SINS hoot Atlantic City ISAS. The Atlantic City Boardwalk: Steeped in History Aaahh, the Atlantic City Boardwalk. It is the famed promenade known for the roaring sea and dozens of confection shops and amusements. It is the cher- ished blue property of the most popular board game in the world. It is truly the walk that inspired many more, but can never be duplicated. Surprisingly, the most famous walk- way on the East Coast was not built to be anything more than a solution to keeping the sand out of the ritzy beachfront hotels and the Camden and Atlantic’s railroad passenger cars. A fed-up railroad conductor and hotel owner first petitioned to the city council in 1870, asking that a mile-long foot- walk be established. Costing $5,000 and built 10 feet wide in sections of 12 feet, the first of the famed boards was dedi- cated on June 16, 1870. No commerce of any kind was allowed within 30 feet of the walk, and at the end of each sum- mer season for many years, the Boardwalk was actually taken apart and stored for the winter months. Ten years later, vacationers had splintered the Boardwalk, so the city council built a new one, this time four feet wider and much longer. The go-ahead was given at this time as well for commerce to get closer than 30 feet, 10 to be exact. By 1883, this ordi- nance was “tossed to sea’ and almost 100 stores, stalls and stands had Boardwalk addresses. A storm in 1884 was the cause for a third walk to be built, 22 feet wide, two miles long, and this time with pilings five feet above the beach so the tides could wash beneath safely. Safety was not exactly the first thing you thought of when it came to the Boardwalk. There were no railings, and accounts told of at least somebody every day falling off the boards, usually in the act of flirting. An 1889 hurricane brought about a new, improved, and almost final Boardwalk. It was all about bigger and better with this one, 24 feet wide, 10 feet high, nearly four miles long, and railings on both sides. Its popularity and large crowds demanded some small improvements and expansion in 1896. The year 1916 saw the design of the Atlantic City Convention Center (floor plan) _ arr SEMA Show , HALL © Hae um a — fa = Gee ee eee eee iF a. ee. j ———— 5