My husband and I went to Atlantic City, New Jersey this weekend, with friends, to spend a few days of the lingering nice autumn weather at the shore. New Jersey has 90 miles of beaches, but Atlantic City also has a glittering array of hotels and casinos as an added feature that attracts over 35 million visitors annually. (All photos will enlarge if clicked on once, and then again when they open on a new page)
After checking into our hotel we decided to take a walk along the world famous boardwalk. The Atlantic City Boardwalk was the world's first boardwalk. Originally built in 1870, the four and a half mile long boardwalk was built at that time to keep visitors from tracking sand from the beach into the seaside hotel lobbies and railroad parlor cars.
Today it is a popular place for visitors to stroll, bicycle or to hire a rolling chair to carry you from casino to casino that line the boardwalk's path.
You can see in the photo above how the boardwalk has become the "main street" between the beach and Atlantic City attractions.
The Resorts Casino Hotel that opened in 1978, was the first operating casino in Atlantic City.
Today there are eleven glamorous hotel casinos in Atlantic City. Bally's is seen here and in the photo below.
Although we are not gamblers, we do enjoy the sight and sounds of the casinos, and the fine dining and top entertainers that perform in shows at the various hotels.
I loved the mural painted on the windows of this section of the Bally Casino. It has a fake reflection of some seaside attractions from the past!
A photo collage of some more sights along the boardwalk.
The Steel Pier that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean had glamours history which you can read at this link. An informational excerpt from the site: "The Steel Pier originally opened in 1898 and quickly became known for showcasing the world's top entertainers. From the 1920's through the 50s everyone who was anyone played Steel Pier. W. C. Fields was a member of the minstrel group that appeared during the Pier's inaugural season, but headline appearances quickly followed for him and everyone else. Guy Lombardo, Benny Goodman, Jimmy Dorsey, Mae West, Charlie Chaplin, The Three Stooges, Bob Hope, Amos 'n Andy, Frank Sinatra - everyone played Steel Pier. It's been said that Big Bands weren't really big until they started to play on Steel Pier."
Unfortunately the glory of the Steel Pier eventually faded away until it closed in 1976, where it then suffered years of neglect and ultimately the devastation of a 1982 fire. Donald Trump's Taj Mahal Hotel and Casino rebuilt the Atlantic City icon making it a viable amusement pier once again. Now managed by the Catanoso brothers it has 24 rides, games and prize wheels, a food court and free admission, making it a destination for families visiting Atlantic City during it's operating season.
Along the boardwalk fence I noticed some interesting placards that were with full facts about the fascinating history of Atlantic City.
Click to enlarge, and then click again to enlarge even more to read more, of the placards I found along the way on the boardwalk. One fun fact was that Charles Darrow, the inventor of the game Monopoly, chose Atlantic City as the setting for his game and used the same street names as found in this seaside resort.
Of course there are some other attractions along the boardwalk, such as stores selling the traditional delicious fudge and saltwater taffy.
I bought a pound of assorted fudge to bring back to my Mom, as she really enjoys it.
We enjoyed our afternoon walking along the boardwalk, absorbing the sunshine and listening to the sound of the ocean and the cry of the seagulls.
As the day ended and the sun set, it gave a magical quality to the scene.
I'm adding this to Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for her blog's "Outdoor Wednesday" event. I'm also joining Jenny Matlock for Alpahabe Thursday -- the letter this week is "I" and what more iconic and illustrious place is there than Atlantic City? Please visit their blogs today to see their posts and the links to all the other blogs participating in their fun events!
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