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“Atlantic City” redirects here. For other uses, see Atlantic City (disambiguation).
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, USA. It is famous for its gambling casinos and boardwalk. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 40,517, with a population of 271,015 in its combined metropolitan area. It is a resort community located on Absecon Island, off the Atlantic Ocean coast of New Jersey. Other municipalities on the island are Ventnor City, Margate City, and Longport. The main routes into Atlantic City are the Black Horse Pike (US 322/40), White Horse Pike (US 30) and the Atlantic City Expressway. Atlantic City incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 1, 1854, from portions of Egg Harbor Township and Galloway Township.[1]
History
In 1870, the first boardwalk was built along a portion of the beach to help hotel owners keep sand out of their lobbies. The idea caught on, and the boardwalk was expanded and modified several times in the following years. The historic length of the Boardwalk, before the 1944 hurricane, was about 7 miles (11.2 kilometers) long and it extended from Atlantic City, through Ventnor and Margate, into Longport. Today, it is 4.12 miles (6.63 kilometers) long and 60 feet (20 meters) wide, reinforced with steel and concrete. The combined length of the Atlantic City and Ventnor Boardwalks is approximately 5.75 miles (9.25 kilometers) long. It is now the world's longest boardwalk. Ocean Pier, the world's first oceanside amusement pier was built in Atlantic City in 1882.[2] Other famous piers included the Steel Pier, now used as an amusement pier (opened 1898) and the Million Dollar Pier (opened 1906), now the site of a shopping mall. During the early part of the 20th Century, Atlantic City went through a radical building boom. Modest little boarding houses that dotted the boardwalk would grow into monster sand castles by the sea. Two of the city’s most distinctive hotels were the Marlborough-Blenheim and the Traymore Hotels.
Across the way at the corner of Illinois Avenue and the boardwalk, would grow the city’s most distinctive hotel, The Traymore. Began in 1879 as a small boarding house, the hotel grew through a series of uncoordinated expansion. By 1914, the hotel’s owner, Daniel White, taking a hint from the Marlborough-Blenheim, commissioned the firm of Price and McLanahan to build an even bigger hotel. Sixteen stories high, the tan brick and gold-capped hotel would become one of the city’s best-known landmarks. The hotel was best known for making use of ocean-facing hotel rooms by jutting its wings farther out from the main portion of the hotel along Pacific Avenue. One by one, other large hotels sprung up along the Boardwalk. The Brighton, the Chelsea, The Shelburne. The Ambassador, The Ritz Carlton, The Mayflower, The Madison House, the Breakers, best known for its snob appeal for only the highest class of person roomed there and enjoyed its roof top garden lounge. The Quaker-owned Chalfonte House and Haddon Hall opened in the 1890s, would by the twenties merge into the Chalfonte-Haddon Hall and would become the city's largest hotel with nearly one thousand rooms. By 1930, the city's last large hotel opened its doors. The 400-room Claridge was built by a partnership that included renowned Philadelphia contractor John McShain and at nearly twenty-four stories it would become known as the "Skyscraper By The Sea." The city hosted the 1964 Democratic National Convention which nominated Lyndon Johnson for President and Hubert Humphrey as Vice President. The ticket won in a landslide that November. 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 and the Governor of New Jersey at that time, Richard J. Hughes, led Atlantic City to host the Democratic Convention. Like all major cities, Atlantic City contains distinct neighborhoods or districts. The communities are known as: The North Inlet, The South Inlet, Bungalow Park, Monroe Park; The Marina District (also known as Back Maryland),Venice Park, The Downtown(Midtown), Ducktown, Chelsea, and Chelsea Heights. Demise and RebirthLike many older east coast cities after World War II, Atlantic City became plagued with poverty, crime, and disinvestment by the middle class 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. The automobile become 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 would allow people to come and go as they pleased, and many people would spend only a few days, rather than weeks. Also the advent of suburbia played a huge role. With many families moving to their own private houses, luxuries such as home air conditioning, and swimming pools diminished the necessity for people to flock to the beach during the hot summer. Perhaps the biggest factor in the decline in Atlantic City's popularity came from cheap, fast jet service to other premiere