Consilio et Prudentia(Latin) "By Counsel and Wisdom"[4]
Location of Atlantic City inAtlantic County highlighted in red (left). Inset map: Location of Atlantic County inNew Jersey highlighted in orange (right).
Located inSouth Jersey onAbsecon Island and known for itscasinos,nightlife,boardwalk, andAtlantic Ocean beaches andcoastline, the city is prominently known as the "Las Vegas of the East Coast" and inspired the U.S. version of the board gameMonopoly, which uses various Atlantic City street names and destinations in the game.[28] New Jersey voters legalized casino gambling in Atlantic City in 1976, and the first casino opened two years later. From 1921 to 2004, Atlantic City hosted theMiss America pageant, which later returned to the city from 2013 to 2018.
As of the2020 census, the city had a population of 38,497,[17][18] a decline of 1,061 (−2.7%) from the2010 census count of 39,558,[29][18] which in turn reflected a decrease of 959 (−2.4%) from the 40,517 counted in the2000 census.[30]
Prior to Atlantic City's founding, the region served as a summer home for theLenape, aNative 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 aresort town. Three years later, in early 1853, it was named Atlantic City.[32]
Because of its location inSouth Jersey, which hugs theAtlantic Ocean betweenmarshlands and islands, Atlantic City was then viewed by developers as prime real estate and a potential resort town. In 1853, the city's first commercial hotel, the Belloe House, was built at the intersection of Massachusetts and Atlantic Avenues.[33]
The following year, in 1854, the city was incorporated. The same year, train service began on theCamden and Atlantic Railroad.[34] Built on the edge of the bay, this served as the direct link of this remote parcel of land withPhiladelphia, the second-most populous city in the United States at the time and the largest city inPennsylvania. The same year, construction of theAbsecon Lighthouse, designed byGeorge Meade of theCorps of Topographical Engineers, was approved, with work initiated the next year.[35]
By 1874, almost 500,000 passengers a year were coming to Atlantic City by rail. InBoardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City, "Atlantic City's Godfather"[36]Jonathan Pitney, known as the "Father of Atlantic City",[37] initially sought to develop Atlantic City as a health resort. Pitney persuaded municipal authorities that a railroad to the beach in Atlantic City would be beneficial. His successful business relationship with Samuel Richards, an entrepreneur and member of what was then the most influential family inSouth Jersey, was designed to construct the railroad with the first 600 riders, who "were chosen carefully by Samuel Richards and Jonathan Pitney":[38]
After arriving in Atlantic City, a second train brought the visitors to the door of the resort's first public lodging, the United States Hotel. The hotel was owned by the railroad. It was a sprawling, four-story structure built to house 2,000 guests. It opened while it was still under construction, with only one wing standing, and even that wasn't completed. By year's end, when it was fully constructed, the United States Hotel was not only the first hotel in Atlantic City but also the largest in the nation. Its rooms totaled more than 600, and its grounds covered some 14 acres.
The firstboardwalk was built in 1870 along a portion of the beach in an effort to help hotel owners keep sand out of their lobbies. Businesses were restricted and the boardwalk was removed each year at the end of the peak season.[39] Because of its effectiveness and popularity, the boardwalk was expanded in length and width, and modified several times in subsequent years.
The first road connecting the city to the mainland atPleasantville was completed in 1870 and charged a 30-cent toll. Albany Avenue was the first road to the mainland available without a toll.[41]
By 1878, because of the growing popularity of the city, one railroad line could no longer keep up with demand. Soon, thePhiladelphia and Atlantic City Railway was also constructed to transport tourists to Atlantic City. At this point massive hotels like the United States Hotel and Surf House, as well as smaller rooming houses, had sprung up all over town. The United States Hotel took up a full city block between Atlantic, Pacific, Delaware, and Maryland Avenues. These hotels were not only impressive in size, but featured the most up-to-date amenities, and were considered quite luxurious for their time.
In 1883,salt water taffy was conceived in Atlantic City by David Bradley. The traditional story is that Bradley's shop close to the beach was flooded with ocean water after a storm, soaking his taffy. He sold the "salt water taffy" to a girl, who walked down to the beach to show her friends. Bradley's mother was in the back of the store when the sale was made, and loved the name, giving the candy its name.[42][43]
Atlantic City Boardwalk crowd in front ofMarlborough-Blenheim Hotel in 1911Consilio et prudentia, Atlantic City's motto, along with its coat of arms on historicBoardwalk Hall, built duringprohibition, which lasted from 1919 to 1933Haddon Hall Hotel depicted on a mid-1930s postcard
In the early 20th century, Atlantic City experienced a radical building boom. Many of the modest boarding houses that dotted the boardwalk were replaced with large hotels. Two of the city's most distinctive hotels were theMarlborough-Blenheim Hotel and theTraymore Hotel.
In 1902, Josiah White III bought a parcel of land near Ohio Avenue and the boardwalk, where he started construction and built theQueen Anne style Marlborough House. The hotel was a success. In 1905, he chose to expand the hotel and bought another parcel of land adjacent to his Marlborough House. In an effort to make his new hotel a source of conversation, White hired the architectural firm of Price and McLanahan. The firm made use ofreinforced concrete, a new building material invented by Jean-Louis Lambot in 1848, and Joseph Monier received the patent in 1867. The hotel's Spanish and Moorish themes, capped off with its signature dome and chimneys, represented a step forward from other hotels that had a classically designed influence. White named the new hotel the Blenheim and merged the two hotels into the Marlborough-Blenheim.Bally's Atlantic City was later constructed at this location.
The Traymore Hotel was located at the corner of Illinois Avenue and the boardwalk. Constructed in 1879 as a small boarding house, the hotel grew through a series of uncoordinated expansions. By 1914, the hotel's owner, Daniel White, Josiah White's half-brother,[44][circular reference] taking a hint from the Marlborough-Blenheim, commissioned the firm of Price and McLanahan to build an even bigger hotel. Rising 16 stories, the tan brick and gold-capped hotel would become one of the city's best-known landmarks. The hotel made use of ocean-facing hotel rooms by jutting its wings farther from the main portion of the hotel along Pacific Avenue.
One by one, additional large hotels were constructed along the boardwalk, including the Brighton, Chelsea, Shelburne, Ambassador, Ritz Carlton, Mayflower, Madison House, and the Breakers. TheQuaker-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 theChalfonte-Haddon Hall Hotel, becoming the city's largest hotel with nearly 1,000 rooms. By 1930, the Claridge, the city's last large hotel before the casinos, opened its doors.
The 400-room Claridge was built by a partnership that included renowned Philadelphia contractorJohn McShain. At 24 stories, it would become known as the "Skyscraper by the Sea".
With tourism peaking in the 1920s, the period is often considered by historians to be Atlantic City's golden age. DuringProhibition, which was enacted nationally in 1919 and lasted until 1933, much liquor was consumed and gambling regularly took place in the back rooms of nightclubs and restaurants. During Prohibition,racketeer and political bossEnoch L. "Nucky" Johnson rose to power. Prohibition was largely unenforced in Atlantic City. Because alcohol that had been smuggled into the city with the implicit approval of local officials, it was easily obtained at restaurants and other establishments, and the resort's popularity grew further.[45] The city then dubbed itself as "The World's Playground".[46][47] Nucky Johnson's income, which reached as much as $500,000 annually, came from thekickbacks he took on illegal liquor, gambling and prostitution operating in the city, as well as from kickbacks on construction projects.[48]
During this time, Atlantic City was led by mayorEdward L. Bader, known for his contributions to the construction, athletics and aviation of Atlantic City.[49] Despite opposition, he had Atlantic City purchase the land that became the city's municipal airport and high school football stadium, both of which were later namedBader Field in his honor.[50] He led the initiative, in 1923, to construct theAtlantic City High School at Albany and Atlantic Avenues.[49] Bader, in November 1923, initiated a public referendum, during the general election, at which time residents approved the construction of a Convention Center. The city passed an ordinance approving a bond issue for $1.5 million to be used for the purchase of land for Convention Hall, now known as theBoardwalk Hall, finalized on September 30, 1924.[51] Bader was also a driving force behind the creation of theMiss America competition.[52]
Gangster and businessmanAl Capone attended the conference and was photographed walking along the Atlantic City boardwalk with Johnson.[54]
The 1930s through the 1960s were a heyday for nightclub entertainment. Popular venues on the white-populated south side included the500 Club, theClicquot Club, and theJockey Club. In theNorthside neighborhood, home to African Americans in the racially segregated city, a black entertainment district reigned on Kentucky Avenue.
Marker to the Civil Air Patrol, Bader Field, Atlantic CityPlaque in Atlantic City for World War II Service
Like many olderEast Coast cities afterWorld War II, Atlantic City became plagued with poverty, crime, corruption, and general economic decline in the mid-to-late 20th century. The neighborhood known as the "Inlet" became particularly impoverished. The reasons for the resort's decline were multi-layered. First, the automobile became more readily available to many Americans after the war. Atlantic City had initially relied upon visitors coming by train and staying for a couple of weeks. The car allowed them to come and go as they pleased, and many people would spend only a few days, rather than weeks. Theadvent of suburbia also played a significant role. With many families moving to their own private houses, luxuries such as home air conditioning and swimming pools diminished their interest in flocking to the luxury beach resorts during the hot summer. Finally, the rise of relatively cheap jet airline service allowed visitors to travel to year-round resort places such asMiami Beach and theBahamas.[57]
The city hosted the1964 Democratic National Convention which nominatedLyndon Johnson for president andHubert Humphrey as vice president. The convention and the press coverage it generated, however, cast a harsh light on Atlantic City, which by then was in the midst of a long period of economic decline. Many felt that the friendship between Johnson andGovernor of New JerseyRichard J. Hughes led Atlantic City to host the Democratic Convention.[58]
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, theTraymore and theMarlborough-Blenheim were demolished in the 1970s and 1980s. Of the many pre-casino resorts that bordered the boardwalk, only the Claridge, the Dennis, theRitz-Carlton, and the Haddon Hall survive to this day as parts ofBally's Atlantic City, a condo complex, andResorts Atlantic City. The old Ambassador Hotel was purchased by Ramada in 1978 and was gutted to become theTropicana Casino and Resort Atlantic City, only reusing the steelwork of the original building.[59] Smaller hotels off the boardwalk, such as theMadison also survived.
In an effort at revitalizing the city, New Jersey voters in 1976 passed a referendum, approvingcasino gambling for Atlantic City; this came after a 1974 referendum on legalized gambling failed to pass. Immediately after the legislation passed, the owners of theChalfonte-Haddon Hall Hotel began converting it into the Resorts International. It was the first legal casino in the eastern United States when it opened on May 26, 1978.[60]
Other casinos were soon constructed along the Boardwalk and, later, in the marina district for a total of nine today.[when?] The introduction of gambling did not, however, quickly eliminate many of the urban problems that plagued Atlantic City. Many people have suggested that it only served to exacerbate those problems, as attested to by the stark contrast between tourism intensive areas and the adjacent impoverished working-class neighborhoods.[61]
While Atlantic City has been less popular thanLas Vegas as a gambling city in the United States,[62] other events such as live music, boxing matches, and performances likeCirque du Soleil became popular at hotel casinos.Mike Tyson fought most of his fights in Atlantic City in the 1980s, which helped Atlantic City achieve national attention as a gambling resort and vacation destination.[63]
Severalhighrise condominiums were built for use as permanent residences or second homes.[64] By end of the decade, it was one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States.[65]
Despite being the state to initiate the landmark ruling, New Jersey was actually the third state to legalize sports betting afterNevada andDelaware. In June 2018,New Jersey governorPhil Murphy signed the legislation into law, and several New Jersey–based casino brands subsequently openedsportsbooks, especially in Atlantic City.
