Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a
city in
Atlantic County,
New Jersey,
USA. As of the
United States 2000 Census, the city population was 40,517. 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 route onto the island containing Atlantic City is the
Atlantic City Expressway.
Atlantic City has always been primarily a resort town. Its location in
South Jersey, hugging the Atlantic Ocean between marshlands and islands, presented itself as prime real estate for developers. The city was incorporated in 1854, the same year in which train service began, linking this remote parcel of land with the more populated, urban centers of
New York City and
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Atlantic City became a popular
beach destination because of its proximity to Philadelphia.
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. Today, it is several miles (kilometers) long and sixty feet (twenty meters) wide, reinforced with steel and concrete. It is now the world's longest boardwalk.
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.
Although a small city, it had been plagued with many large city problems, especially
poverty and
crime. The neighborhood known as the "inlet" was particularly impoverished. In an effort at revitalizing the city,
New Jersey voters in 1976 approved
casino gambling for the city of Atlantic City. Resorts International became 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 twelve 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. 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. It is also Ripley's most famous odditorium.
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 reopened at 7:00 p.m. on
July 8,
2006.
Atlantic City is located at (39.364966, -74.439034).
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.
As of the
census 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.
Local government
Atlantic City is governed under the
Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) system of municipal government. The current
Mayor of Atlantic City is Bob Levy.
Federal, state and county representation
Atlantic City is in the Second Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 2nd Legislative District.
The
Atlantic City School District serves students in prekindergarten through twelfth garde. 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 [
1] 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.
*
Atlantic City Hilton (New), Boston Avenue & The Boardwalk
*
Bally's Atlantic City:
1,
2 Park Place & The Boardwalk
*
The Borgata, One Borgata Way or 1501 MGM Mirage Boulevard
*
Caesars Atlantic City, Pacific Avenue & The Boardwalk
*
Harrah's Atlantic City, 777 Harrah's Boulevard
*
Resorts Atlantic City, North Carolina Avenue & The Boardwalk
*
Sands, Indiana Avenue & The Boardwalk
*
Showboat, South States Avenue & The Boardwalk
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Tropicana, Brighton Avenue & The Boardwalk
*
Trump Marina, Huron Avenue and Brigantine Boulevard
*
Trump Plaza, Mississippi Avenue & The Boardwalk
*
Trump Taj Mahal, Virginia Avenue & The Boardwalk
1 Claridge Tower (Formerly The Claridge Casino/Hotel) is now part of Bally's Atlantic City and is no longer listed separately.:
2 Harrah's Entertainment announced that it will rebrand Bally's sometime in the future to either the
Horseshoe or
Rio brands.
*
CityCenter East – In March 2006,
MGM Mirage announced that it has begun predevelopment and design work for a new casino/resort, tentatively called "CityCenter East", patterned after the company's
CityCenter project in Las Vegas. If built, CityCenter East would be located on 55 acres of land situated between The Borgata and Harrah's Atlantic City. [
2]
*
Atlantic City Hilton Casino/Hotel (Original) - Completed but never opened; casino license denied. Sold and renamed Trump's Castle Casino/Hotel.
*
Atlantis Casino/Hotel - Casino license revoked on
4 July 1989. Sold and renamed Trump Regency (Non-Casino).
*
Bally's Park Place Casino/Hotel - Renamed Bally's Atlantic City Casino/Hotel.
*
Bally's Grand Casino/Hotel - Renamed The Grand Casino/Hotel.
*
Boardwalk Regency Hotel/Casino - Renamed Caesars Boardwalk Regency Casino/Hotel.
*
Brighton Casino/Hotel - Renamed Sands Casino/Hotel Atlantic City.
*
Caesars Boardwalk Regency Casino/Hotel - Renamed Caesars Atlantic City Casino/Hotel.
*
Claridge Casino/Hotel - Renamed Claridge Tower at Bally's.
*
Del Webb's Claridge Hotel and Hi-Ho Casino - Renamed Del Webb's Claridge Casino/Hotel.
