Ah, I’m singing the Drifters today.
Oh when the sun beats down and burns the tar up on the roof
And your shoes get so hot you wish your tired feet were fire proof
Under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah
On a blanket with my baby is where I'll be
(Under the boardwalk) out of the sun
(Under the boardwalk) we'll be havin' some fun
(Under the boardwalk) people walking above
(Under the boardwalk) we'll be falling in love
Under the boardwalk, boardwalk!
What’s a visit to the Jersey coast without a stroll down the boardwalk in Atlantic City? And, you know, you’d better stroll down the boardwalk here soon before it all disappears. Nah, it won’t disappear but it’s not what it used to be. Here’s a picture of what is happening to the aura of Atlantic City.
Looks pretty special, doesn’t it? New, shiny, great views of the ocean - it’s gonna be packed - right? I’ll bet it costs a pretty penny to stay here, right? Well, think again. This casino, the Revel, never opened and probably never will open. It was built to capitalize upon New Jersey’s gambling monopoly. Then, while it was being built, New York, Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania all legalized gambling in their states. 4 casinos were built in Philadelphia, the town that probably provided the most day to day gamblers in Atlantic City. And last year 4 casinos closed - the windows have been papered over, the doors are turning rusty, the canopies are falling down. Casinos with the names of Trump and Hilton on top of the. Oh, yeah, those names have been taken off since Trump and Hilton wouldn’t want anyone to think they had failures on their balance sheets. But, look, the names can still be seen.
My question is: how many tax breaks were given to these two, How much money was spent to get these two to build casinos here? How much money did they rake in while their casinos were open? And, the best question - who’s going to pay to tear these derelict buildings down? Of course, Hilton and Trump did all right but what about all the employees that have been laid off? What about all the small shopkeepers whose shops now have few shoppers, the small restaurants looking for customers, the bartenders, the maids and all the others who have lost their jobs?
Ok, I’ll get off my soapbox now but it is so sad to see things like this.
But there are still things to see from the heyday of Atlantic City and we had a good time walking the boardwalk. The beaches were a bit empty but then it was a bit chilly and those who actually got into the water here were pretty brave.
We enjoyed watching the kites swooping down, sailing up and twirling in the skies.
Here is a shot of some of the shops lining the boardwalk - the guy with this sign telling everyone that he would vote for Tsongas probably needs to take it down - who remembers Tsongas now?
You look one direction and can see people walking the boardwalk, but the other direction, towards the south end looks pretty bare.
And, then we hit the piece de resistance: the Miss America Beauty Pageant memorial - and here I am getting crowned. Did you miss this on TV?
It was fun seeing all the Monopoly streets in reality. There was boardwalk, Indiana Avenue, Baltic Place, Connecticut Avenue. But, here is the symbol of it all: Park Place on a Rusty pole.
Are you ready for a little history? Haven’t you always wondered who invented the game of Monopoly? Don’t you want to know why it was invented? Sure, you do. I knew it. Well, it was 1903 and Lizzie Magie wanted to help people understand how rents enriched landlords and impoverished renters. (obviously, ownership, not renting, was the solution) Hey, how about a game? Yep, just the ticket. She got a patent for the game in 1904. Eventually she sold it to Parker Brothers for - probably she should have driven a harder bargain.
I went online to see where all the streets were in Atlantic City and found this cool map.
There, the answer to all your questions.
We had lots of fun in Atlantic City. We talked with people who got married here 50 or more years ago and were now reliving their adventure. We talked with ‘hosts’ of the city who were happy to talk with anyone about how much they loved the city. We talked with a young college student on her summer job who was never going back to Nebraska. And, interestingly, we talked with a ‘genius’ in the Apple Store, which is on the Boardwalk, who says that this store is the #1 in the United States. Cool place, I wish I had seen it in its heyday.
‘Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals like chocolate.’
Sandra Boynton
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