With the redevelopment of theLas Vegas Strip and the opening ofFoxwoods Resort Casino andMohegan Sun inConnecticut in the early 1990s, along with newly built casinos in the nearbyPhiladelphia metro area in the 2000s, Atlantic City's tourism began to decline due to its failure to diversify away from gambling. In 1999 the Atlantic City Redevelopment Authority partnered with Las Vegas casino mogulSteve Wynn to develop a new roadway to a barren section of the city near the Marina. Nicknamed "The Tunnel Project", Steve Wynn planned the proposed 'Mirage Atlantic City' around the idea that he would connect the $330 million tunnel stretching 2.5 mi (4.0 km) from theAtlantic City Expressway to his new resort. The roadway was later officially named theAtlantic City-Brigantine Connector, and funnels incoming traffic off of the expressway into the city's marina district and the city ofBrigantine.[66]
Although Wynn's plans for development in the city were scrapped in 2002, the tunnel opened in 2001. The new roadway prompted Boyd Gaming in partnership with MGM/Mirage to build Atlantic City's newest casino.Borgata opened in July 2003, and its success brought an influx of developers to Atlantic City with plans for building grand, Las Vegas-style mega casinos to revitalize the aging city.[67]
Owing to economic conditions and thelate 2000s recession, many of the proposed mega casinos never advanced further than the initial planning stage. One of these developers wasPinnacle Entertainment, which purchased theSands Atlantic City for $250–$270 million and closed it on November 11, 2006 with plans to replace it with a larger casino.[68][69] The following year, the resort was demolished in an implosion, the first of its kind in Atlantic City. While Pinnacle Entertainment intended to replace it with a $1.5-$2-billion casino resort, the company canceled its construction plans and sold the land for $29.5 million.[69]MGM Resorts International announced in October 2007 that it would pull out of all development for Atlantic City, effectively ending its plans for the MGM Grand Atlantic City.[70][71]
In 2006,Morgan Stanley purchased 20 acres (8.1 ha) directly north of theShowboat Atlantic City for a new $2-billion-plus casino resort.[72]Revel Entertainment Group was named as the project's developer for theRevel Casino. Revel was hindered with many problems, the biggest setback occurring in April 2010 when Morgan Stanley, the owner of 90% of Revel Entertainment Group, decided to discontinue funding for continued construction and put its stake in Revel up for sale. Early in 2010, the New Jersey state legislature passed a bill offering tax incentives to attract new investors and complete the job, but a poll byFairleigh Dickinson University'sPublicMind released in March 2010 showed that 60% of voters opposed the legislation, and two of three of those who opposed it "strongly" opposed it.[73][74] Ultimately, GovernorChris Christie offered Revel $261 million in state tax credits to assist the casino once it opened.[75]
Revel completed all of the exterior work and had continued work on the interior after finally receiving the funding necessary to complete construction, and had a soft opening in April 2012 before being fully open the next month. Ten months later, in February 2013, after serious losses and a write-down in the value of the resort from $2.4 billion to $450 million, Revel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It was restructured but still could not carry on and re-entered bankruptcy on June 19, 2014. It was put up for sale, however as no suitable bids were received the resort closed its doors in September 2014. The property was bought by AC Ocean Walk, LLC for $200 million in 2017, and reopened in 2018 as Ocean Casino Resort.[76][77]
In the wake of the closures and declining revenue from casinos, Governor Christie said in September 2014 that the state would consider a 2015 referendum to end the 40-year-old monopoly that Atlantic City holds on casino gambling and allowing gambling in other municipalities. With casino revenue declining from $5.2 billion in 2006 to $2.9 billion in 2013, the state saw a drop in money from its 8% tax on those earnings, which is used to fund programs for senior citizens and the disabled.[78]
On October 29, 2012, "Superstorm Sandy" struck Atlantic City and caused flooding and power-outages but left minimal damage to any of the tourist areas.[79] The storm produced an all-time record low barometric pressure reading of 943 mb (27.85") for not only Atlantic City, but the state of New Jersey.[80]
In 2019, the Atlantic City area had the highest rates of foreclosures in the nation.[81] This has disproportionately affected Black residents in neighborhoods segregated byredlining, a legacy that is mirrored by the values of properties on the Monopoly game board.[82][83]
After several casino closures and theCOVID-19 pandemic, strikes and pickets were being threatened in June 2022 by casino employees which were short-staffed and wanted pay raises.[84]
Atlantic City is widely known as afood desert, with the nearest fully-functioning supermarket being located in neighboringVentnor City, which is 3 miles (4.8 km) away from the majority of Atlantic City's population. As a result, proposals for a supermarket were floated beginning in May 2021, and Atlantic City's City Council gave permission to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to look for a contender to build a supermarket.
As of December 2023, there was only one functioning supermarket in Atlantic City, theSave-A-Lot food store located in Renaissance Plaza, an area of the city known for its significant homeless population and drug use. The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority has proposed a new supermarket that would be located on an empty parking lot behind the Tanger Outlets and near theAtlantic City Expressway.
Groundbreaking for aShopRite supermarket had taken place in October 2021, after Village Super Market received $18.7 million from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to construct the store. The supermarket was expected to be completed by December 2022, although no construction or building had happened on the site, which drew attention from residents. After the time for the contract expired, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) announced that the deal with Village Super Market (VSM) was dead and that they were looking for new contenders.[85] VSM created a new plan for CRDA and the city's Council to review and by July 2023, it and a Chinese conglomerate headquartered in Hong Kong emerged as the two candidates to build the supermarket. However, as of November 2023, no further progress had been made on the construction plans and the two proposals were still "being reviewed."[86]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, Atlantic City had a total area of 17.21 square miles (44.59 km2), including 10.76 square miles (27.87 km2) of land and 6.45 square miles (16.72 km2) of water (37.50%).[5][6]
The city is located 60 mi (97 km) southeast ofPhiladelphia and 125 mi (201 km) south of New York City.
Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the city include Chelsea, City Island, Great Island and Venice Park.[91]
According to theKöppen climate classification system, Atlantic City has ahumid subtropical climate (Cfa) with warm, moderately humid summers, cool winters and year-around precipitation. Cfa climates are characterized by all months having an average mean temperature above 32.0 °F (0.0 °C), at least four months with an average mean temperature at or above 50.0 °F (10.0 °C), at least one month with an average mean temperature at or above 72.0 °F (22.2 °C) and no significant precipitation difference between seasons. During the summer months in Atlantic City, a cooling afternoonsea breeze is present on most days, but episodes of extreme heat and humidity can occur withheat index values at or above 95.0 °F (35.0 °C). During the winter months, episodes of extreme cold and wind can occur withwind chill values below 0.0 °F (−17.8 °C). Theplant hardiness zone at Atlantic City Beach is 7b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 11.0 °F (−11.7 °C).[92] The average seasonal (November–April) snowfall total is 12 to 18 in (300 to 460 mm), and the average snowiest month is February which corresponds with the annual peak innor'easter activity.
The2010 United States census counted 39,558 people, 15,504 households, and 8,558 families in the city. Thepopulation density was 3,680.8 per square mile (1,421.2/km2). There were 20,013 housing units at an average density of 1,862.2 per square mile (719.0/km2). The racial makeup was 26.65% (10,543)White, 38.29% (15,148)Black or African American, 0.61% (242)Native American, 15.55% (6,153)Asian, 0.05% (18)Pacific Islander, 14.03% (5,549) fromother races, and 4.82% (1,905) from two or more races.Hispanic or Latino of any race were 30.45% (12,044) of the population.[29]
Of the 15,504 households, 27.3% had children under the age of 18; 25.9% were married couples living together; 22.2% had a female householder with no husband present and 44.8% were non-families. Of all households, 37.5% were made up of individuals and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.34.[29]
People under the age of 18 account for 24.6%, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.3 years. For every 100 females, the population had 96.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 94.4 males.[29]
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010American Community Survey showed that (in 2010inflation-adjusted dollars)median household income was $30,237 (with a margin of error of +/− $2,354) and the median family income was $35,488 (+/− $2,607). Males had a median income of $32,207 (+/− $1,641) versus $29,298 (+/− $1,380) for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,069 (+/− $2,532). About 23.1% of families and 25.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.6% of those under age 18 and 16.8% of those age 65 or over.[113]
As of the2000 United States census,[24] there were 40,517 people, 15,848 households, and 8,700 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,569.8 inhabitants per square mile (1,378.3/km2). There were 20,219 housing units at an average density of 1,781.4 per square mile (687.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 44.16% black or African American, 26.68% White, 0.48% Native American, 10.40% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 13.76% other races, and 4.47% from two or more races. 24.95% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 19.44% of the population was non-Hispanic whites.[110][111]
There were 15,848 households, out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 24.8% were married couples living together, 23.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.1% were non-families. 37.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.26.[110][111]
In the city the age distribution of the population shows 25.7% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.2 males.[110][111]
The median income for a household in the city was $26,969, and the median income for a family was $31,997. Males had a median income of $25,471 versus $23,863 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,402. About 19.1% of families and 23.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.1% of those under age 18 and 18.9% of those age 65 or over.[110][111]
In September 2014, the greater Atlantic City area had one of the highest unemployment rates in the country at 13.8%, out of a labor force of around 141,000.[114]
In July 2010, GovernorChris Christie announced that a state takeover of the city and local government "was imminent". Comparing regulations in Atlantic City to an "antique car", Atlantic City regulatory reform was a key piece of Governor Chris Christie's plan to reinvigorate an industry mired in a four-year slump in revenue and hammered by fresh competition from casinos in the surrounding states ofDelaware,Pennsylvania,Connecticut, and more recently,Maryland. In January 2011, Chris Christie announced the creation of the Atlantic City Tourism District, a state-run district encompassing the boardwalk casinos, the marina casinos, theAtlantic City Outlets, andBader Field.[115][116]Fairleigh Dickinson University'sPublicMind poll surveyed New Jersey voters' attitudes on the takeover. A February 2011 survey showed that 43% opposed the measure while 29% favored direct state oversight.[117] The poll also found that even South Jersey voters expressed opposition to the plan; 40% reported they opposed the measure and 37% reported they were in favor of it.[117]
On April 29, 2011, the boundaries for the state-run tourism district were set. The district would include heavier police presence, as well as beautification projects and infrastructure improvements. The CRDA would oversee all functions of the district and make changes to attract new businesses and attractions. New construction has already resulted in cases ofeminent domain being used to seize properties for development.[118][119]
The tourism district would comprise several key areas in the city: the Marina District,Ducktown, Chelsea, South Inlet,Bader Field, and Gardner's Basin. Also included are 10 roadways that lead into the district, including several in the city's northern end, or North Beach. Gardner's Basin, which is home to the Atlantic City Aquarium, was initially left out of the tourism district, while a residential neighborhood in the Chelsea section was removed from the final boundaries, owing to complaints from the city. Also, the inclusion of Bader Field in the district was controversial and received much scrutiny from mayor Lorenzo Langford, who cast the lone "no" vote on the creation of the district citing its inclusion.[120]
The history of gambling in Atlantic City traces back toProhibition and the 1920s, with racketeerLouis Kuehnle running an underground hotel and casino.Enoch "Nucky" Johnson followed and furthered Atlantic City's rise through theRoaring Twenties as a destination for drinking, gambling, and nightlife.[121] In 1974, New Jersey voters voted 60%–40% against legalizing casino gambling at four sites statewide, but two years later approved by 56%–44% a new referendum which legalized casinos, but restricted them to Atlantic City.[122][123][124]Resorts Atlantic City was the first casino to open, in May 1978, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuringGovernor of New JerseyBrendan Byrne.[125] Atlantic City is considered the "Gambling Capital of the East Coast", and currently has nine large casinos. In 2011, New Jersey's then 12 casinos employed approximately 33,000 employees, had 28.5 million visitors, made $3.3 billion in gaming revenue, and paid $278 million in taxes.[126] They are regulated by theNew Jersey Casino Control Commission[127] and theNew Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.[128]
In the wake of the economic downturn following theGreat Recession and the legalization of gambling in adjacent and nearby states (includingDelaware,Maryland,New York, andPennsylvania), four casino closures took place in 2014: the Atlantic Club on January 13; theShowboat on August 31;[129] theRevel, which was Atlantic City's second-newest casino, on September 2;[130] and Trump Plaza, which originally opened in 1984, and was the poorest performing casino in the city, on September 16.[131]
Executives at Trump Entertainment Resorts, whose sole remaining property at the time was the Trump Taj Mahal, said in 2013 that they were considering the option of selling the Taj and winding down and exiting the gaming and hotel business.[132] Trump Taj Mahal closed October 10, 2016, after failing to come to terms with union workers.[133]
Caesars Entertainment executives have been reconsidering the future of their three remaining Atlantic City properties (Bally's, Caesars and Harrah's), in the wake of aChapter 11 bankruptcy filing by the company's casino operating unit in January 2015.[134] In 2020, Bally's Atlantic City was acquired byBally's Corporation.[135] Gross gaming revenue of the city's nine operating casinos in 2022 totaled $2.79 billion, a 9% increase from the $2.55 billion earned the previous year.[136]
a The Wild Wild West Casino, which opened on July 2, 1997, and has anAmerican Old West theme, was part of Bally's Atlantic City until 2020, when it became part of Caesars.[135]
The casino shut down having failed to reach a deal with its union workers to restore health care and pension benefits that were taken away from them in bankruptcy court. Nearly 3,000 workers lost their jobs. Reopened in 2018 as theHard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City.