*
Del Webb's Claridge Hotel/Casino - Renamed Claridge Casino/Hotel.
*
Dunes Casino/Hotel - Never completed, land sold. Property now a parking lot.
*
Golden Nugget Casino/Hotel - Renamed Bally's Grand Casino/Hotel.
*
Harrah's Marina Casino/Hotel - Renamed Harrah's Atlantic City Casino/Hotel.
*
Harrah's at Trump Plaza Casino/Hotel - 50% owned by Harrah's sold to Trump Casinos & Resorts, Renamed Trump Plaza.
*
Le Jardin - Project scrapped due to
Mirage Resorts-MGM Grand merger.
*
Merv Griffin's Resorts Casino/Hotel - Renamed Resorts International Casino/Hotel.
*
MGM Grand Atlantic City - Planned but not developed.
*
Park Place Casino/Hotel - Renamed Bally's Park Place Casino/Hotel.
*
Penthouse International Casino/Hotel - Never completed, developer ran out of money. Eventually acquired by Trump Plaza Casino/Hotel. Boardwalk side converted to Trump Plaza's East Tower and Pacific Avenue side demolished.
*
Playboy Casino/Hotel - Permanent casino license denied. Renamed Atlantis Casino/Hotel.
*
Resorts International Casino/Hotel - Renamed Resorts Atlantic City Casino/Hotel.
*
Sahara Boardwalk Atlantic City - Planned but not developed; land sold to Golden Nugget Casino/Hotel.
*
The Grand Casino/Hotel - Renamed Atlantic City Hilton Casino/Hotel.
*
Tropicana Casino Resort - Renamed TropWorld Casino Resort.
*
TropWorld Casino Resort - Reverted back to Tropicana Casino Resort name.
*
Trump's Castle Casino/Hotel - Renamed Trump Marina Casino/Hotel.
*
Trump Regency Hotel (Non Casino) - Renamed Trump World's Fair Casino at Trump Plaza.
*
Trump World's Fair Casino at Trump Plaza - Closed and demolished in 2000. Property now an empty lot.
Media outlets without a link do not currently have a website.
Newspapers
*
The Press of Atlantic City*
Atlantic City Weekly
*The Courier-Post
*Philadelphia Daily News
*The Philadelphia Inquirer
*Star-Ledger
*The Trenton Times*
The Trentonian*
Hammonton GazetteRadio stations
*
WAJM Radio 88.9FM Atlantic City
*
WAYV Radio 95.1FM Atlantic City -
Wikipedia article /
Official website*
WFPG Radio 96.9FM Atlantic City -
Wikipedia article /
Official website*
WILW Radio 94.3FM Avalon -
Wikipedia article /
Official website*
WIXM Radio 97.3FM Millville*
WJSE Radio 102.7FM Petersburg -
Wikipedia article /
Official website*
WKXW Radio 1450AM Atlantic City -
Wikipedia article /
Official website*
WMGM Radio 103.7FM Atlantic City -
Wikipedia article /
Official website*
WNJN Radio 89.7FM Atlantic City
*
WOND Radio 1400AM/1580AM Pleasantville -
Wikipedia article /
Official website*
WPUR Radio 107.3FM Atlantic City -
Wikipedia article /
Official website*
WSJO Radio 104.9FM Egg Harbor City -
Wikipedia article*
WTKU Radio 98.3FM Ocean City -
Wikipedia article /
Official website*
WXXY Radio 88.7FM Port Republic/Atlantic City -
Wikipedia article /
Official website*
WZBZ Radio 99.3FM Atlantic City -
Wikipedia article /
Official Website*
WZXL Radio 100.7FM Wildwood -
Wikipedia article /
Official websiteTelevision stations
See also: Television stations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania*
WQAV-TV Channel 13 Atlantic City (Independent) -
Wikipedia article / Official Website
*
WMGM-TV Channel 40 Atlantic City (
NBC)
*
WMCN-TV Channel 53 Atlantic City (Independent)
*
W60CX-TV Channel 60 Atlantic City (
TBN) -
Wikipedia article / Official website
*
WWSI-TV Channel 62 Atlantic City (
Telemundo)
Atlantic City is connected to other cities in several ways.
