Atlantic City's Development. In the early 1850s, Dr. Jonathan Pitney, an Absecon. Atlantic City Boardwalk The backbone of Atlantic City, the Boardwalk is the world's first! Explore the great wooden way and learn about its history through walking tours, access the hotels, casinos, resorts. Settled in 1783, Atlantic City today has a year-round population of 38,000. Atlantic City is just 11.92 square miles long but boasts many historic firsts, such as being the site of the world's first Boardwalk and salt-water taffy's first development.
Atlantic City is mostly known for its numerous casinos and the beach. However, Atlantic City is filled with a lot of history. Here are a few Atlantic City fun facts, you may not have known.
The most interesting Atlantic City fun fact may be that Atlantic City is home to the very first boardwalk. The one mile boardwalk cost $5,000 to build and officially opened in 1870. Stores were not permitted to build within 30 feet and during the winter the boards would be taken apart and stored away. Today, the boardwalk is four miles long filled with stores, restaurants, etc.
To go along with the boardwalk history, the Atlantic City boardwalk is where the term salt taffy originated. The term came about in the 1800's and Joe Fralinger took the term and made the candy a popular selling item by creating a way for tourists to take the taffys home. His store still operates in the city today.
Atlantic City Boardwalk Facts 2019
An interesting Atlantic City fun fact that most know is that the Miss America Pageant got its start in Atlantic City. The first pageant was held in 1921 and was a tactic to get tourists to stay in the city past Labor Day. The pageant moved Las Vegas in 2006 but now calls Atlantic City home again.
The first casino in Atlantic City surprisingly didn't open until 1978. Today it is known as Resorts Casino Hotel, but back then it was known as The Resorts International Hotel. It was the first legal casino that wasn't located in Nevada to operate in the United States.
These Atlantic City fun facts are just a few as AC is filled and continues to be filled with history.
Is Atlantic City Boardwalk Open
Boardwalk Hall was dedicated on the 31st of May 1929 and commemorated both 75th anniversary of the founding of Atlantic City in 1854 as well as the 50th anniversary of the invention of the electric light bulb by Thomas Edison. Designed by the firm of Lockwood, Greene & Co. of Boston, it was conceived as a self-contained entertainment facility occupying 7 acres of ground on the site of a former amusement park named 'Rendezvous Park'. Containing its own direct electric power station, radio station, kitchens and telephone system, it was an incredible feat of engineering and at the time of its completion was the largest enclosed free span arch in the world, the trusses spanning 310 feet in width, with a floor to ceiling height of 137 feet and a total interior length of 456 feet.
To go along with the boardwalk history, the Atlantic City boardwalk is where the term salt taffy originated. The term came about in the 1800's and Joe Fralinger took the term and made the candy a popular selling item by creating a way for tourists to take the taffys home. His store still operates in the city today.
Atlantic City Boardwalk Facts 2019
An interesting Atlantic City fun fact that most know is that the Miss America Pageant got its start in Atlantic City. The first pageant was held in 1921 and was a tactic to get tourists to stay in the city past Labor Day. The pageant moved Las Vegas in 2006 but now calls Atlantic City home again.
The first casino in Atlantic City surprisingly didn't open until 1978. Today it is known as Resorts Casino Hotel, but back then it was known as The Resorts International Hotel. It was the first legal casino that wasn't located in Nevada to operate in the United States.
These Atlantic City fun facts are just a few as AC is filled and continues to be filled with history.
Is Atlantic City Boardwalk Open
Boardwalk Hall was dedicated on the 31st of May 1929 and commemorated both 75th anniversary of the founding of Atlantic City in 1854 as well as the 50th anniversary of the invention of the electric light bulb by Thomas Edison. Designed by the firm of Lockwood, Greene & Co. of Boston, it was conceived as a self-contained entertainment facility occupying 7 acres of ground on the site of a former amusement park named 'Rendezvous Park'. Containing its own direct electric power station, radio station, kitchens and telephone system, it was an incredible feat of engineering and at the time of its completion was the largest enclosed free span arch in the world, the trusses spanning 310 feet in width, with a floor to ceiling height of 137 feet and a total interior length of 456 feet.
At the time that the building was constructed, organs were provided as standard stage equipment for any entertainment facility—especially for the accompaniment of motion pictures (it must be remembered that the technology for sound film did not arrive until 1927). In addition to these functions, it also provided music as a part of the entertainment for almost every show in the hall in addition to free public recitals. The difference between this instrument and any of the 7,000+ theater organs installed in American movie palaces at the time was the scale of the building. Whereas the average theater might seat at the most 2,000-3,000 people, Boardwalk Hall's original seating capacity was 41,000 with the organ speaking into almost 5.5 million cubic feet of enclosed space. To fill this immense volume of air with music (it takes sound nearly ½ a second just to travel across the vast auditorium) represented an immense engineering and musical challenge.
Of the five firms that submitted bids for the construction of the main organ, the firm of Midmer-Losh Inc. of Merrick, Long Island, New York was selected as the winner. Construction began in August of 1929 and was completed on December 5, 1932. At the height of the project, there were over 65 men working both in the factory in Merrick, Long Island as well as on site in the current organ shop. This project was extensively photographed documented during its time of construction which was incredibly unusual in the organ business. It is the most extensive organ construction project in history, exceeding every record known in the 2,500 plus year history of the instrument.
It is a window into the next century of the art, and possesses musical capabilities and possibilities existing nowhere else, and which to this day are not fully understood.
The organ in the Adrian Phillips Theater was designed and installed in by the noted firm of W.W. Kimball in Chicago. A self-contained symphony orchestra, it is precisely suited to the spectacular acoustics of the, 3000 seat auditorium and is equally at home as a concert or theatrical instrument. It is generally considered the finest original existing example of the work built by this firm, anywhere in the world.
For more information, visit www.boardwalkorgans.org.
