boardwalk was extended and modified several times. It is now the longest in the world. Atlantic City was a city of fun, freedom, and tolerance toward alcohol during Prohibition, from the 1910s to the 1940s, particularly during the Roaring Twenties. In 1919, the city hosted the conference that led to the founding of the International Chamber of Commerce. To revitalize the city, New Jersey voters approved the opening of casinos in 1976: Resorts International became the first legal casino in the eastern United States on May 26, 1978. (and I was there!), Other casinos were built soon after, along the boardwalk and later in the marina area; there are nine today. These include: Borgata, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Ocean Casino Resort, Bally’s Atlantic City, Caesars Atlantic City, (my favorite) ,Harrah’s Atlantic City, Resorts Casino Hotel, and Tropicana Casino Resort Atlantic City. I was a proud member of Telly Savalas (Kojak tv series), casino Players Club International membership card and spent lots of money there lol !!!
The Atlantic City experience on its history: https://atlanticcityexperience.org/exhibits/acx.html
The official City of Atlantic City : https://www.acnj.gov/page/about-atlantic-city
The official Atlantic City tourist office on its Casinos: https://www.visitatlanticcity.com/things-to-do/casinos/
The State of New Jersey tourist office on Atlantic City : https://visitnj.org/city/atlantic-city
There you go folks, a bit of nostalgia of early live in my dear New Jersey. This is one of those towns will always remain in my heart and soul no matter the years gone by,and wherever in the hole of the Earth I will be living. Now living in France as French, Memories forever for me now glad told in my blog, my history. Again, hope you enjoy this post on this is Atlantic City, NJ !!! as I,
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 