Samuel Juster , AIA , (12 February 1896 – 2 May 1982) was an American architect who practiced during the mid-20th century in New York City and New Jersey .
75-543: The Traymore Hotel was a resort in Atlantic City , New Jersey . Begun as a small boarding house in 1879, the hotel expanded and became one of the city's premier resorts. As Atlantic City began to decline in its popularity as a resort town, during the 1950s and 1960s, the Traymore diminished in popularity. By the early 1970s the hotel was abandoned and severely run down. It was imploded and demolished between April and May 1972,
150-582: A resort town . Three years later, in early 1853, it was named "Atlantic City". Because of its location in South Jersey , which hugs the Atlantic Ocean between marshlands and islands, Atlantic City was viewed by developers as prime real estate and a potential resort town. In 1853, the first commercial hotel, the Belloe House, was built at the intersection of Massachusetts and Atlantic Avenues. The city
225-585: A $ 1.5-$ 2-billion casino resort, the company canceled its construction plans and sold the land for $ 29.5 million. MGM Resorts International announced in October 2007 that it would pull out of all development for Atlantic City, effectively ending its plans for the MGM Grand Atlantic City. In 2006, Morgan Stanley purchased 20 acres (8.1 ha) directly north of the Showboat Atlantic City for
300-668: A 1974 referendum on legalized gambling failed to pass. Immediately after the legislation passed, the owners of the Chalfonte-Haddon Hall Hotel began converting it into the Resorts International. It was the first legal casino in the eastern United States when it opened on May 26, 1978. Other casinos were soon constructed along the Boardwalk and, later, in the marina district for a total of nine today. The introduction of gambling did not, however, quickly eliminate many of
375-602: A 30-cent toll. Albany Avenue was the first road to the mainland available without a toll. By 1878, because of the growing popularity of the city, one railroad line could no longer keep up with demand. Soon, the Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railway was also constructed to transport tourists to Atlantic City. At this point massive hotels like the United States Hotel and Surf House, as well as smaller rooming houses, had sprung up all over town. The United States Hotel took up
450-400: A September 1889 storm struck the city. The lawn protected the hotel from any serious damage. The hotel's modern appointments led to it becoming very popular. It stayed open year-round, and by 1898 it grew into the city's largest hotel with over 450 rooms. By 1906 the Traymore's owner, Daniel White, hired the firm of Price and McLanahan to construct a new tower which brought the hotel right up to
525-482: A bill offering tax incentives to attract new investors and complete the job, but a poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University 's PublicMind released in March 2010 showed that 60% of voters opposed the legislation, and two of three of those who opposed it "strongly" opposed it. Ultimately, Governor Chris Christie offered Revel $ 261 million in state tax credits to assist the casino once it opened. Revel completed all of
600-559: A condo complex, and Resorts Atlantic City . The old Ambassador Hotel was purchased by Ramada in 1978 and was gutted to become the Tropicana Casino and Resort Atlantic City , only reusing the steelwork of the original building. Smaller hotels off the boardwalk, such as the Madison also survived. In an effort at revitalizing the city, New Jersey voters in 1976 passed a referendum, approving casino gambling for Atlantic City; this came after
675-640: A contender to build a supermarket. As of December 2023, there was only one functioning supermarket in Atlantic City, the Save-A-Lot food store located in Renaissance Plaza, an area of the city known for its significant homeless population and drug use. The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority has proposed a new supermarket that would be located on an empty parking lot behind the Tanger Outlets and near
750-493: A diploma from the International Correspondence School in 1918. In 1956, his office was located at 36G Broadway, New York City. While earning his diplomas, Juster was Squad Leader, draftsmen and writer for Goldner & Goldberg from 1913 to 1917; he was a draftsman, writer, and supervisor at the firm of Alfred C. Bossom from 1918 to 1924 where he met Anthony J. DePace with whom, in 1923, he formed
825-462: A full city block between Atlantic, Pacific, Delaware, and Maryland Avenues. These hotels were not only impressive in size, but featured the most up-to-date amenities, and were considered quite luxurious for their time. In 1883, salt water taffy was conceived in Atlantic City by David Bradley. The traditional story is that Bradley's shop was flooded after a major storm, soaking his taffy with salty Atlantic Ocean water. He sold some "salt water taffy" to
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#1732844995425900-527: A full four years before the New Jersey Legislature passed the referendum that legalized gambling in Atlantic City. Like most of the pre-casino Atlantic City resorts, the Traymore went through several incarnations. It started off as a modest ten-room wooden cottage boarding house located at Illinois Avenue and the Boardwalk . The name "Traymore" came from the hotel's steadiest customer, "Uncle Al Harvey",
