Atlantic City Boardwalk Historic Facts

The Atlantic City Boardwalk wasn’t always a place to shop, eat and gamble.  It was first constructed in 1870, the same year that train conductors and hotel owners petitioned the city to do something about beach sand getting into Camden and Atlantic’s rail passenger cars and into hotels. The original one mile of boardwalk was ten feet wide and its twelve-foot sections designed to be taken apart and stored during the off season.  At the end of the summer season, it was simply put away.  Its construction cost five thousand dollars.

Within ten years, tourists had had their way with it and the Boardwalk was damaged and splintered.  The town reconstructed it wider and longer we learned here http://blog.achotelexperts.com/history-boardwalk-hall-atlantic-city/.  Then fourteen feet wide, businesses, which hadn’t been allowed nearer than thirty feet of the Boardwalk, could set up within ten feet. Three years later, in 1883, that restriction was lifted as well. 

One year later, a storm ravaged the Boardwalk and it was again rebuilt bigger and longer.  Now, twenty feet wide, it spanned two miles.  Nearly every day, someone fell off the Boardwalk but it wasn’t until 1889, with another post-hurricane reconstruction, that railings were added.  The Boardwalk was then four miles long.  People walked on it of course, but there was a popular attraction known as “rolling chairs.”  These were like fancy carriages that could accommodate as many as three adults.  Operators pushed the chairs up and down the Boardwalk, making the passengers feel like royalty.  These wicker chariots were originally intended to carry “invalids” up and down the Boardwalk but then gained popularity as tourists decided that they liked traveling in style. There were only a few left by the 1980s but have since re-emerged as a useful means of conveyance. By 1916, the Boardwalk had become so popular and attracted such huge crowds that it got another upgrade.  The city added the herringbone pattern of the boards, which is still seen today, as well as steel beams and pilings for reinforcement. 

By the 1920s, the Boardwalk was home to the original Miss America Pageant, amusements were everywhere and parades were common.  It was one of the most popular and romantic places to be.  In the 1940s, during World War II, soldiers practiced marching on the Boardwalk and staged mock invasions on the nearby beach. During the following two decades, celebrities frequented the Boardwalk and even filmed movies there.
In the 1970s the resort area was losing popularity and the state decided to allow gambling on the Boardwalk.  That did the trick and on Memorial Day Weekend, 1978, thousands of tourists returned to hotels in Atlantic City and it remains bustling and thriving to this day.  

Revel Casino in Atlantic City Now Open

Atlantic City, NJ - Spring is around the corner and the biggest news to hit AC since the Borgata opened has become a reality, Revel Casino in Atlantic City is now open.  Revel is located at the Northern section of town on the Boardwalk just past the Showboat Casino.  The Revel itself is almost fully operational and has been met with fantastic reviews from patrons who have been lucky enough to visit.  Guests are saying the rooms are amazing, state of the art functionality around of every corner, incredible restaurants, risque bars and night club experience and the new Bask Spa, all have been giving glowing reviews.

If you haven't been to Atlantic City in awhile, now is the time to check out this new amazing casino and entertainment hub, Revel Casino is sure to please.  Although overnight room rates are about $350 per night, many visitors have been staying at neighboring casinos or hotels and spending time at Revel.

Atlantic City's Newest Casino - Revel Casino is Now Open!

This summer, Revel Beach will be buzzing with beach goers.  Cabana's, waitress service, surfing lessons and rentals, jet ski's, para sailing, you name it, all of you favorite water sports will be available to Revel Beach guests.  There is no other place in Atlantic City on the beach that will offer all the things to do and services than Revel, plan you trip to the Jersey Shore now.

Revel Casino - Ovation Hall Entertainment

You know AC has some fantastic concerts and special events, Revel has raised the bar.  Check out these events that have been annouced as a sample of stuff that will happen in Ovation Hall.

• Maroon 5 Friday 5/18/2012 9:00 PM
• The Black Keys Revel Ovation Hall Atlantic City, NJ Saturday 5/19/2012 9:00 PM
• Beyonce Friday 5/25/2012 9:00 PM and Saturday 5/26/2012 9:00 PM and Beyonce Sunday 5/27/2012 9:00 PM
• Kid Rock Saturday 6/2/2012 9:00 PM
• Sugarland Revel Ovation Hall Atlantic City, NJ Friday 6/15/2012 9:00 PM
• UFC on FX Friday 6/22/2012 5:00 PM
• Soul 2 Tour: Seal & Macy Gray Friday 7/20/2012 8:00 PM
• Summerland: Everclear, Sugar Ray, & Gin Blossoms Friday 7/27/2012 7PM

Let the games begin, get to Revel Casino in Atlantic City and see what all the talk is about!

HBO Boardwalk Empire in Atlantic City Update

Overview of Atlantic City Boardwalk Empire on HBO - Sunday's at 9pm

Boardwalk Empire on HBO is set in Atlantic city in 1920. The Great War is over, America is progressing and the birth of prohibition has taken place. Times are changing with Wall Street on the brink of success, broadcast radio filling the air, and women voting for politicians. Young people are now steering America's money endeavors and everything is for sale including baseball teams and The World Series.

