Atlantic City Fast Facts
Fast Facts are courtesy of the Atlantic City Free Public Library www.acfpl.org
IMPORTANT DATES IN ATLANTIC CITY HISTORY:
1795-1800
Jeremiah Leeds establishes first permanent settlement on Absecon Island.
March 19, 1852
Railroad charter granted for the Camden & Atlantic Company
January 15, 1853
Name “Atlantic City” adopted by city founders
March 3, 1854
Atlantic City incorporated
May 1, 1854
First mayor, Chalkey S. Leeds, elected
July 1, 1854
First train to Atlantic City arrives from Camden
January 15, 1857
Absecon Lighthouse opens
June 26, 1870
First Boardwalk opens
January, 1905
The Atlantic City Free Public Library open’s at the Carnegie Library.
March 15, 1915
Jitney line established
September 7, 1921
First Miss America, Margaret Gorman, crowned
May 31, 1929
Atlantic City Convention Hall dedicated
September 14, 1944
Hurricane destroys over half of Boardwalk
September, 1971
Stockton State College opens its doors at the Mayflower Hotel on the Boardwalk.
November 2, 1976
New Jersey voters approve casino gambling referendum
May 26, 1978
First casino, Resorts International, opens
March 13, 1984
City’s first African American mayor, James L. Usry, elected
November 14, 1994
New Atlantic City High School opens
May 1, 1997
New Atlantic City Convention Center opens
September 21, 2000
Groundbreaking for The Borgata, first new casino since 1990
July 31, 2001
Atlantic City-Brigantine Connector tunnel opens
October 10, 2001
Rededication of historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, renamed Boardwalk Hall
2003
New investments of $1.8 billion planned or underway for hotel, entertainment and retail projects
May 18, 2004
The newly restored Carnegie Library Center opens as a satellite facility for The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.
2004
Atlantic City celebrates 150th birthday
ATLANTIC CITY FAME:
BOARDWALK: It was the first Boardwalk constructed in the United States, and opened on Sunday, June 26, 1870. The current Atlantic City Boardwalk is a little over four miles long. The combined length of the Atlantic City and Ventnor Boardwalks is approximately 5.75 miles. The historic length of the Boardwalk, before the 1944 hurricane, was about 7 miles and it extended from Atlantic City, through Ventnor and Margate, into Longport.
There were various Boardwalks constructed in Atlantic City:
a. 2nd opened about June 1, 1880
b. 3rd opened about June 1, 1884
c. 4th was dedicated May 10, 1890
d. 5th was dedicated July 8, 1896
BEACHES: Four miles of sandy beach gently sloping into the surf.
SALT WATER TAFFY: According to local legend, the name originated on the Boardwalk in the 1880s, after seawater flooded a candy store.
MISS AMERICA PAGEANT: Held each year in the historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, it originated as the “Floral Parade” in 1902 and became the “Miss America” Pageant in 1921.
FIRST POSTCARDS: First picture postcards in the United States were color views of Atlantic City (1893).
ATLANTIC CITY CONVENTION HALL: Now called Boardwalk Hall, when it opened in 1929 it was the largest auditorium ever built without interior roof posts or pillars and housed the world’s largest pipe organ.
ROLLING CHAIRS: Famous attraction on the Boardwalk from the late 1800s to the present day.
MONOPOLY: One of the most popular board games of all time, the design using Atlantic City street names was sold by Charles Darrow to Parker Brothers in 1935.
STEEL PIER: First opened in 1898, it was a premier entertainment spot and the most widely advertised amusement pier in the world.
FIRST “AIRPORT”: The term was coined in Atlantic City, in reference to its flying field (1919).
ATLANTIC CITY: A BRIEF HISTORY
Long before Atlantic City was founded, the island where it would be developed, thick with woods and lined with dunes, was the summer home of the Lenni Lenape Indians, an Algonquian-speaking people. These original summer residents named the island Absegami, meaning “little water”, a term for the bay denoting that the opposite shore was in sight. Over time the name was transformed into the present-day Absecon Island. Early colonial settlers in South Jersey largely ignored the island because it could only be reached by boat. While the exact date of the first permanent settlement has never been determined, it is generally agreed that Jeremiah Leeds was the first to build and occupy a year-round residence on the island by 1800.
By 1850, the potential attraction of the island’s cool breezes and beaches was recognized and the idea for developing a resort was first promoted by Dr. Jonathan Pitney, a local physician. With transportation the key to development, Dr. Pitney joined with a group of businessmen to secure a railroad charter in 1852. Two years later, construction of the Camden-Atlantic rail line was completed at a cost of a little over $1.2 million. A civil engineer from Philadelphia, Richard Osbourne, designed the city layout and proposed the name Atlantic City.
In March of 1854, the city was incorporated and eighteen voters elected the first mayor. On July 1, 1854, the first public train left Camden for Atlantic City, arriving two and a half hours later, an arrival that signaled the opening chapter in the resort’s rich and colorful history.