975-414: A girl, who proudly walked down to the beach to show her friends. Bradley's mother was in the back of the store when the sale was made, and loved the name, and so salt water taffy was born. In the early 20th century, Atlantic City experienced a radical building boom. Many of the modest boarding houses that dotted the boardwalk were replaced with large hotels. Two of the city's most distinctive hotels were
1050-523: A harsh light on Atlantic City, which by then was in the midst of a long period of economic decline. Many felt that the friendship between Johnson and Governor of New Jersey Richard J. Hughes led Atlantic City to host the Democratic Convention. By the late 1960s, many of the resort's once great hotels were suffering from high vacancy rates. Most of them were either shut down, converted to cheap apartments, or converted to nursing home facilities by
1125-460: A health resort, his efforts to convince the municipal authorities that a railroad to the beach would be beneficial, his successful alliance with Samuel Richards (entrepreneur and member of the most influential family in southern New Jersey at the time) to achieve that goal, the actual building of the railroad, and the experience of the first 600 riders, who "were chosen carefully by Samuel Richards and Jonathan Pitney": After arriving in Atlantic City,
1200-478: A hint from the Marlborough-Blenheim, commissioned the firm of Price and McLanahan to build an even bigger hotel. Rising 16 stories, the tan brick and gold-capped hotel would become one of the city's best-known landmarks. The hotel made use of ocean-facing hotel rooms by jutting its wings farther from the main portion of the hotel along Pacific Avenue. One by one, additional large hotels were constructed along
1275-524: A hotel there, however, the plan did not materialize. In 2006, Pinnacle Entertainment announced that it purchased the Traymore site and the adjacent Sands Atlantic City casino hotel. Pinnacle demolished the Sands and planned to develop a new casino on the combined parcels. Harsh economic times later caused Pinnacle to delay construction of the new resort. In February 2010, the company announced that it had canceled its construction plans and would instead seek to sell
1350-633: A new $ 2-billion-plus casino resort. Revel Entertainment Group was named as the project's developer for the Revel Casino . Revel was hindered with many problems, the biggest setback occurring in April 2010 when Morgan Stanley, the owner of 90% of Revel Entertainment Group, decided to discontinue funding for continued construction and put its stake in Revel up for sale. Early in 2010, the New Jersey state legislature passed
1425-482: A rich Marylander who had named his estate "Traymore" after his home town in Ireland . The first hotel was rather flimsy, as it was destroyed by a severe winter storm on January 10, 1884. It was quickly rebuilt and enlarged. When rebuilt, the owners made the hotel stronger and more modern, adding indoor plumbing and bathrooms. They also added a spacious lawn between the hotel and the Boardwalk that proved to be valuable when
1500-410: A second train brought the visitors to the door of the resort's first public lodging, the United States Hotel. The hotel was owned by the railroad. It was a sprawling, four-story structure built to house 2,000 guests. It opened while it was still under construction, with only one wing standing, and even that wasn't completed. By year's end, when it was fully constructed, the United States Hotel was not only
1575-513: A year after DePace had done the same, suggesting that DePace disbanded the partnership and Juster was slower to reestablish himself. As the junior partner of DePace & Juster, the multiple differences in dates between Juster and DePace could be explained by DePace taking the initiative in their joint activities with Juster playing catch up. Juster was registered as an architect in New York City and New Jersey . Juster's former partner, DePace had
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#17328449954251650-529: Is widely known as a food desert , with the nearest fully-functioning supermarket being located in neighboring Ventnor City , which is 3 miles (4.8 km) away from the majority of Atlantic City's population. As a result, proposals for a supermarket were floated beginning in May 2021, and Atlantic City's City Council gave permission to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to look for
1725-478: The 2020 census , the city had a population of 38,497, a decline of 1,061 (−2.7%) from the 2010 census count of 39,558, which in turn reflected a decrease of 959 (−2.4%) from the 40,517 counted in the 2000 census . The city was incorporated on May 1, 1854, from portions of Egg Harbor Township and Galloway Township . It is located on Absecon Island and borders Absecon , Brigantine , Egg Harbor Township, Galloway Township, Pleasantville , Ventnor City , and
1800-471: The Atlantic City Expressway . Groundbreaking for a ShopRite supermarket had taken place in October 2021, after Village Super Market received $ 18.7 million from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to construct the store. The supermarket was expected to be completed by December 2022, although no construction or building had happened on the site, which drew attention from residents. After