On February 15, 2013, Trump Entertainment Resorts announced that it intended to sell Trump Plaza to the Meruelo Group for $20 million, the lowest price ever paid for an Atlantic City casino.[138]Carl Icahn, senior lender for Trump Plaza's mortgage, declined to approve the sale for the proposed price.[139] The casino was later demolished on February 17, 2021.[140]
Brookfield Asset Management's winning bid of $110 million on September 30, 2014, for Atlantic City's Revel Casino Hotel, and the company's intention to operate it as a casino, generated some excitement, but the company backed out of this deal on November 19, 2014.[141] In January 2018, it was announced that the property had been sold for $200 million.[142] It reopened as theOcean Resort Casino in June 2018.
On December 13, 2014, Stockton University purchased the property for $18 million with the intent of turning it into an Atlantic City campus. However, a preexistingcovenant required the property to operate as a casino. Stockton entered an agreement providing Glenn Straub with an option to purchase the property, which was not exercised.[143] Stockton subsequently sold the property to developer Bart Blatstein in January 2016 for $23 million.[144] The building was reopened in July 2016 as a non-casino hotel.
Building sold toLandry's, Inc. in February 2011, sale approved in May and Landry's took control on May 23 of that year and renamed it the Golden Nugget Atlantic City.
Building demolished in 2007. The site is now an empty lot after a proposal estimated at up to $2 billion by Pinnacle Entertainment for a casino on the site did not move forward.[145]
Originally opened by Playboy Enterprises, which was found unsuitable for licensure, Playboy casino closed and then reopened by Elsinor Corporation as the Atlantis. In 1989 the Casino Control Commission revoked Atlantis' license and property sold to becomeTrump World's Fair an extension of the Trump Plaza.
The Atlantic City Boardwalk opened on June 26, 1870,[147] a temporary structure erected for the summer season that was the firstboardwalk in the world.[148][149][150] At5+1⁄2 miles (8.9 km) long, the Atlantic City Boardwalk is also the world's longest and busiest boardwalk.[151]
The Boardwalk starts at Absecon Inlet in the north and runs along the beach south-west to the city limit 4 mi (6.4 km) away then continues1+1⁄2 mi (2.4 km) intoVentnor City. Casino/hotels front the boardwalk, as well as retail stores, restaurants, and amusements. Notable attractions include theBoardwalk Hall,House of Blues, and theRipley's Believe It or Not! museum.
In October 2012,Hurricane Sandy destroyed the northern part of the boardwalk fronting Absecon Inlet, in the residential section called South Inlet. The oceanfront boardwalk in front of the Atlantic City casinos survived the storm with minimal damage.[152][153]
The first pier along the boardwalk, Applegate's Pier, opened in 1884.[154] It was acquired by John L. Young 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.[155]
The most famous Atlantic City pier wasSteel 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 theHard Rock.
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 its honor.[157]
Captain John L. Young opened "Young'sMillion 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 friendThomas Alva Edison. Million Dollar Pier once rivaled Steel Pier as Atlantic City's leading pier,[38] 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, with a planned grand reopening containing a mixture of retail, restaurants, creative space, and production studios in summer of 2024.
Atlantic City has many different shopping districts and malls, many of which are located inside or adjacent to the casino resorts. Several smaller themed retail and dining areas in casino hotels include the Borgata Shops and The Shoppes at Water Club inside Borgata, the Waterfront Shops inside of Harrah's, Spice Road inside the Trump Taj Mahal, while Resorts Casino Hotel has a small collection of stores and restaurants. Major shopping malls are also located in and around Atlantic City.
Atlantic City shops include:
Playground Pier, an underwater-themed indoor high end shopping center located on the Million Dollar Pier formerly known as "Shops on Ocean One". The four-story shopping mall contains themed floors.
Tanger Outlets The Walk, an outdoor outlet shopping center spanning several blocks. The only outlet mall in Atlantic County, The Walk opened in 2003 and is undergoing an expansion.
The Quarter at Tropicana, an oldHavana-themed indoor shopping center at the Tropicana, which contains over 40 stores, restaurants, and nightclubs.
Boardwalk Hall, formally known as the "Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall", is anarena in Atlantic City along the boardwalk. Boardwalk Hall was Atlantic City's primaryconvention center until the opening of theAtlantic City Convention Center in 1997. The Atlantic City Convention Center includes 500,000 sq ft (46,000 m2) of showroom space, 5 exhibit halls, 45 meeting rooms with 109,000 sq ft (10,100 m2) of space, a garage with 1,400 parking spaces, and an adjacentSheraton hotel. Both the Boardwalk Hall and Convention Center are operated by the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority.
Atlantic City (sometimes referred to as "Monopoly City"[1]) has become well-known over the years for its portrayal in the U.S. version of the popular board gameMonopoly, in which properties on the board are named after locations in and near Atlantic City. While the original incarnation of the game did not feature Atlantic City, it was in Indianapolis that Ruth Hoskins learned the game, and took it back to Atlantic City.[160] After she arrived, Hoskins made a new board with Atlantic City street names, and taught it to a group of friends, who ultimately passed in on toCharles Darrow, who made some modifications to the game and claimed it as his own invention.[161] The relative prices of the places on the board reflect to some extent the social status of neighborhoods at the time, with wealthy white streets being worth more, and streets where Black and Asian residents lived being cheaper.[162]
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, "Marven Gardens". The misspelling was said to have been introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-madeMonopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence Parker Brothers. It was not until 1995 that Parker Brothers acknowledged this mistake and formally apologized to the residents of Marven Gardens for the misspelling, although the spelling error was not corrected.[163]
Some of the actual locations that correspond to board elements have changed since the game's release. Illinois Avenue was renamedMartin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in the 1980s. St. Charles Place no longer exists, as theShowboat Casino Hotel was developed where it once ran.[164]
The actual "Electric Company" and "Water Works" serving the city are theAtlantic City Electric Company and the Atlantic City Municipal Utilities Authority, respectively.[166]
Ever since Atlantic City's growth as a resort town, numerous attractions andtourist traps have originated in the city. A popular fixture in the early 20th century at the Steel Pier washorse diving, which was introduced byWilliam "Doc" Carver.[167] The Steel Pier featured several other novelty attractions, including the Diving Bell, human high-divers and a water circus.[168][169] Advertisements for the Steel Pier in its heyday featured plaster sculptures set upon wooden bases along roads leading up to Atlantic City.[170] By the end of World War II, many animal demonstrations declined in popularity after criticisms of animal abuse and neglect.
Rolling chair on the boardwalk in winter 2012
Rolling chairs were introduced in 1876 for handicapped visitors and have been in continuous use since 1887 when they were made available to the general public, and have been a boardwalk fixture ever since.[171] While powered carts appeared in the 1960s, the original and most common were made of wicker. The wicker canopied chairs-on-wheels are manually pushed the length of the boardwalk by attendants, much like arickshaw.[172] Tramcars carrying 25 passengers each were introduced in June 1973, by which time the number of rolling carts had dropped from the thousands to as few as 10.[173] A tram service was introduced in 2015, initially using the warning announcements that had been used onWildwood's tramcars until it was changed after complaints fromWildwood.[174]
TheAbsecon Lighthouse is a coastallighthouse located in the South Inlet section of Atlantic City overlookingAbsecon Inlet.[175] 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.[35] The lighthouse was deactivated in 1933 and although the light still shines every night, it is no longer an active navigational aid.[176] 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.[177]
While located 2 mi (3.2 km) south of Atlantic City inMargate City,Lucy the Elephant has become almost an icon for the Atlantic City area. Lucy is a six-story elephant-shaped example ofnovelty architecture, constructed of wood and tin sheeting in 1882 byJames V. Lafferty in an effort to sell real estate and attract tourism. Over the years, Lucy had served as a restaurant, business office, cottage, and tavern (the last closed byProhibition). Lucy had fallen into disrepair by the 1960s and was scheduled for demolition. The structure was moved and refurbished as a result of a "Save Lucy" campaign in 1970 and received designation as aNational Historic Landmark in 1976, and is open as a museum.[178]
Atlantic City was the home of theMiss America competition, hosting the event from its inception until 2004, and again from 2013 to 2018. The Miss America competition originated on September 7, 1921, as a two-day beauty contest, and it included state contestants as well as women from various cities around the country. The event that year was called the "Atlantic City Pageant", and the winner of the grand prize, Margaret Gorman, took home the 3-foot Golden Mermaid trophy. Gorman was not called "Miss America" until 1922, when she re-entered the pageant and lost to Mary Campbell.[179] The pageant was initiated to extend the tourist season after theLabor Day weekend.[52] The pageant has been nationallytelevised since 1954. It peaked in the early 1960s, when it was repeatedly the highest-rated program on American television. It was seen as a symbol of the United States, with Miss America often being referred to as the female equivalent of the President. The pageant's longtimeemcee,Bert Parks, hosted the event from 1955 to 1979. At theAtlantic City Convention Center, there is a 400 lb (180 kg) interactive statue of Parks holding a crown. When a visitor puts their head inside the crown, sensors activate a recorded playback of his"There She Is..." line through speakers hidden behind nearby bushes.[180]
Plaque for the Site of Previous Miss American PageantsStatue for Miss America, Atlantic City (the Port-A-Potties were for a Triathlon)
TheNorth to Shore Festival debuts in June 2023, billed as New Jersey's answer toSXSW. It will feature music and other entertainment at events inAsbury Park, Atlantic City andNewark throughout the month of June.[189]
The Adjacent Music Festival will hold its inaugural event in May 2023, centered around emo, pop-punk, and hardcore music, withParamore andBlink-182 on the Atlantic City beach.[190]
AnLGBTQ event known as the "Miss'd America Pageant" is held annually. Originally started in 1994 as a fundraiser for local LGBT charities, the event featuresdrag queens on the runway in a similar manner to the Miss America pageant.[194][195]
ARatha Yatra is held by the ISKCON of Central Jersey in collaboration with the local Hindu community, with thousands of attendees every year.