resorts. Places such as Miami Beach, and Nassau, Bahamas superseceded Atlantic City as favored vacation spots. By the late sixties the typical Atlantic City tourist was invariably poor, elderly, or both. Many of the resort's great hotels, which were suffering from embarrassing vacancy rates, were either closed, converted to cheap apartments, or converted to nursing home facilities. Prior, and during the advent of legalized gambling, many of these hotels would be demolished. The Breakers, the Chelsea, the Brighton, the Shelburne, the Mayflower, the Traymore, and the Marlborough Blenheim all fell to the wrecking ball in the seventies and the eighties. Of all the pre-casino resorts that bordered the Boardwalk only the Claridge, the Dennis (now part of Bally's Park Place), the Ritz Carlton, and the Chafonte-Haddon Hall survive to this day. The steel frame work of the old Ambassodor Hotel was used for the Tropicana Hotel and Casino, although its distinctive brick facade was removed and replaced with a more modern one. Smaller hotels off the Boardwalk, such as the Madison House, also survive. In an effort at revitalizing the city, New Jersey voters in 1976 approved casino gambling for Atlantic City, this came after a 1974 referendum on legalized gambling failed to pass. The Chafonte-Haddon Hall became Resorts International and was the first legal casino in the eastern United States when it opened on May 26, 1978. Other casinos were soon added along the boardwalk and later in the marina district for a total of thirteen today. The introduction of gambling did not, however, quickly eliminate many of the urban problems that plagued Atlantic City. Many have argued that it only served to magnify those problems, as evidenced in the stark contrast between tourism-intensive areas and the adjacent impoverished working-class neighborhoods. Drug-infested tenements in poor condition stand directly beside multi-billion dollar casino hotels along the ocean in some locations. In addition, Atlantic City has played second-fiddle to Las Vegas, Nevada, as a gambling mecca in the United States, although in the late 1970s and 1980s, when Las Vegas was experiencing a massive drop in tourism due to crime, particularly the Mafia's role, and other economic factors, Atlantic City was favored over Las Vegas. The rise of Mike Tyson in boxing, having most of his fights in Atlantic City in the '80's, also helped Atlantic City's popularity. On July 3, 2003, Atlantic City's newest casino, The Borgata, opened with much success. Another major attraction is the oldest remaining Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditorium in the world. Atlantic City is home to New Jersey's first wind farm. The Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm consists of five 1.5 MW turbine towers, each almost 400 feet (120 meters) high. Gambling was stopped for the first time since 1978 at 8:00 a.m. on July 5, 2006, during the 2006 New Jersey State Government Shutdown mandated by Governor Jon Corzine. The casinos generally remained open for entertainment and hotel services, but ceased gambling functions due to the absence of state regulators. The casinos resumed gambling functions at 7:00 p.m. on July 8, 2006. From 2005 to 2006, Atlantic City had the highest percentage increase (25.9%) in average home value in the United States. [1] GeographyAtlantic City is located at (39.364966, -74.439034)GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 44.9 km² (17.4 mi²). 29.4 km² (11.4 mi²) of it is land and 15.5 km² (6.0 mi²) of it (34.58%) is water. ClimateAtlantic City has a humid continental climate, but it is almost on the borderline of the humid continental/subtropical climate zones. In the winter, the city does not get as much snowfall as northern New Jersey or inland areas because it is moderated by the ocean. In the summer, Atlantic City gets a sea breeze off the ocean that makes temperatures stay cooler than inland areas.
Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 40,517 people, 15,848 households, and 8,700 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,378.3/km² (3,569.8/mi²). There were 20,219 housing units at an average density of 687.8/km² (1,781.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 26.68% White, 44.16% Black or African American, 0.48% Native American, 10.40% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 13.76% from other races, and 4.47% from two or more races. 24.95% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 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. In the city the population was spread out with 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. 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. GovernmentLocal governmentAtlantic City is governed under the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) system of municipal government. The current Mayor of Atlantic City is Bob Levy.