1875-454: The Atlantic Ocean . Prior to Atlantic City's founding, the region served as a summer home for the Lenape , a Native American tribe. While the precise date of European settlement in present-day Atlantic City is not precisely determined, it is commonly thought that it was in 1783, when Jeremiah Leeds built and occupied a year-round home there. In 1850, present-day Atlantic City was developed into
1950-619: The Boardwalk Hall , finalized on September 30, 1924. Bader was also a driving force behind the creation of the Miss America competition. In May 1929, Johnson hosted a conference for organized crime figures from all across America that created a National Crime Syndicate . The men who called this meeting were Masseria family lieutenant Charles "Lucky" Luciano and former Chicago South Side Gang boss Johnny "the Fox" Torrio , with heads of
2025-565: The Bugs and Meyer Mob , Meyer Lansky and Benjamin Siegel , being used as muscle for the meeting. Gangster and businessman Al Capone attended the conference and was photographed walking along the Atlantic City boardwalk with Johnson. The 1930s through the 1960s were a heyday for nightclub entertainment. Popular venues on the white-populated south side included the 500 Club , the Clicquot Club , and
2100-449: The Corps of Topographical Engineers , was approved, with work initiated the next year. By 1874, almost 500,000 passengers a year were coming to Atlantic City by rail. In Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City , "Atlantic City's Godfather" Nelson Johnson describes the inspiration of Jonathan Pitney (the "Father of Atlantic City" ) to develop Atlantic City as
2175-566: The Jockey Club . In the Northside neighborhood , home to African Americans in the racially segregated city, a black entertainment district reigned on Kentucky Avenue. Four major nightclubs, Club Harlem , the Paradise Club , Grace's Little Belmont , and Wonder Gardens , drew both black and white patrons. During the summer tourist season, jazz and R&B music could be heard into the wee hours of
2250-609: The Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel and the Traymore Hotel . In 1902, Josiah White III bought a parcel of land near Ohio Avenue and the boardwalk, where he started construction and built the Queen Anne style Marlborough House. The hotel was a success. In 1905, he chose to expand the hotel and bought another parcel of land adjacent to his Marlborough House. In an effort to make his new hotel a source of conversation, White hired
2325-637: The United States Supreme Court agreed to hear Christie v. National Collegiate Athletic Association and heard oral arguments in December 2017. Then, on May 14, 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was unconstitutional. The act was overturned, allowing New Jersey to move ahead with plans to implement legalized sports betting. Despite being
Traymore Hotel - Misplaced Pages Continue
2400-468: The "Las Vegas of the East Coast" and inspired the U.S. version of the board game Monopoly , which uses various Atlantic City street names and destinations in the game. New Jersey voters legalized casino gambling in Atlantic City in 1976, and the first casino opened two years later. From 1921 to 2004, Atlantic City hosted the Miss America pageant, which later returned to the city from 2013 to 2018. As of
2475-486: The "Skyscraper by the Sea". With tourism peaking in the 1920s, the period is often considered by historians to be Atlantic City's golden age. During Prohibition , which was enacted nationally in 1919 and lasted until 1933, much liquor was consumed and gambling regularly took place in the back rooms of nightclubs and restaurants. During Prohibition, racketeer and political boss Enoch L. "Nucky" Johnson rose to power. Prohibition
2550-512: The 1950s, but as Atlantic City declined in the 1960s, the Traymore did as well. The availability of home air conditioning and swimming pools, coupled with inexpensive and frequent airline services to destinations in Florida and the Caribbean , led to the decline of Atlantic City as the premier ocean resort. By the early 1970s, the hotel was defunct and was causing its owners large financial deficits. It
2625-430: The Atlantic City skyline, circa 1920, as the back drop for the series opening titles, including both the Traymore and the famed Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel . 'William L. Price: Arts and Crafts to Modern Design' New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2000. pp. 164 - 171, 236 - 251. Includes numerous reproductions of architectural renderings and construction photographs. 'William Price's Traymore Hotel: Modernity in
2700-457: The Blenheim and merged the two hotels into the Marlborough-Blenheim. Bally's Atlantic City was later constructed at this location. The Traymore Hotel was located at the corner of Illinois Avenue and the boardwalk. Constructed in 1879 as a small boarding house, the hotel grew through a series of uncoordinated expansions. By 1914, the hotel's owner, Daniel White, Josiah White's half-brother, taking