Faith and Law Enforcement March, held by the Atlantic City Police Department with various churches, temples and other religious institutions in the area.
The Orange Loop is a neighborhood near the beach in Atlantic City with a focus on live music establishments likeAnchor Rock Club and Tennessee Beer Hall.[197]It runs perpendicular from the boardwalk inland roughly toSt. Nicholas of Tolentine Church.[198][199]It is bounded by Tennessee Avenue, St. James Place, Pacific Avenue and the boardwalk, and derives its name from the orange color of those streets on a traditionalMonopoly gameboard.[200][201][202] The Orange Loop Amphitheater hosted the Frantic Cityindie rock music festival on the loop in 2022.[203]
Atlantic City is governed within theFaulkner Act (formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law) under theMayor-Council system of municipal government (Plan D), implemented by direct petition effective as of July 1, 1982.[12][215][216] The city is one of 71 municipalities (of the 564) statewide governed under this form.[217] The governing body of Atlantic City comprises the Mayor and the City Council, all elected on a partisan basis to serve four-year terms of office as part of the November general election. The council includes nine members, who are elected on a staggered basis, with one member from each of sixwards and three servingat-large. The six ward seats are up for election together and the mayoral seat and the council at-large seats are up for vote together two years later. The City Council exercises the legislative power of the municipality for the purpose of holding Council meetings to introduce ordinances and resolutions to regulate City government. In addition, Council members review budgets submitted by the Mayor; provide for an annual audit of the city's accounts and financial transactions; organize standing committees and hold public hearings to address important issues which impact Atlantic City.[218] Former Mayor Bob Levy created the Atlantic City Ethics Board in 2007, but the Board was dissolved two years later by vote of the Atlantic City Council.
As of 2024[update], theMayor is DemocratMarty Small Sr., whose term of office ends December 31, 2025.[7] Small succeededFrank M. Gilliam Jr. following his resignation on October 3, 2019.[219] Small initially served as mayor on an interim basis for an unexpired term ending on December 31, 2021.[220] Members of the City Council are Council President Council President Aaron "Sporty" Randolph (D, 2027; 1st Ward), Council Vice President Kaleem Shabazz (D, 2027; 3rd Ward), George "Animal" Crouch (D, 2027; 4th Ward), LaToya Dunston (D, 2027; Second Ward – elected to serve an unexpired term), Jesse O. Kurtz (R, 2027; 6th Ward), Stephanie Marshall (D, 2025; At-Large), George Tibbitt (D, 2025; At-Large), Bruce Weekes (D, 2025; At-Large) and Maria Lacca (R, 2027; 5th Ward).[9][221][222][223][224]
In 2024, Democrat Muhammed "Anjum" Zia, who served as a councilman for the 5th ward, was removed from office after it was found the he did not reside in Atlantic City, but instead with his family in Egg Harbor Township. He was ousted from the city council, and in a court-ordered special election that November, Republican Maria Lacca, who brought about the investigation against Zia, flipped the seat, becoming the first Republican to win it since 1988. She became one out of two Republicans now currently on Atlantic City's council, with the other being councilman Jesse O. Kurtz of the 6th ward.[225][226]
In May 2020, voters rejected by a 3–1 margin a referendum that would have changed the city to acouncil-manager form of government which would have reduced the size of the city council and shifted responsibility for day-to-day operation from an elected mayor to an appointedcity manager.[227]
In December 2019, LaToya Dunston was selected from a list of three candidates nominated by the Democratic municipal committee to serve the remainder of the term of the Second Ward seat that had been held by Marty Small until he stepped down when he was appointed as mayor.[228] In January 2020, Dunston was appointed to fill the Second Ward seat expiring in December 2023 that Small had won in November 2019 but declined to fill; Dunston will serve on an interim basis until the November 2020 general election, when voters will select a candidate to serve the balance of the term of office.[229]
Following questions about false claims he had made about his military record, MayorBob Levy left City Hall in September 2007 in a city-owned vehicle for an unknown destination. After a 13-day absence, his lawyer revealed that Levy was inCarrier Clinic, a rehabilitation hospital.[230] Levy resigned in October 2007 and then-Council President William Marsh assumed the office of Mayor[231] and served six weeks until an interim mayor was named.
Atlantic County is governed by a directly electedcounty executive and a nine-memberBoard of County Commissioners, responsible for legislation. The executive serves a four-year term and the commissioners are elected to staggered three-year terms, of which four are elected from the county on anat-large basis and five of the commissioners represent equally populated districts.[239][240] As of 2025[update], Atlantic County's Executive is Dennis Levinson (R,Northfield), whose term of office ends December 31, 2027.[241] Members of the Board of County Commissioners are:
As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 20,001 registered voters in Atlantic City, of which 12,063 (60.3% vs. 30.5% countywide) were registered asDemocrats, 1,542 (7.7% vs. 25.2%) were registered asRepublicans and 6,392 (32.0% vs. 44.3%) were registered asUnaffiliated. There were 4 voters registered to other parties.[259] Among the city's 2010 Census population, 50.6% (vs. 58.8% in Atlantic County) were registered to vote, including 67.0% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 76.6% countywide).[259][260]
United States Gubernatorial election results for Atlantic City[261]
In the2012 presidential election, DemocratBarack Obama received 9,948 votes (86.6% vs. 57.9% countywide), ahead of RepublicanMitt Romney with 1,548 votes (13.5% vs. 41.1%) and other candidates with 49 votes (0.4% vs. 0.9%), among the 11,489 ballots cast by the city's 21,477 registered voters, for a turnout of 53.5% (vs. 65.8% in Atlantic County).[262][263] In the2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 10,975 votes (82.1% vs. 56.5% countywide), ahead of RepublicanJohn McCain with 2,175 votes (16.3% vs. 41.6%) and other candidates with 82 votes (0.6% vs. 1.1%), among the 13,370 ballots cast by the city's 26,030 registered voters, for a turnout of 51.4% (vs. 68.1% in Atlantic County).[264] In the2004 presidential election, DemocratJohn Kerry received 8,487 votes (74.5% vs. 52.0% countywide), ahead of RepublicanGeorge W. Bush with 2,687 votes (23.6% vs. 46.2%) and other candidates with 96 votes (0.8% vs. 0.8%), among the 11,389 ballots cast by the city's 23,310 registered voters, for a turnout of 48.9% (vs. 69.8% in the whole county).[265]
In the2013 gubernatorial election, DemocratBarbara Buono received 4,293 ballots cast (52.6% vs. 34.9% countywide), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 2,897 votes (35.5% vs. 60.0%) and other candidates with 63 votes (0.8% vs. 1.3%), among the 8,155 ballots cast by the city's 23,049 registered voters, yielding a 35.4% turnout (vs. 41.5% in the county).[272][273] In the2009 gubernatorial election, DemocratJon Corzine received 4,988 ballots cast (69.9% vs. 44.5% countywide), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 1,578 votes (22.1% vs. 47.7%), IndependentChris Daggett with 157 votes (2.2% vs. 4.8%) and other candidates with 99 votes (1.4% vs. 1.2%), among the 7,141 ballots cast by the city's 22,585 registered voters, yielding a 31.6% turnout (vs. 44.9% in the county).[274]
United States Senate election results for Atlantic City1[261]
The New Jersey Casino Control Commission is a New Jersey state governmental agency that was founded in 1977 as the state'sGaming Control Board, responsible for administering the Casino Control Act and its regulations to assure public trust and confidence in the credibility and integrity of the casino industry and casino operations in Atlantic City. Casinos operate under licenses granted by the commission. The commission is headquartered in the Arcade Building at Tennessee Avenue and Boardwalk in Atlantic City.[275]
The CRDA was founded in 1984 and is responsible for directing the spending of casino reinvestment funds in public and private projects to benefit Atlantic City and other areas of the state. From 1985 through April 2008, CRDA spent US$1.5 billion on projects in Atlantic City and US$300 million throughout New Jersey.[276]
The Convention & Visitors Authority (ACCVA) was in charge of advertising and marketing for the city as well as promoting economic growth through convention and leisure tourism development. The ACCVA managed theBoardwalk Hall andAtlantic City Convention Center, as well as the Boardwalk Welcome Center inside Boardwalk Hall and a welcome center on theAtlantic City Expressway. In 2011, the ACCVA was absorbed into the CRDA as part of the state takeover that created the tourism district.[277]
The Atlantic City Special Improvement District (SID) was a nonprofit organization created in 1992, funded by a special assessment tax on businesses within the improvement district. It carried out various activities to improve the city's business community, including street cleaning and promotional efforts. In 2011, the SID was absorbed by the CRDA; the former SID boundaries would be expanded to the include all areas in the newly formed tourism district. Under the new structure, established by state legislation, the CRDA assumed responsibility for the staff, equipment and programs of the SID. The new SID division includes a SID committee made up of CRDA board members and an advisory council consisting of the current trustees and others.[278]
TheAtlantic City Fire Department (ACFD) providesfire protection and first responderemergency medical services to the city. The ACFD operates out of six fire stations, located throughout the city in one battalion, under the command of abattalion chief, who in-turn reports to an on-duty Deputy Chief, or Tour Commander each shift.[279][281][282]
TheAtlantic City School District serves students inpre-kindergarten throughtwelfth grades.[284] As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, consisting of 11 schools, had an enrollment of 6,553 students and 617.3 classroom teachers (on anFTE basis), for astudent–teacher ratio of 10.6:1.[285] Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from theNational Center for Education Statistics[286]) are Venice Park School[287] (36 students in PreK), Brighton Avenue School[288] (315 students; in grades PreK-5), Chelsea Heights School[289] (332; PreK-8), Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School Complex[290] (543; PreK-8), New York Avenue School[291] (548; PreK-8), Pennsylvania Avenue School[292] (549; PreK-8), Richmond Avenue School[293] (615; PreK-8), Sovereign Avenue School[294] (696; PreK-8),Texas Avenue School[295] (499; K-8), Uptown School Complex[296] (536; PreK-8) andAtlantic City High School[297] (1,771; 9–12).[298][299][300] Pennsylvania Avenue School opened for the 2012–13 school year, with most students shifting from New Jersey Avenue School, which had been one of the district's oldest and most rundown schools.[301]
TheAtlantiCare Regional Medical Center is a health system based in Atlantic City. Founded in 1898, it includes two hospitals; the Atlantic City Campus and the Mainland Campus inPomona, New Jersey. It has Atlantic City's only cancer institute, heart institute, and neonatal intensive care unit.[324]
South Jersey Industries provides natural gas to the city under the South Jersey Gas division. Marina Energy and its subsidiary, Energenic, ajoint business venture with a long-timebusiness partner, operate twothermal power stations in the city. The Marina Thermal Plant serves the Borgata while a second plant serves the Resorts Hotel and Casino.[325] Another thermal plant is the Midtown Thermal Control Center on Atlantic and Ohio Avenues built by Conectiv, which opened in 1997 and provides chilled water for hotels and other facilities along the Boardwalk.[326]
TheJersey-Atlantic Wind Farm, opened in 2005, is the first onshore coastalwind farm in the United States.[328] In October 2010, North American Offshore Wind Conference was held in the city and included tours of the facility and potential sites for further development.[329] In February 2011, the state passed legislation permitting the construction ofwindmills for electricity along pre-existing piers, such as theSteel Pier.[330][331] The first phase of theAtlantic Wind Connection, a plannedelectrical transmission backbone along theJersey Shore was planned to be operational in 2013.