Atlantic City’s proximity to major population centers, coupled with convenient, inexpensive train access, allowed thousands to flee the hot cities and enjoy summer pleasures at the cool seashore. The city grew rapidly and offered lodging, dining, entertainment and amusements for all ages, tastes and incomes. Attractions like the Boardwalk, amusement piers, floor shows and beauty pageants drew throngs of visitors, including many famous figures over the years.
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 over the next three decades, Kentucky Avenue was renowned for its nightlife, with Club Harlem and other venues attracting the best talent and the biggest stars from the world of jazz. During World War II, the city offered much more than entertainment distractions, serving as a training site for military recruits and recovery and rehabilitation center for wounded soldiers.
In the 1950s, as air travel to vacation spots in Florida and the Caribbean became more widely available, Atlantic City’s popularity as a resort destination began to decline. By the 1960s, the city was beset with the economic and social problems common to many urban centers at the time. With the health of its economy entirely dependent on tourists who were now shunning the decaying resort, the city reached its nadir.
In 1976, the “Atlantic City Gamble” was launched when New Jersey voters approved a referendum legalizing gambling, specifically in Atlantic City but not elsewhere in the state. While there were many critics questioning the wisdom of pursuing legalized gambling as a tool of urban development, many others were convinced casinos would provide the resources needed to rebuild the city and its tourist trade. When the first casino, Resorts International, opened here in 1978, no one could predict the rapid growth of the gaming industry in Atlantic City or the tremendous impact it would have on the city, the region and the state. By 1988, a dozen casinos were open and the number of annual visitors had grown from 700,000 in 1978, to over 33 million. By the year 2000, the city’s tax base had skyrocketed from $316 million in 1976 to over $6.7 billion. The positive impact on Atlantic City residents can be seen in revitalized neighborhoods, new housing projects and public service facilities and economic, social and cultural programs.
A long anticipated second wave of development is now underway. The first new casino to be built here since 1990, The Borgata, opened in 2003. The prospect of increased competition in the gaming market as well as the success of the five-year-old Atlantic City Convention Center have been catalysts for the development of new projects. Several casinos have embarked on major expansions of their hotel and retail space and a public-private partnership, is building a $60 million retail and entertainment complex, The Walk, in the center of the city. In all, over $1.8 billion in new investments are planned or underway and, for the first time since casinos opened here, most of the new projects are devoted to broadening the appeal of the city beyond gambling. Offering visitors a wide range of attractions is considered the key to a successful future, a formula that surely proved itself in the past when Atlantic City claimed the title “Queen of Resorts”.
BEACH PIRATES CHEMCIAL ENGINE CO. NUMBER 1
The Beach Pirates of Atlantic City Fire Department were organized January 1, 1895 as a Volunteer Fire Company. This was an elite group of Atlantic City Boardwalk businessmen known to members of the other department as “the silk stockings”. They were the only company to have quarters opening directly onto the Boardwalk (at South Carolina Avenue) and the only company in Atlantic City to have their own fire station burn down while in service.
In 1899, after returning from battling a fire between South Carolina and Tennessee Avenues, they found their own station burning in a fire that consumed many hotels, businesses and homes on the Boardwalk. Company member John Young, owner of Young’s Pier, gave the Beach Pirates a permanent headquarters in Young’s Hotel (the old Mayflower Hotel). They were in existence there until 1904, when they were replaced by the paid Fire Department.
John Philip Sousa met, fell in love with, and married Jane Bellis, sister of Beach Pirate Harry Bellis, bringing her back to Atlantic City when he appeared here. One of the founding members of The Beach Pirates was Henry W. Leeds, the co-owner of the Chalfont-Haddon Hall (now Resorts Hotel/Casino). He was also a member of the Atlantic City Council.
POPULATION OF ATLANTIC CITY
1900 Census 27,838
1910 Census 46,150
1920 Census 50,682
1930 Census 66,198
1940 Census 64,094
1950 Census 61,642
1960 Census 59,854
1970 Census 47,859
1980 Census 40,199
1990 Census 37,986
2000 Census 40,517
POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS
2000 Census
Black 17,892
White 10,809
Asian 4,213
Other 7,603
Hispanic or Latino 10,107
Female 20,665
Male 19,852
Under 5 years of age 3,041
5 to 19 years of age 8,338
20 to 64 years of age 23,404
65 years and over 5,734
PHYSICAL DATA
Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island in Atlantic County, New Jersey. It is approximately 60 miles southeast of Philadelphia and about 100 miles south-southwest of New York.
Length of Absecon Island 10 miles
Length of Atlantic City 3.9 miles
Square miles of Atlantic City 11.94
Acres 7,640
Developable Land 2,500 acres
Altitude 6 to 8 feet above sea level