New Jersey Transit's
Atlantic City Line runs from
Philadelphia and several smaller southern New Jersey communities directly to the
Atlantic City Rail Terminal at the
Atlantic City Convention Center. The Atlantic City Bus Terminal is the home to local, intra-state and interstate bus companies including New Jersey Transit and
Greyhound bus lines. Access 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.
Commercial airlines serve Atlantic City via
Atlantic City International Airport, located 9 miles (14 km) northwest of the city in
Egg Harbor Township. Many travellers also choose to fly into
Philadelphia International Airport or
Newark Liberty International Airport, where there are wider selections of carriers to choose from. The historic downtown
Bader Field airport, now used only by private pilots, is scheduled to be closed later in 2006.
Atlantic City has been a rather frequent subject in popular culture. The eccentric
1972 Bob Rafelson film
The King of Marvin Gardens with
Jack Nicholson,
Bruce Dern, and
Ellen Burstyn was shot on location there and strongly conveys a feel for the pre-casino/post-glory-days limbo the city was mired in at the time. The powerful Oscar-nominated 1981 movie,
Atlantic City, by French director
Louis Malle, starring
Burt Lancaster and
Susan Sarandon, reflects the city at the dawn of its casino-driven "rebirth". Atlantic City is cited as the Sundance Kid's birthplace in the 1969 classic western film,
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. A popular
Bruce Springsteen song, "
Atlantic City", depicting a young couple's escape to the city, appears on Springsteen's 1982 album
Nebraska.
More recently, several episodes of
Donald Trump's television show
The Apprentice have been based and filmed in Atlantic City.
Atlantic City is often mentioned in
Friends (which is based in nearby New York).
It was the home of the
Miss America pageant from 1921 to 2005. In August 2005, it was announced that the pageant would no longer be held in Atlantic City. On January 21, 2006, the first pageant to occur outside Atlantic City took place in
Las Vegas,
Nevada at the
Aladdin Casino and Resort.
The streets of Atlantic City are used in the
American version of the boardgame
Monopoly.
The sticky confection
salt water taffy is closely associated with the
Boardwalk.
Episode 5.3 of the US hit show
Sex and the City is set primarily in the Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City.
A
Disney Vacation Club (DVC) resort in
Lake Buena Vista, Florida,
Disney's BoardWalk Villas, is based on Atlantic City in the 1930s.
The Simpsons also visited Atlantic City, with Homer making a derogatory remark towards the flag by pointing out that it has a fat man kissing a woman on it. Of course in reality it doesn't. In another episode, after Homer's plan to build a casino run by South Pacific island natives goes awry, he remarks to the islanders, "I gave you a glittering Vegas, and you turned it into a skanky Atlantic City."
|
Famous 'Welcome To Atlantic City' sign from US 30. |
*
Atlantic City official website*
Atlantic City Board of Education*
National Center for Education Statistics data for the Atlantic City School District*
Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority*
Atlantic City Convention Center*
Atlantic City Free Public Library*
Atlantic City International Airport*
Atlantic City Jitney Association*
Atlantic City Police Department*
Atlantic City Race Course Official Website*
Atlantic City Regional Chamber of Commerce*
Atlantic City Surf (Minor League Baseball Team)*
Atlantic City Travel & Information Guide*
Boardwalk Hall (Formerly the Atlantic City Convention Center)*
California, Here They Come (Link with article concerning move of the former Boardwalk Bullies' hockey team to Stockton, California)*
Movie of Atlantic City floral parade, circa 1904*
New Jersey Casino Control Commission*
New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority*
New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement*
South Jersey Transportation Authority*
Atlantic City Events*
Driving Directions to Atlantic City*
Atlantic City Accommodations, Places to stay*
History of Atlantic City*
History of the Atlantic City Boardwalk*
Religious Services in Atlantic City*
Atlantic City Daily Poker Tournament Schedule 