Jack Abramoff (born 1958), formerlobbyist who was embroiled in high-profile political scandals. Abramoff was born in Atlantic City and lived there until age 10[342]
Robert Ettinger (1918–2011), academic, known as "the father ofcryonics" based on the impact of his 1962 bookThe Prospect of Immortality[371]
Frank S. Farley (1901–1977), member ofNew Jersey Legislature for 34 years, boss of Republican political machine that controlled the Atlantic City and Atlantic County governments[372]
Celestine Tate Harrington (1956–1998), quadriplegic street musician known for playing keyboard with her lips, teeth and tongue on the Atlantic City boardwalk[386]
Pinky Kravitz (1927–2015), radio broadcaster and print journalist who hosted "Pinky's Corner" onWOND from an array of Atlantic City locations from 1958 until a few months before his death in 2015, hosted "WMGM presents Pinky!" for years onWMGM-TV and wrote columns for many periodicals includingThe Press of Atlantic City[395]
^Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the highest and lowest temperature readings during an entire month or year) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
^The official climatology station for Atlantic City was at the Weather Bureau Office downtown from January 1874 to 15 June 1958 and Atlantic City Int'l (ACY) inEgg Harbor Township since 16 June 1958.[93] ACY's location in thePine Barrens and distance away from the coast andurban heat island of downtown Atlantic City largely account for its markedly colder temperatures at night as compared to downtown; for example, from 1959 to 2013, there were 50 days with a low of 0 °F (−18 °C) or lower, while in the same period, the corresponding number of days at downtown was 2. TheNational Weather Service ceased regular snowfall observations at downtown after the winter of 1958–59.
^Kiviat, Barbara (July 2, 2006)."Vegas East".Time. RetrievedFebruary 26, 2025.
^Kuperinsky, Amy."'The Jewel of the Meadowlands'?: N.J.'s best, worst and weirdest town slogans", NJ Advance Media forNJ.com, January 22, 2015. Accessed July 12, 2016."'Do AC,' the tourism campaign adopted in 2012 by the resort town, is managed by the Atlantic City Alliance, a marketing group whose impending dissolution is included in state plans.... Earlier in 2012, the city embraced 'The World's Famous Playground' as an official motto, replacing 'Always Turned On' from 2003 and the previous 'America's Favorite Playground' slogan."
^About UsArchived March 29, 2019, at theWayback Machine, City of Atlantic City. Accessed June 24, 2019. "The first commercial hotel the Belloe House, located at Massachusetts and Atlantic Ave., was built in 1853, and operated till 1902."
^abHistoryArchived July 29, 2017, at theWayback Machine,Absecon Lighthouse. Accessed July 27, 2017. "1854 – After a decade of prompting from Jonathan Pitney, considered by most to be the 'father' of Atlantic City, the U.S. Lighthouse Service requested and received a $35,000 appropriation from Congress for a lighthouse on Absecon Island.... 1855 Construction began under the direction of Major Hartman Bache."
^abJohnson, Nelson (2010).Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City. Foreword by Terence Winter. Medford, New Jersey: Plexus Publishing, Inc. p. 30.
^"Taffy Madness", AtlanticCityNJ.com. Accessed December 21, 2016. "The year was 1880. Mr. Bradley, a young candy merchant, had a stand on the Boardwalk. One night the little stand, which was only a couple steps from the sand, was swamped by an evening storm."
^"Nucky's Empire: The Prohibition Years – Prohibition in a Wide Open Town", The Atlantic City Experience. Accessed December 19, 2011. "In Atlantic City, Prohibition was essentially unenforced by the local authorities. Atlantic City was a well-known haven for those seeking alcohol. The tourist-based economy of the resort encouraged business owners to provide whatever was needed to make the visitors happy."
^Harper, Derek."80 years ago, the Mob came to Atlantic City for a little strategic planning",The Press of Atlantic City, May 13, 2009. Accessed July 27, 2017. "Eighty years ago today, mobsters from around the United States descended on 'The World's Playground' for the start of a secret four-day convention. When the 'Atlantic City Conference' broke up May 16, the groundwork had been laid for the nation's first organized-crime syndicate, a network that crisscrossed the nation and took decades to disentangle."
^Ryan, Robert."Casinos mean facelift for Atlantic City",Boca Raton News, October 24, 1978. Accessed August 23, 2013. "Drawn by the year-round warmth of southern vacation spots, tourists have increasingly abandoned Atlantic City. Less expensive high-speed jet travel and rising middle-class affluence hastened the decline."
^Berger, Phil."Trump fights to make Atlantic City king"Archived March 15, 2013, at theWayback Machine,Tampa Bay Times, January 23, 1988. Accessed February 4, 2012. "But lately, Trump has begun to show that knack for the bottom line in another endeavor. In less than a year he has become a force in the world of boxing in Atlantic City, N.J., buying the live rights to prime-time bouts that once were almost exclusive to Las Vegas casinos."
^Janson, Donald."Atlantic Condominiums Bought for Fun and Profit",The New York Times, August 28, 1983. Accessed October 15, 2015. "Five years after the first casino opened in Atlantic City and began to transform the shabby Boardwalk into a boulevard of gambling and entertainment emporiums, major high-rise luxury condominium projects are beginning to pierce the city's skyline."
^Kraft, Randy."Atlantic City is gambling on a brighter future"Archived March 15, 2013, at theWayback Machine,The Morning Call, September 2, 2001. Accessed January 13, 2012. "Another major improvement is the $330 million Atlantic City- Brigantine connector project, locally known simply as the tunnel. The new 2.5-mile (4.2 km) long highway with a 2,200-foot (670-meter) tunnel opened on July 31. A toll free extension of the Atlantic City Expressway, which links Atlantic City and Philadelphia, it connects the south end of the expressway to casinos in Atlantic City's marina district as well as to neighboring Brigantine."
^"MGM Mirage Announces Plan for Multi-Billion Dollar Resort Complex on 72-Acre Site in Atlantic City", Investor Relations, October 10, 2007. Accessed October 15, 2015. "MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) announced today the company's Board of Directors has approved the development of a major resort casino project at Renaissance Pointe in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The new resort will have a budget in the $4.5–$5 billion range, not including value of the land and associated costs."
^viaAssociated Press."Revel Entertainment gets $1B financing to finish Atlantic City casino",The Star-Ledger, February 17, 2011. Accessed January 13, 2012. "Revel Entertainment said Thursday that it has secured the final $1 billion-plus it needs to finish its half-built casino on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, a project that is widely considered the best chance for the nation's second-largest gambling market to recover from four years of plunging revenue ... Gov. Chris Christie has committed $261 million in state tax credits to help Revel once it's open"
^Staff."Thousands out of work in Atlantic City as big casinos shut doors", Atlantic City News.Net, September 1, 2014. Accessed October 15, 2015. "Showboat, which has operated on the city's boardwalk for 27 years shut its doors on Sunday. On Tuesday the glittering new $2.4 billion Revel Casino will close. Later in September Trump Plaza will close its doors. On 13 January this year theAtlantic Club which was completed in 1980 as the Golden Nugget, which then became the Bally Grand, and a Hilton was the first of the four major casinos to close this year."
^Young, Elise; and Dopp, Terrence."N.J. Considers Ending Atlantic City's Gambling Monopoly",Bloomberg Business, September 8, 2014. Accessed October 15, 2015. "Voters may be asked as soon as November 2015 to overturn an almost 40-year-old law that gave Atlantic City a monopoly on gambling in New Jersey.... With as many as five of Atlantic City's 12 casinos closing this year, some lawmakers say allowing gambling in other towns is crucial to reclaim revenue that has gone to New York and Philadelphia."
^"U.S. Foreclosure Activity Drops to 15-Year Low In 2019", ATTOM, January 14, 2020. Accessed March 14, 2023. "Among 220 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in 2019 were Atlantic City, New Jersey (1.33 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing); Trenton, New Jersey (0.91 percent); Jacksonville, Florida (0.85 percent); Rockford, Illinois (0.82 percent); and Lakeland, Florida (0.81 percent)."
^Pilon, Mary."The Prices on Your Monopoly Board Hold a Dark Secret; The property values of the popular game reflect a legacy of racism and inequality.",The Atlantic, February 21, 2021. Accessed March 14, 2023. "Take a good look at a Monopoly board. The most expensive properties, Park Place and Boardwalk, are marked in dark blue. Maybe you've drawn a card inviting you to “take a walk on the Boardwalk.” But that invitation wasn't open to everyone when the game first took on its current form. Even though Black citizens comprised roughly a quarter of Atlantic City's overall population at the time, the famed Boardwalk and its adjacent beaches were segregated.... The impact of the decisions made during Monopoly's heyday is still felt today. Atlantic City is a 'redlined epicenter' of the state, according to the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, and it leads the state in foreclosures."
^"Station: ATLANTIC CITY INTL AP, NJ".U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived fromthe original on June 8, 2024. RetrievedAugust 11, 2021.
^"Station: ATLANTIC CITY, NJ".U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived fromthe original on June 8, 2024. RetrievedAugust 11, 2021.
^Overview, Casino Revenue Fund Advisory Commission. Accessed November 26, 2017. "In 1974 the voters of New Jersey were asked to amend the State Constitution by allowing Casino gambling to be permitted in Atlantic City and elsewhere. The referendum was defeated by 60% of voters. On November 2, 1976, the voters were again asked to decide Public Question #1, an amendment to the Constitution authorizing casino gambling in Atlantic City only."