Members of the Atlantic City Council are:
Federal, state and county representationAtlantic City is in the Second Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 2nd Legislative District.[9] New Jersey's Second Congressional District, covering all of Atlantic County, Cape May County, Cumberland County and Salem County and portions of Burlington County, Camden County and Gloucester County, is represented by Frank LoBiondo (R, Vineland). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken). The 2nd legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by James J. McCullough (R, Egg Harbor Township), and in the Assembly by Francis J. Blee (R, Absecon) and Jim Whelan (D, Atlantic City). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken). Atlantic County's County Executive is Dennis Levinson. The executive, along with the Board of Chosen Freeholders, administers all county business. Atlantic County's Freeholders are Francis Sutton, James Curcio, Frank Finnerty (Freeholder Vice Chairman), Alisa Cooper, Joe Kelly, Rev. Lawton Nelson, Thomas Russo, Sue Schilling and Joseph F. Silipena (Freeholder Chairman). EducationThe Atlantic City School District serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district are eight elementary schools — Chelsea Heights School, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School Complex, New Jersey Avenue School, New York Avenue School, Richmond Avenue School, Sovereign Avenue School, Texas Avenue School and Uptown School Complex — Atlantic City High School [3] for grades 9-12, along with Venice Park School and Viking Academy. Students from Brigantine, Longport, Margate City and Ventnor City attend Atlantic City High School as part of sending/receiving relationships with the respective school districts. Casino resortsImage:Borgata.jpg The Borgata Image:100 0525.JPG Caesars & Trump Plaza
Planned casino/resorts
Former, closed and never opened casino/resorts
Sports
The 2008 Rugby League World Cup qualifying series involving the USA, West Indies, Japan and South Africa is being held at Bernie Robbins Stadium in October 2006. On November 16, 2006 Hal Handel, CEO of Greenwood Racing, announced that the Atlantic City Race Course would increase live racing dates from 4 days per year, to up to 20 days per year. www.saveacrc.com has been actively involved in expanding racing at the Atlantic City Race Course and created the movement to bring full time racing back to ACRC in 2005. Media outletsMedia outlets without a link do not currently have a website. Newspapers
Radio stationsAtlantic City's radio market is ranked #139 in the nation. FM radio stations in the Atlantic City-Cape May market (Arbitron #139)
By frequency: 88.9 | 89.7 | 90.5 | 91.3 | 91.7 | 95.1 | 96.1 | 96.9 | 97.3 | 98.3 | 99.3 | 100.7 | 102.7 | 103.7 | 104.9 | 107.3 By call letters: WAJM | WAYV | WFPG | WJSE | WLFR | WMGM | WNJN | WPUR | WRTQ | WSJO | WTKU | WTTH | WWFP | WXKW | WZBZ | WZXL See also: Atlantic City (FM) (AM) Atlantic City-Cape May (FM) (AM) | Middlesex-Somerset-Union | Monmouth-Ocean | Morristown | Sussex | Trenton
Television stations
TransportationRail and BusAtlantic City is connected to other cities in several ways. New Jersey Transit's Atlantic City Line runs from Philadelphia and several smaller South Jersey communities directly to the Atlantic City Rail Terminal at the Atlantic City Convention Center. On June 20, 2006, the board of New Jersey Transit approved a three-year trial of express train service between New York Penn Station and the Atlantic City Rail Terminal. The estimated travel time will be 2½ hours with a few stops along the way and is part of the Casinos' multi-million dollar investments in Atlantic City. Most of the funding for the new transit line will be provided by Harrah's Entertainment (owners of both Harrah's Atlantic City and Caesars Atlantic City) and the Borgata. The line is expected to be in service by the end of 2007, but details on the line's operation are scant[12]. The Atlantic City Bus Terminal is the home to local, intra-state and interstate bus companies including New Jersey Transit and Greyhound bus lines. The Greyhound Lucky Streak Express offers service to Atlantic City from New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Highways and taxicabsAccess to Atlantic City by car is available via the 44 mile (70 km) Atlantic City Expressway, US 30 (commonly known as the White Horse Pike), and US 40/322 (commonly known as the Black Horse Pike). Atlantic City has an abundance of taxi cabs and a local Jitney service providing continuous service to and from the casinos and the rest of the city. Airline serviceCommercial airlines serve Atlantic City via Atlantic City International Airport, located 9 miles (14 km) northwest of the city in Egg Harbor Township. Many travelers also choose to fly into Philadelphia International Airport or Newark Liberty International Airport, where there are wider selections of carriers from which to choose. The historic downtown Bader Field airport is now permanently closed and plans are in the works to redevelop the land; most likely it will be torn down for mixed development use. ShoppingAtlantic City is home to two malls, Pier Shops at Caesars and Atlantic City Outlets The Walk. Two nearby regional malls include the Shore Mall in Egg Harbor Township and the Hamilton Mall in Mays Landing. Atlantic City in popular cultureImage:Atlantic city boardwalk1.jpg The boardwalk in Atlantic City, outside the Trump Taj Mahal
References
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