Atlantic City Region Tourism

Atlantic City Tourism

Atlantic City is located on the coast of New Jersey, a mid-Atlantic state in the northeastern portion of the U.S. The city lies along the Atlantic Ocean on New Jersey's Absecon Island. Atlantic City has a long and colorful history, and has been a popular tourist destination since the late 1800s.

Before the Europeans arrived, Absecon Island was occupied by the Lenni-Lenape Indians. In the early 1850s the railroad was brought to the area opening the way for many people to travel to this destination to visit "the shore." Atlantic City was incorporated on May 1, 1854. One of the people responsible for building the railroad was Richard Osborne who was a civil engineer from Philadelphia. He is also the man who is credited with giving Atlantic City its name. Osborne's friend and partner, Dr. Johnathan Pitney, who lived in Absecon, chose the placement and names of the streets. Streets running parallel to the ocean are named after oceans and the east/west running streets are named after states in the U.S. As Atlantic City began to become more and more popular, rooming houses and hotels began springing up all over to accommodate the influx of visitors.

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The problem of sand continually being tracked into the hotels, restaurants, stores and onto the railroad cars was solved by a conductor of the Atlantic City-Camden Railroad by the name of Alexander Boardman, along with a hotel owner by the name of Jacob Keim. They came up with the idea of a wooden walkway and presented their idea to City Council in 1870. The Boardwalk was then built to be eight feet wide and about one mile long, leading from the beach into the town. It was built into sections so that the pieces could be removed and stored at the end of every summer, and after about 10 years, a larger Boardwalk was built. Today, the Boardwalk is permanent. It's 60 feet wide and six miles long. The planks are laid on concrete and steel in a herringbone pattern, and on the beach side of the Boardwalk there are steel railings to keep people from falling off into the sand.

In 1976, the Casino Gambling Referendum was passed paving the way for legalized gambling in Atlantic City. In 1978, the first casino, called Resorts Casino Hotel, was opened. As of 2013, there are 11 gambling casinos in Atlantic City where you can play poker, slots, roulette, blackjack, keno, craps, baccarat and more.

Atlantic City has grown, developed and flourished, and for many years it has been a favorite place to go to relax and/or to be entertained. There have been, and still are, an abundance of indoor and outdoor attractions and activities to enjoy both day and night. Today, more than 30 million people from around the globe visit Atlantic City every year.