^Clarity, James F."It's 'Place Your Bets' as East's First Casino Opens",The New York Times, May 27, 1978. Accessed November 26, 2017. "Legalized casino gambling began officially in Atlantic City today, with eager, but smaller-than-expected, crowds of bettors moving into the Resorts International hotel gaming mom and politicians predicting that golden days were coming for this once-prosperous, now-shabby resort town by the sea."
^viaAssociated Press."Atlantic City's Trump Plaza Sold for $20 Million",The Wall Street Journal, February 14, 2013. Accessed October 30, 2015. "The sale leaves the company he once ran, Trump Entertainment Resorts, with just one casino, the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort. Mr. Griffin also said his company would consider selling the Trump Taj Mahal, if the price were right."
^Brubaker, Harold."Revel abandons Brookfield deal",The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 12, 2014. Accessed October 30, 2015. "U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Gloria M. Burns on Wednesday scheduled a hearing for that morning to consider Revel AC Inc.'s motion to terminate its agreement to sell its property to a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management Inc. for $110 million."
^Lai, Jonathan."Stockton completes Showboat sale to Blatstein",The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 17, 2016. Accessed June 23, 2016. "The Philadelphia-based developer Bart Blatstein bought the property for $23 million, inheriting a legal mess but clearing Stockton to move forward with other plans."
^Staff."Sands casino in Atlantic City imploded",USA Today, October 19, 2007. Accessed October 30, 2015. "It took less than 20 seconds for the 21-story, 500-room tower where Frank Sinatra once held court to come crashing to the ground shortly after 9:30 p.m. in the first implosion of an East Coast casino. The demolition makes way for a mega-casino to be built on the Sands site by Pinnacle Entertainment at an estimated cost of $1.5 billion to $2 billion."
^Staff."Trump Planning to Demolish World's Fair Casino in Atlantic City",The New York Times, July 10, 1999. Accessed October 30, 2015. "Donald J. Trump plans to demolish his World's Fair casino in Atlantic City around the end of the year and may build a 4,000-room, $750 million gambling complex in its place, officials of his development company said yesterday."
^Brennan, John."Putting the Atlantic City Boardwalk myth to bed",The Record, October 30, 2012, backed up by theInternet Archive as of November 3, 2012. Accessed June 23, 2016. "The Atlantic City Boardwalk that was washed out by Hurricane Sandy is an area limited to the Boardwalk fronting the Absecon Inlet only. That small section of the Boardwalk is located in South Inlet, a prominent residential section of Atlantic City. It is a small stretch of Boardwalk that is being shown in video footage and photos."
^Jaffe, Greg."Atlantic City takes stock of storm damage",The Washington Post, October 30, 2012. Accessed June 23, 2016. "One section of the famed boardwalk was destroyed, but most of it was intact, and on Tuesday, as white foam from the roiling Atlantic Ocean sprayed across it, the only people around were a few store owners who had come to check on their shops, some wave watchers and a few homeless men."
^Keough, W. F."Central Pier Rides Again / A.C. Gets a Family Amusement Center",The Press of Atlantic City, June 3, 1990. Accessed August 23, 2013. "Central Pier, vacant since the dawn of casino gaming, will re-open its doors Saturday in an $8 million effort by its owners to re-create one of the resort's most famous pre-casino attractions – its amusement parks. Visitors who plan to test the rides later this week at the city's oldest pier will be treated to the screaming upside-down rush of a Super Loop, or the musical lure of a merry-go-round by the sea."
^"Atlantic City Experience: 100 Years of the Garden Pier"Archived July 22, 2017, at theWayback Machine, Atlantic City Experience. Accessed July 27, 2017. "Garden Pier stood apart from the other piers in Atlantic City. First opening on July 19, 1913, its 'uptown' location placed it away from the frenzied activity of the bustling downtown."
^Walsh, Tim (2004).The Playmakers: Amazing Origins of Timeless Toys. Keys Publishing. p. 48.ISBN0-9646973-4-3.
^Ecenbarger, Bill."How to improve a property is the story of Monopoly",The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 31, 2009. Accessed September 23, 2016. "In the summer of 1929, Ruth Hoskins, a Quaker schoolteacher from Indianapolis, moved to Atlantic City, where she introduced the game to her new friends – and made a version using Atlantic City street names. Friends then showed the game to Charles E. Todd, a Philadelphia hotel manager, who passed it on to an acquaintance named Charles Darrow, who soon was playing it in Philadelphia.... Darrow refined the game and then claimed he'd invented it."
^abKent, Bill."Pass Go, Collect Millions",The New York Times, April 6, 1997. Accessed December 22, 2022. "The Railroads: The Short Line was a bus line, not a railroad. Of the Monopoly railroads, only the Pennsylvania Reading did come to Absecon Island, as did the Camden & Atlantic.... Utilities: The Electric Company, based in Pleasantville, jolts enough juice into the animated signs in front of the Trump Plaza and Caesars parking garages each use enough electricity to power a small South Jersey town. The Water Works is the Atlantic County Municipal Utilities Authority, which regularly wins awards for the purity of its water."
^Boehmke, Greg."Rolling in Style on the Old Atlantic City Boardwalk – by Renee Brizzi", Delran Historical Society, August 9, 2015. Accessed November 24, 2025. "Atlantic City’s famed rolling chairs were first introduced at a convention in 1876 and originally designed as wheelchairs for the handicapped. They were opened to the public and became boardwalk transportation for the carriage trade when able bodied people pretended to need to use them. In 1887 local businessman William Hayday started renting them to the public."
^Berman, Marc."Atlantic City's famous Rolling Chairs celebrate 125th anniversary today",NJ.com, June 11, 2012. Accessed June 23, 2016. "Rolling chairs have been an Atlantic City staple since June 11, 1887, introduced at a convention in 1876 and soon after began to be rented out to tourists by local businessman William Hayday."
^Osborne, A. S. (1995). Miss America, the dream lives on. Dallas, Texas: Taylor Publishing.
^Khemlani, Anjalee."Bert Parks statue back in prominent Atlantic City position",The Press of Atlantic City, June 8, 2013. Accessed July 27, 2017. "The bronze likeness of Parks was originally fitted with sensors in its palms, which would start a recording of him singing the traditional 'There she is ...' from the song 'Miss America' while people placed their heads under the crown."
^Around the same time of the September 2010 premiere of the show, thePress of Atlantic City createdBoss of the Boardwalk, a 45-minute documentary which premiered on August 21, 2010, onNBC TV-40 and aired six additional times in the following weeks. Cronick, Scott."Press documentary 'Boss of the Boardwalk' chronicles the life and times of Nucky Johnson",The Press of Atlantic City, August 20, 2010. Accessed September 23, 2016. "Boss of the Boardwalk, a 45-minute documentary by staff writers Michael Clark and Dan Good, premiered at 7 pm. Saturday, Aug. 21, on NBC TV-40. It will receive six additional airings throughout August and September, including 3 pm. Sept. 19, the same dayBoardwalk Empire will begin its 12-episode first season."
^After the premiere ofBoardwalk Empire, interest inRoaring Twenties-era Atlantic City grew. In October 2010, a plan was revealed to renovate the ailingResorts Casino Hotel into a Roaring Twenties theme. The re-branding was proposed by current owner Dennis Gomes, and was initiated in December 2010 when he took over the casino. The changes accentuate the resort's existing art deco design, as well as presenting new 20s-era uniforms for employees and music from the time period. The casino also introduced drinks and shows reminiscent of the period.Resorts Atlantic City to adopt 1920s theme in nod to 'Boardwalk Empire'The Star-Ledger, October 7, 2010. Accessed September 21, 2016.
^On August 1, 2011, a façade modeled after the set ofBoardwalk Empire was unveiled on the boardwalk in front of an empty lot at the former site of theTrump World's Fair resort. The façade of storefronts, which consists of vinyl tacked onto three large sections of plywood, was the brainchild of longtime area radio hostPinky Kravitz, who was also a columnist forThe Press of Atlantic City and host ofWMGM-TV Presents Pinky onNBC40.
^Iuzzolino, Nicole."TidalWave Music Festival 2023: Dates, schedules, where to buy tickets", NJ Advance Media forNJ.com, December 16, 2022. Accessed March 21, 2023. "TidalWave Music Festival will take over the beaches of Atlantic City from Aug. 11 to 13. Some of the music industry's biggest country artists will perform, such as Thomas Rhett, Jason Aldean and Brooks & Dunn. This will be the second annual TidalWave Music Festival after the first was held in the summer of 2022."
^Sobko, Katie."Halsey, Demi Lovato coming to music and tech event North to Shore Jersey Festival",The Record, March 13, 2023. Accessed March 13, 2023. "The North to Shore Jersey Festival will be a music and technology event taking place over the course of three consecutive weekends at three cities across the state. Events will happen in Atlantic City from June 7 to 11, in Asbury Park from June 14 to 18, and in Newark from June 21 to 25. There will be a variety of entertainment events, including concerts, comedy shows and movies, as well as presentations from tech and business entrepreneurs."
^Breihan, Tom."Adjacent Festival Is Bringing The When We Were Young Experience To Atlantic City",Stereogum, October 25, 2022. Accessed March 21, 2023. "Atlantic City's Adjacent Festival doesn't have the gallingly ugly poster design of When We Were Young, and it's not quite as nostalgia-focused, but it's definitely chasing the same demographic. The festival is all loaded down with bands that would’ve played the Warped Tour in the ’00s or, in a few cases, the late ’90s. Blink-182 and Paramore will headline, and the bill also features Coheed And Cambria, Jimmy Eat World, Midtown, Thursday, Motion City Soundtrack, the Starting Line, Wheatus, Phantom Planet, and the Movielife."
^Jordan, Chris."Bamboozle festival, stage for music superstars, returning May 2023 to New Jersey", May 4, 2021. Accessed March 21, 2023. "The storied Bamboozle music festival is returning May 5 to 7, 2023, for a 20-year anniversary celebration at a location in New Jersey, said founder John D'Esposito to the USA TODAY Network New Jersey.... The Bamboozle featured emo, hip-hop, rock and pop A-listers like Drake, Bon Jovi, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, My Chemical Romance, Bruno Mars Demi Lovato and many more during a 10-year run primarily in Asbury Park and the Meadowlands in East Rutherford."
^Brandt, Joe."Bamboozle 2023 festival canceled in Atlantic City a week before start",KYW-TV, April 29, 2023. Accessed May 9, 2023. "A music festival scheduled for next week at the Jersey Shore was canceled after Atlantic City officials say organizers did not submit required paperwork. The Bamboozle Festival was scheduled for May 5–7 at Bader Field. Limp Bizkit, Rick Ross, Papa Roach and Steve Aoki were set to appear. But city officials say with about a week to go, they were still waiting on fees and necessary documents from the festival's organizers."
