About Atlantic City
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, well-known for its casino gambling, sandy beaches and shopping centers.
The city includes diverse neighborhoods or districts, being known as: The North Inlet, The South Inlet, The Marina District, Bungalow Park, Venice Park, Ducktown, Downtown, Chelsea, and Chelsea Heights.
Atlantic City is located in South Jersey and was incorporated in 1854, the year when train began, connecting it with Philadelphia. Due to its nearness to Philadelphia, Atlantic City became a popular beach destination.
In 1870 the first boardwalk was built which was extended and modified several times in the next couple of years. The boardwalk is currently 4.12 miles long and 60 feet wide, being reinforced with steel and concrete.
In the first part of the 20th century, Atlantic City experienced an intense building boom and most unpretentious boarding houses along the boardwalk were replaced with big hotels, such as the Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel and the Traymore Hotel. Gradually, other big hotels were built, such as the Chelsea, Brighton, Ritz Carlton, Madison House or the Breakers.
After the World War II, Atlantic City was confronted with crime, poverty and lack of investment by the middle class in the mid and late 20th century. The decline of Atlantic City was influenced by the availability of automobiles to Americans as most visitors arrived to the city by train and remained there for a couple of weeks. The cars offered people a higher mobility and many of them visited the city only for a few days and not for weeks. The other reason that contributed to the decline was the appearance of cheap and fast jet service to other quality resorts. Miami Beach or Nassau, Bahamas became a more popular destination for tourists.
As a result of this decline, many great hotels of the resort were closed or transformed in cheap apartments or nursing home facilities. Other hotels, including the Chelsea, the Breakers, the Brighton, the Mayflower, the Shelburne or the Marlborough Blenheim were demolished in the 1970s and 1980s.
Trying to solve the problems of the city, in 1976 casino gambling was approved for Atlantic City. Chalfonte-Haddon Hall Hotel was transformed into the Resorts International and became the first legal casino in the eastern United States as it opened in May, 1978. Nevertheless, the appearance of gambling did not solve the problems of Atlantic City. Las Vegas, Nevada was the top favorite place for gambling in the United States. Atlantic City was favored over Las Vegas by the end of 1970s and 1980s when Las Vegas lost many tourists due to crime, the presence of the Mafia as well as to other economical factors.
Atlantic City gained in popularity along with the rise of Mike Tyson in boxing and having most of his fights in the 1980s in Atlantic City. In July, 2003, a new casino, The Borgata, was opened in Atlantic City.
From 2005 to 2006, Atlantic City experienced the biggest percentage increase – 25.9% – in average home value in the United States.
The climate of Atlantic City is a humid subtropical climate, where summers are generally warm and humid, while winters are cold. Spring and autumn are variable, but usually they are mild with low humidity.
Based on the census of 2000, there were 40,517 people, 15,848 households and 8.700 families inhabiting in the city, with a population density of 3,569.8 people per square mile.
Atlantic City is mostly known as the “Gambling Capital of the East Coast”, second after Las Vegas in number of casinos. Some of the casinos in Atlantic City include Atlantic City Hilton, Bally’s Atlantic City, Caesars Atlantic City, The Borgata, Resorts Atlantic City, Harrah’s Atlantic City, Tropicana, Trump Taj Mahal or the Claridge Tower.
In ways of transportation, the city is linked to other cities in numerous ways. For example, New Jersey Transit’s Atlantic City Line runs from Philadelphia and many lsmaller South Jersey communities straights to the Atlantic City Rail Terminal at the Atlantic City Convention Center. The city’s public transportation is managed by New Jersey Transit along seven routes, as well as by the Atlantic City Jitney Association on further four fixed-route line and on shuttles from and to the rail terminal. In 2006, New Jersey Transit approved a three year trial of express train service connecting New York Penn Station with the Atlantic City Rail Terminal. By car, Atlantic City can be accessed via the 44 miles Atlantic City Expressway, US 30 and US 40/322. Within the city you’ll find a great number of taxi cabs and a local jitney, offering nonstop service to and from the casino and the other parts of the city.
Commercial airline services operate via Atlantic City International Airport, situated 9 miles northwest of the city in Egg Harbor Township. AirTran Airways started daily service connecting Atlantic City, NJ with Atlanta, GA in June, 2009. WestJet is also providing airline services on the airport with international service to Toronto, Canada.
Atlantic City is not just about gambling but also about shopping. It has several shopping destination such as the Atlantic City Outlets – also known as “The Walk”, Shore Mall in Egg Harbor Township, Hamilton Mall in Mays Landing, and other three large malls, specially built to attract tourists. Beside those, there are various shopping malls within Atlantic City’s casinos resorts, including The Quarter at Tropicana – an old Havana themed shopping center, the Pier Shops at Caesars and the Spice Road at Trump Taj Mahal.