Southern New Jersey is home to the booming Atlantic City and "The World's Playground," which is the boardwalk empire itself, a phenomenal resort where laws and rules are irrelevant. Hotels, nightclubs, amusement piers and all types of entertainment surround this famous boardwalk get their hands on some of its massive fortune. Money and illegal alcohol business runs the boardwalk empire and creates constant action. Nothing is illegal and this boardwalk never sleeps.

Enoch, "Nucky" Thompson (Steve Buscemi), is the town's greedy treasurer and has declared himself the king of Atlantic City. He is well known through politics and a dirty backroom dealer, which makes him basically a gangster politician and he successfully plays out both roles to fulfill his greedy quota. The perfect location of the boardwalk in New Jersey creates easy travel to New York, Philadelphia and Chicago. Nucky Thompson uses this to his advantage and prospers from every dirty deal he can get his hands on.

Nucky teams ups with his brother, Elias (Shea Whigham), the town's sheriff and a group of New Jersey brutes, thugs, and Ward Bosses to control any and all transport of illegal alcohol. Nucky is an political, equal opportunity gangster. Business transactions take place with Al Capone (Stephen Graham), Lucky Luciano (Vincent Piazza), Big Jim Colosimo (Frank Crudele), and Arnold Rothstein (Michael Stulbarg).

The series begins with Nucky's former driver and protege Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt), returning home from the Great War. Jimmy is excited to get back into Nucky's organization and reclaim his place, but things are not moving fast enough for the young man. He decides to ally up with Nucky's enemies, which alarms the New Jersey Feds and puts them right onto Nucky's tail and they start to suspect his underground business. Another complication is Nucky's involvement in a relationship with Margaret Schroeder (Kelly MacDonald), a married local who is constantly abused and Nucky wants to help out.

The creators of Boardwalk Empire on HBO include Emmy Award Winning Writer Terence Winter, of 'The Sopranos,' and Academy Award Winning Director Martin Scorsese, Tim Van Patten, Stephen Levinson and Mark Wahlberg.

Atlantic City Boardwalk History and the Steel Pier

Atlantic City, New Jersey was once a remote island called Absegami by the Native American Lenni-Lenapes. Dr. Jonathan Pitney came to town in the early 1850s and immediately recognized the potential for a health resort where people from the big cities could “escape for a breath of fresh air.” In 1853 the resort got its official name – Atlantic City. A railroad route was constructed connecting Camden to the area and it wasn’t long before huge hotels replaced small beach cottages. A walkway of planks connected the hotels so guests did not have to walk in the sand. The walkway was the humble beginning of the famous Atlantic City Boardwalk - the hottest piece of property on the board in the popular Monopoly Game. Today, the Atlantic City Boardwalk is 40 feet wide, extends almost five miles along the beach and is the central artery for action in Atlantic City. In March of 1854, the city was incorporated and eighteen voters elected the first mayor, Chalkey S. Leeds. On July 1, 1854, the first public train left Camden for Atlantic City, arriving two-and-a-half hours later, to signal the opening chapter in the resort's rich and colorful history.

From the start Atlantic City drew a cast of characters and eccentric entertainment. There was a high diving horse that plunged from a platform into the ocean. For many years, Mr. Peanut greeted visitors at the Planters Peanut store. There were fortune tellers and flimflam artists. Entertainment piers stretching into the ocean were lined with amusement rides, animal attractions and artisans. The carnival atmosphere, called the Boardwalk Ballyhoo, is documented at the Atlantic City Historical Museum. In 1921, a beauty queen contest was held to extend the tourist season and the Miss America Pageant was born.
From the 1880s to 1940s, Atlantic City was a major vacation resort. In the 1920s it was considered the premier tryout town for theatrical productions headed for Broadway and beyond. Beginning in the 1930s and continuing in the next three decades, Kentucky Avenue was renown for its nightlife, with Club Harlem and other venues attracting the best talent and biggest stars from the world of jazz. During World War II, the city offered much more than entertainment distractions, as it served as a training site for military recruits and a recovery and rehabilitation center for wounded soldiers.
In the 1960s a popular television dance show named Summertime on the Pier was broadcast in the summer months from the Marine Ballroom at the end of Atlantic City's famous Steel Pier.  The Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey, was a mile-long structure that got its name from its steel underpinnings, the rest being largely made of wood. For many years it was home to a variety of entertainments for the holidaymakers who descended on the resort, as well as for the local population.
Opened in 1898 with cowgirl Annie Oakley as the star attraction, the Steel Pier was known as "The Showplace of the Nation", featuring an amusement park with high-diving horses, water-skiing dogs and human cannonballs, exhibits and sideshows. It was used as a venue for live music, and also played host to the Miss America pageant.  During the heyday of Vaudeville, Atlantic City was the “in” place to play for the rich and famous. Today over 37 million visitors come to Atlantic City, New Jersey each year to try their luck at the gaming tables, enjoy top-name entertainment and escape the doldrums of the everyday world. Acts who performed on the Steel Pier over the years included everyone from Al Jolson, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra to the Rolling Stones and Smokey Robinson. Jazz bands of the swing era also featured regularly.