The One Minute Geographer: Atlantic City Saga
Atlantic City is New Jersey’s gambling capital. Before casinos were legalized in Connecticut , Pennsylvania and other eastern states, it was the only ‘Las Vegas’ east of the Mississippi.
But Atlantic City had a long history as a resort before casinos were legalized in 1976. Its long stretch of beach made it the queen city of the Jersey Shore. It catered to ocean-lovers from New Jersey, New York and beach-less Pennsylvania. As early as 1858, it sported the country’s first boardwalk, originally built to keep sand out of its fine hotels. Steel piers housing restaurants, shops and arcades added to the attractions.
Then Atlantic City evolved into a convention town. Its regional fame became national especially because of its long-term lock on hosting the Miss America Pageant. The game of Monopoly publicized its street names worldwide: this is where the names Ventnor, Marvin Gardens, Park Place, Atlantic Avenue and, of course, Boardwalk come from. By 1910, the city of 52,000 residents housed up to five times that number of good-times seekers on weekends in its 585 hotels.