^Leonard, Nicole."Miss'd America pageant finds new home in Atlantic City's Borgata",The Press of Atlantic City, May 22, 2015. Accessed September 21, 2016. "The reigning queen of the Miss'd America pageant, the LGBT spoof of Miss America, will relinquish her crown to a new winner on Sept. 26 as contestants from across the country descend on Atlantic City. The pageant has been held in recent years at Boardwalk Hall, Harrah's Resort and House of Blues at Showboat Casino Hotel since first returning to Atlantic City in 2010. ... Since its inception in 1994, the Miss'd America pageant has raised over $280,000 for local LGBT charities and organizations."
^Post, Michelle Bruentti; and Reil, Max."Atlantic City airshow soars over city's beaches",The Press of Atlantic City, August 17, 2016. Accessed November 19, 2016. "It was the 14th annual 'Thunder Over the Boardwalk' Atlantic City Airshow, with airboss David Schultz estimating 450,000 people lined the Boardwalk, beaches and oceanfront buildings from Brigantine to Ocean City."
^Weinberg, David."Arena Football League teams suspend operations, Blackjacks' future unclear",The Press of Atlantic City, October 30, 2019. Accessed November 27, 2019. "The Atlantic City Blackjacks may not be back at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall next season. Ron Jaworski, chairman of the Arena Football League's Executive Committee, confirmed a report in the Albany Times Union on Tuesday that all six of the league's franchises will suspend their local operations."
^Auble, Kristine."New soccer team Atlantic City FC to begin play in 2018",The Press of Atlantic City, December 22, 2017. Accessed November 27, 2019. "Hoping to fill a void in the city's sports scene, the Atlantic City Football Club announced Thursday that it will join the National Premier Soccer League as an expansion team in 2018.... The team will play five to seven home games at Stockton University in Galloway Township and will compete in the NPSL Keystone Conference as a semiprofessional team."
^Gill, Mike."15 Years Ago This Week The Boardwalk Bullies Won The Kelly Cup",97.3 ESPN, May 16, 2018. Accessed November 27, 2019. "From 2001-2005, the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies were a member of the ECHL, but like most pro sports teams in the city, attendance problems forced the team to leave the city, landing in Stockton, CA"
^Huna, Nicholas."The history of the Atlantic City Surf",The Press of Atlantic City, September 23, 2017. Accessed November 27, 2019. "May 20, 1998: The Atlantic City Surf play their first game against the Somerset Patriots to a sellout crowd. The Surf lose 8-5.... Sept. 7, 2008: The Surf plays its last game, a 6-0 shutout loss to Quebec in the Can-Am League playoffs."
^Spoto, MaryAnn."Surfers fighting to save dwindling free beaches", NJ Advance Media forNJ.com, May 20, 2015. Accessed October 30, 2015. "New Jersey has five free guarded ocean beaches – Atlantic City, Wildwood, North Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and the Strathmere section of Upper Township."
^Biryukov, Nikita."Atlantic City referendum defeated in landslide City voters overwhelmingly vote to keep current form of government", New Jersey Globe, May 12, 2020. Accessed May 13, 2020. "Voters in Atlantic City slapped down a referendum that would have eliminated the city's mayor and reduced the number of seats on the city's council. The referendum, which was opposed by incumbent councilmembers, Mayor Marty Small and the Callaway family-led Atlantic City Democratic organization, was defeated 985 to 3,275.... The measure would have replaced the mayor's post with a council-appointed city manager and cut down the number of council seats from nine to five."
^Danzis, David."Atlantic City Council selects Dunston for 2nd Ward seat",The Press of Atlantic City, November 12, 2019. Accessed March 18, 2020. "LaToya Dunston, 36, was unanimously selected by council to serve as the 2nd Ward representative for the remainder of 2019. She fills the vacancy left by Marty Small Sr., who became mayor Oct. 4 after his predecessor, Frank Gilliam Jr., abruptly resigned a day earlier."
^Ryan, Joe."Atlantic City mayor was at Carrier Clinic",The Star-Ledger, October 9, 2007. Accessed June 14, 2016. "The mayor of Atlantic City whose mysterious absence sparked political chaos and national intrigue was at a rehabilitation facility in Somerset County, his attorney said today. Robert Levy spent the start of his 13-day disappearance from public life at the Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead, his attorney told the Press of Atlantic City for a report on its Web site."
^Cox, Paul."Marsh is sworn in as Atlantic City mayor",The Star-Ledger, October 11, 2007. Accessed June 14, 2016. "Atlantic City City Council President William 'Speedy' Marsh was sworn in as the resort's mayor Wednesday afternoon by City Clerk Rosemary Adams, according to a report in the Press of Atlantic City. The event occurred just hours after former Mayor Bob Levy resigned amid an ongoing federal investigation into his military record and after Levy had returned from a stay at a Somerset County clinic that specializes in mental health and addiction recovery."
^Previti, Emily."Casinos, executives take over efforts to market Atlantic City",The Press of Atlantic City, April 26, 2011. Accessed December 4, 2015. "The Atlantic City Alliance, a nonprofit entity funded and operated by local casinos and their executives, will assume most of the city's marketing duties and media services previously handled by the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority, which will focus on growing convention business."
^Atlantic City Board of Education District Policy: Identification, Atlantic City School District. Accessed July 8, 2022. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Pre-K through twelve in the Atlantic City School District. Composition: The Atlantic City School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Atlantic City."
^Raheem, Turiya S. A."Community Updates: Pennsylvania Avenue School and More",Atlantic City Weekly, October 8, 2012. Accessed November 26, 2017. "The new Pennsylvania Avenue School (PAS) is a long-awaited addition to the Atlantic City School System.... Most students attending PAS have come from New Jersey Avenue School, one of the oldest in the city, which needed far too many repairs and had become a dark and dismal place for children and teachers alike."
^Frequently Asked Questions,Atlantic County Institute of Technology. Accessed July 8, 2022. "What does it cost to attend ACIT? As a public school, there is no cost to Atlantic County residents of high school age. New Jersey Title 18A:54-20.1 entitles students the right to choose ACIT for their high school education."
^D'Amico, Diane."Students, teachers bid farewell to closing Oceanside Charter School",The Press of Atlantic City, June 18, 2013. Accessed November 19, 2016. "Photos were taken down off bulletin boards and tears streamed down cheeks Tuesday at the very last, last day of school at Oceanside Charter School in Atlantic City. The school will officially close at the end of the month after the state Department of Education did not renew its charter this year."
^Our History, Our Lady Star of the Sea Regional School. Accessed February 20, 2023. "Fourteen years later, in 1908, having arranged for the Sisters of Mercy to work in the ministry of education, Father Petri opened Our Lady Star of the Sea School, with eighty students who were primarily Irish-American Catholics."
^Schools, South Jersey Catholic Schools. Accessed February 20, 2023.
^Urgo, Jacqueline L."Atlantic City wind turbines become a tourist attraction",The Press of Atlantic City, June 12, 2011. Accessed December 4, 2015. "Some casino hotel guests are so fascinated that they ask for rooms with a view of the five delicate fans, resort operators say. So the Atlantic County Utilities Authority is cranking open the security gates at the Route 30 wastewater-treatment facility that houses the turbines for twice-a-week tours in June, July, and August."
^Company History,South Jersey Industries. Accessed December 4, 2015. "Marina's first project was the construction of the Marina Thermal Energy facility in Atlantic City, which opened in 2003. Marina Thermal provides Borgata Casino Hotel & Spa's heating, cooling and hot water needs in addition to electric generation."
^Ianeri, Brian."Atlantic City cooling plant slashes electricity costs with innovative technology",The Press of Atlantic City, July 6, 2014. Accessed December 4, 2015. "New technology that slashed electricity costs by nearly 25 percent at the Midtown Thermal Control Center may benefit people from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to California and Texas. The 17-year-old Atlantic Avenue plant functions as a massive air-conditioning system that cools several Boardwalk casinos and hotels, Boardwalk Hall and the Pier Shops at Caesars."
^About Us, Atlantic City Electric. Accessed December 4, 2015. "Atlantic City Electric, a subsidiary of Pepco Holdings, Inc. (PHI), delivers safe, reliable and affordable electric service to more than 545,000 customers in southern New Jersey."
^Canby, Vincent."Atlantic City (1980)",The New York Times, April 3, 1981. Accessed March 18, 2020. "Atlantic City, Louis Malle's fine new movie, may be one of the most romantic and perverse ghost stories ever filmed, set not in a haunted castle but in a haunted city, the contemporary Atlantic City, a point of transit where the dead and the living meet briefly, sometimes even make love, and then continue on their individual ways."
^Weis, Richard."Film / A.C. Gets Its Fair Share of Exposure inRounders",The Press of Atlantic City, September 8, 1998. Accessed November 15, 2013. "Atlantic City may never again get the star treatment it received from director Louis Malle in 1980 with his dreamy, bittersweet filmAtlantic City. But the city does get the proverbial 15 minutes of fame inRounders, a feature about a pair of go-for-broke poker players that stars Matt Damon and Edward Norton and opens nationally on Friday."
^Kempley, Rita."Snake Eyes: A Bad Bet",The Washington Post, August 7, 1998. Accessed September 14, 2018. "Nicolas Cage, who sported wings as a somber seraphim in this spring'sCity of Angels, returns to more devilish pursuits in Brian De Palma'sSnake Eyes. A glittery but dunderheaded murder mystery set in Atlantic City's Trump Taj Mahal, the movie gives both of these high-rollers a chance to strut and preen."
^Shivers, Marla Nicole."A Boardwalk Empire Tour of Atlantic City".Atlantic City. Archived fromthe original on December 26, 2014. RetrievedDecember 26, 2014.The critically-acclaimed original dramatic television series from HBO,Boardwalk Empire tells the story of corruption that takes place in Atlantic City, New Jersey during the Prohibition era.
^Lustig, Jay."‘On the Boardwalk (In Atlantic City),’ Dick Haymes", NJArts.net, September 22, 2014. Accessed April 24, 2023. "Anyway, Dick Haymes' 'On the Boardwalk (of Atlantic City),' with its soft crooning and inviting mentions of rolling chairs and saltwater air, is all about that version of Atlantic City. The song was featured in the 1946 movieThree Little Girls in Blue, about three sisters from Red Bank who spend their inheritance on a trip to Atlantic City, where they hope to snare rich husbands."
^Staff."Crime may rise along with Earth's temperatures",Phys.org, July 12, 2012. Accessed November 15, 2013. "Agnew's background in criminology isn't purely academic. He grew up in the Atlantic City of the 1950s and 60s, before casinos brought tourist dollars and jobs."
^Reney, Tom."Joe Albany: Low Down Proto Bopper on Film"Archived December 3, 2013, at theWayback Machine, New England Public Radio, January 24, 2013. Accessed November 15, 2013. "The Atlantic City native is essentially the sole voice relating his life's story in the documentary, but he sounds humble and reliable, and his recollections of Bird and Pres and Lady Day are appreciative and insightful. Albany came to prominence in the 1940s, holding down the coveted piano chair in bands led by Georgie Auld and Benny Carter, where he was the only white member."
^Staff."Transport: Atlantic City Dream",Time, November 5, 1934. Accessed November 15, 2013. "Longtime dream of Atlantic City's Mayor Harry Bacharach has been a new railroad station for 'America's Playground.' Last week, on his 61st birthday, Mayor Bacharach's dream came true."
^A Finding Aid to the Isaac Bacharach Papers. 1882–1956.,American Jewish Archives. Accessed November 15, 2013. "Born in Philadelphia, January 5, 1870, Isaac Bacharach was a businessman and banker who pursued a political career as a Republican in New Jersey. After serving on the Atlantic City Council (1907–1911), he was elected to the State Assembly (1913) and the US Congress (1915)."
^Henry, Big Joe.Big Joe's History of Christmas Music, NJ 101.5, December 22, 2012. Accessed February 1, 2013. "What do you get when you combine influences of 1950s era Atlantic City and Texas? You guessed it! You get the holiday hit Jingle Bell Rock. Composed by Joseph Beal, a public relations professional and longtime resident of Atlantic City, and James Boothe, a Texan writer in the advertising business."
^Monaghan, Charles."Book Report",The Washington Post, June 14, 1987. Accessed August 8, 2018. "A native of Atlantic City, N.J., Beckham was president of his class at Atlantic City High School before going to Brown, where he was one of three black graduates in the class of 1966."
^Staff."Edwin Blum: The Full Biography",The New York Times. Accessed November 15, 2013. "A native of Atlantic City, NJ, Blum moved to Los Angeles in 1933 and started out as an assistant to Writers Guild of America president Ernest Pascal."
^McDonough, Megan."Jack E. Boucher, longtime National Park Service photographer, dies at 80",The Washington Post, September 13, 2012. Accessed November 15, 2013. "Jack Edward Boucher was born in Buffalo on Sept. 4, 1931, and raised in Atlantic City. He began his career as a photo lab technician and engraver at 18 at the old Atlantic City Tribune, a newspaper where his father was a reporter."
^Staff."Horace J. Bryant Dead; Commissioner in Jersey",The New York Times, April 14, 1983. Accessed September 25, 2016. "In 1970, Mr. Bryant returned to Atlantic City, was elected to the City Commission two years later and was City Commissioner of Revenue and Finance until 1980."
^Wendowski, Andrew."Breaking Benjamin, From Ashes To New Hit Rock Jackpot in Atlantic City at Hard Rock Casino",Music Mayhem Magazine, January 2, 2019. Accessed March 18, 2020. "This evening was a special one not only cause it was the bands final performance of the year but also because this show is a hometown show for Breaking Benjamin's own Benjamin Burnley, who was actually born right in Atlantic City as he greeted the crowd saying, 'Atlantic City, How the f-ck is everyone doing tonight, man it's so good to be home, I was born right here in Atlantic City.'"
^Roncace, Kelly.'Breaking Benjamin is back and going home with show at Trump Taj Mahal", NJ Advance Media forNJ.com, August 8, 2015. Accessed August 9, 2018. "'I was born in Atlantic City, at the hospital there, and raised in Ocean City until I was 12 years old.' Burnley explained his family moved to Pennsylvania when he was 12 due to an increase in taxes at the shore town."
^Obituary of Carole ByardArchived January 10, 2018, at theWayback Machine, Greenidge Funeral Home. Accessed February 6, 2018. "Carole Marie Byard, 'Suggie,' was born on July 22, 1941, in Atlantic City, New Jersey to the late William Alfred Byard and Viola London-Byard. Carole graduated from Atlantic City High School, class of 1959."
^"Harry Carroll",Songwriters Hall of Fame. Accessed June 24, 2019. "Harry Carroll, the composer of such enduring standards asI'm Always Chasing Rainbows,Trail of the Lonesome Pine andBy the Beautiful Sea, was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey on November 28, 1892."
^Staff."Castellani to Box Giambra on Friday",The New York Times, July 29, 1956. Accessed June 1, 2017. "Joey Giambra of Buffalo, hailed as a standout contender for the middleweight title, will meet Rocky Castellani of Atlantic City in the main bout scheduled for ten rounds at Madison Square Garden Friday."
^Kent, Bill."Atlantic City; Land and the Law",The New York Times, August 2, 1998. Accessed November 15, 2013. "On July 20, Judge Richard Williams of New Jersey Superior Court rejected the use of eminent domain to force Vera Coking, who owns a rooming house, and three other Atlantic City property holders to sell to Donald Trump, saying the seizure would benefit Mr. Trump and not the public at large."
^Hannan, Maryanne."Who Should Tell the Poem? A Conversation with Stuart Dischell", Cerise Press, Fall / Winter 2011–12, Vol. 3 Issue 8. Accessed November 16, 2013. "As for wisdom, perhaps he was referring to my being from Atlantic City where there are lots of wise guys."
^Tarro, Zim.Bruce Ditmas Interview,Cadence. Accessed June 24, 2019. "Ditmas: OK, I’m Bruce Ditmas. I grew up in Miami, Florida, born in Atlantic City and I’m a drummer, keyboard player, composer, and producer."
^"Anne Francine, Actress and Cabaret Star, Dead at 82",Playbill, December 6, 1999. Accessed October 13, 2021. "Born in 1917 Atlantic City to Philadelphia blueblood parents, Albert and Emilie Francine, the free-spirited Anne went against family wishes and took singing lessons and made her stage debut in Rodgers and Hart'sToo Many Girls on the road in Detroit."
^Myron Henry Goldfinger, FAIA (1933-2023), US Modernist. Accessed August 4, 2023. "Goldfinger grew up in Atlantic City NJ, before the casinos came. He was inspired by the design of houses in the Marvin Gardens neighborhood, the rich part of town - and his father the mailman, who had very neat lettering."
^"Marjorie Guthrie",Jewish Women's Archive. Accessed November 16, 2013."Marjorie Guthrie was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on October 6, 1917, the fourth of five siblings: Herbert, a merchant marine; Gertrude, an artist; David, a mechanical engineer; and Bernard, a psychiatrist."
^Feuer, Alan."Celestine Tate Harrington, 42, Quadriplegic Street Musician",The New York Times, March 7, 1998. Accessed November 16, 2013. "But Atlantic City – bustling with tourists and extra change – beckoned. She arrived on the Boardwalk in 1984, and she eventually moved into a condominium in Atlantic City purchased with the proceeds from her busking."
^Kuperinsky, Amy."Atlantic City radio legend Pinky Kravitz dead at 88", NJ Advance Media forNJ.com, November 1, 2015. Accessed November 5, 2015. "The radio man, born in West Virginia, moved to Atlantic City with his family when he was 7. In 1988, the alumnus of Atlantic City High School told the New York Times that a class bully gave him his famous nickname."
^Staff.Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey; 1990 Edition, p. 208. J.A. Fitzgerald, 1990. Accessed September 28, 2016. "Mr. Laskin was born June 30, 1936, in Atlantic City. He was graduated from Camden High School in 1954."
^Jacob Lawrence Biography, DC Moore Gallery. Accessed December 21, 2016. "Born in 1917 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Lawrence moved with his family to Harlem in 1930, where he came into contact with some of the greatest artistic and intellectual minds of his generation."
^"Libby Given 1964 Award",Statesville Record & Landmark, March 26, 1965. Accessed January 1, 2018. "A native of Atlantic City, N. J., Libby moved to Los Angeles three years ago after a stint as sports editor of the Yonkers (N.Y.) Herald-Statesman and sports writer for the New York Post."
^"Who is Valerie Mack? Accused serial killer charged with murdering woman with ties to Philadelphia",WPVI-TV, December 18, 2024. Accessed December 18, 2024. "The latest victim, identified as 24-year-old Valerie Mack, was a sex worker in the Philadelphia and Atlantic City areas, according to a superseding indictment that was unsealed on Tuesday.... Mack, who was originally born in Atlantic City with the name 'Valerie Kyn Fulton,' was placed into foster care at an early age and shuffled around foster homes until she was ultimately adopted by the Mack family, according to the unsealed indictment."
^Fitzgerald's Legislative Manual, 1984, p. 226. Accessed October 28, 2019. "James J. (Sonny) Mccullough, Rep., Egg Harbor Twp.... The senator was born Jan. 11, 1942, in Atlantic City. He graduated from Atlantic City High School in 1960, and has completed certification courses at Rutgers University and taken classes at Rowan University and Rider College."
^DeRosier, John."Atlantic City native embroiled in Trump/Flynn controversy ",The Press of Atlantic City, May 17, 2017. Accessed November 15, 2017. "McGahn, a longtime Republican campaign lawyer and former commissioner at the Federal Election Commission, grew up in Atlantic City, attending Our Lady Star of the Sea school and Holy Spirit High School, where he played football."
^Staff."Obituary: Bob Merrill",The Independent, February 19, 1998. Accessed April 25, 2016. "The son of a sweet- manufacturer, Merrill was born in 1921 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but raised in Philadelphia."
^Merkoski, Paul."For Arnold Newman...",The Press of Atlantic City, December 8, 1974. Accessed February 20, 2024, viaNewspapers.com. "Spending his summers in Atlantic City and his winters in Florida, Newman changed schools often. 'When we were here I went to the Pennsylvania Avenue School, the junior high school and Atlantic City senior high' he said"
^Davis, Eddie."Acclaimed Food Writer, One-time A.C. Resident, Josh Ozersky Found Dead",WFPG, May 6, 2015. Accessed November 10, 2017. "Joshua Ozersky, who spent his teen years in Atlantic City and later turned his insatiable love of food in to an unforgettable career as a food writer, died Monday in Chicago. He was 47. Ozersky moved to Atlantic City as a 12-year-old in 1979, when his father, the painter David Ozersky, got a job as a stage technician at Resorts Casino. He attended Atlantic City High School and Rutgers University."
^Cai, Kenrick."Former Square Executive Becomes Billionaire As Stock Surges",Forbes, August 25, 2021. Accessed July 20, 2023. "Born and raised in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Reses attributes her interest in small business to her first job working behind the counter at her father's pharmacy."
^About, MoniqueSamuels.com. Accessed April 5, 2022. "Monique was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey and graduated from Pleasantville High School as the Salutatorian of her class."
^Wakin, Daniel J."Alfredo Silipigni, 74, Who Founded An Opera Company",The New York Times, March 29, 2006. Accessed June 2, 2011. "Alfredo Silipigni was born in Atlantic City on April 9, 1931, a son of Italian immigrants. He attended the Westminster Choir College in Princeton and the Juilliard School."
^Willis, John; and Monush, Barry.Screen World 2007. p. 417.Hal Leonard Corporation, 2010.ISBN9781557837295. Accessed January 13, 2017. "Jeremy Slate, 80, Atlantic City-born screen and television actor died in Los Angeles, CA, of complications after surgery for cancer of the esophagus, on November 19, 2006."
^"Larry Steele".The Atlantic City Experience. RetrievedOctober 24, 2024.
^Honoring the Life of Dave ThomasArchived July 1, 2007, at theWayback Machine, SenatorCarl Levin,Congressional Record 107th Congress Second Session Wednesday, January 23, 2002. Accessed June 23, 2007. "Rex David 'Dave' Thomas was born on July 2, 1932, in Atlantic City, NJ, and was adopted soon afterward by Rex and Auleva Thomas, who lived in Kalamazoo, MI."
Core cities are metropolitan core cities of at least a million people. The other areas are urban areas of cities that have an urban area of 150,000+ or of a metropolitan area of at least 250,000+. Satellite cities are in italics.
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