2775-755: The Mass Resort' The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts, Miami: Wolfson Foundation, 2005. (Issue 25, The American Hotel) pp. 183 - 211. Atlantic City Atlantic City , sometimes referred to by its initials A.C. , is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County , in the U.S. state of New Jersey . Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan statistical area , which encompasses those cities and all of Atlantic County for statistical purposes. Both Atlantic City and Hammonton, as well as
2850-399: The Traymore was the largest (though not highest) structure yet demolished. The spectacle is captured in the 1980 film Atlantic City . As well as the 1974 Walt Disney Film Herbie Rides Again in the beginning of the film where Alonzo Hawk demolishes numerous buildings. Caesars Atlantic City purchased the land in the late 1970s and utilized it as a parking lot. The casino intended to develop
2925-403: The architectural firm of Price and McLanahan. The firm made use of reinforced concrete , a new building material invented by Jean-Louis Lambot in 1848, and Joseph Monier received the patent in 1867. The hotel's Spanish and Moorish themes, capped off with its signature dome and chimneys, represented a step forward from other hotels that had a classically designed influence. White named the new hotel
3000-415: The boardwalk was expanded in length and width, and modified several times in subsequent years. Prior to the destructive 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane , the historic length of the boardwalk was about 7 mi (11 km) and it extended from Atlantic City to Longport , through Ventnor and Margate . The first road connecting the city to the mainland at Pleasantville was completed in 1870 and charged
3075-559: The boardwalk, including the Brighton, Chelsea, Shelburne, Ambassador, Ritz Carlton, Mayflower, Madison House, and the Breakers. The Quaker -owned Chalfonte House, opened in 1868, and Haddon House, opened in 1869, flanked North Carolina Avenue at the beach end. Over the years, their original wood-frame structures would be enlarged, and even moved closer to the beach. The modern Chalfonte Hotel, eight stories tall, opened in 1904. The modern Haddon Hall
Traymore Hotel - Misplaced Pages Continue
3150-405: The boardwalk. By 1914, the Traymore, which had been the city's most popular hotel, now had stiff competition from the Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel , located across from the Traymore on Ohio Avenue and the Boardwalk. Owner Josiah White III, Daniel White's half brother, had contracted the services of Price and McLanahan to build an extension to his Marlborough House which had opened in 1902. The result
3225-446: The central tower toward Pacific Avenue, thus affording more guests ocean views. The new Traymore opened in time for the 1915 season, and was a success. Built with tan brick and capped by yellow-tiled domes, the Traymore instantly became the city's architectural showpiece when it opened in June 1915. The hotel was such a success that White commissioned a 25-story additional tower to be built, but
3300-485: The city to attract customers to his casinos. Mike Tyson fought most of his fights in Atlantic City in the 1980s, which helped Atlantic City achieve national attention as a gambling resort and vacation destination. Several highrise condominiums were built for use as permanent residences or second homes. By end of the decade, it was one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States. On June 27, 2017,
3375-471: The city were scrapped in 2002, the tunnel opened in 2001. The new roadway prompted Boyd Gaming in partnership with MGM/Mirage to build Atlantic City's newest casino. Borgata opened in July 2003, and its success brought an influx of developers to Atlantic City with plans for building grand, Las Vegas-style mega casinos to revitalize the aging city. Owing to economic conditions and the late 2000s recession , many of
3450-424: The city, as well as from kickbacks on construction projects. During this time, Atlantic City was led by mayor Edward L. Bader , known for his contributions to the construction, athletics and aviation of Atlantic City. Despite opposition, he had Atlantic City purchase the land that became the city's municipal airport and high school football stadium, both of which were later named Bader Field in his honor. He led
3525-665: The construction plans and the two proposals were still "being reviewed." According to the United States Census Bureau , Atlantic City had a total area of 17.21 square miles (44.59 km ), including 10.76 square miles (27.87 km ) of land and 6.45 square miles (16.72 km ) of water (37.50%). Samuel Juster Juster was born in Bucharest, Romania . He earned a diploma from Cooper Union in 1917. He studied Beaux Arts, Corbett - Gugler , Atelier (345 East 33rd Street, Manhattan ), between 1915 and 1917, earned
3600-549: The early 1990s, along with newly built casinos in the nearby Philadelphia metro area in the 2000s, Atlantic City's tourism began to decline due to its failure to diversify away from gambling. In 1999 the Atlantic City Redevelopment Authority partnered with Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn to develop a new roadway to a barren section of the city near the Marina. Nicknamed "The Tunnel Project", Steve Wynn planned
3675-885: The end of the decade. Prior to and during the advent of legalized gambling, many of these hotels were demolished. The Breakers, The Chelsea , the Brighton, the Shelburne, the Mayflower, the Traymore and the Marlborough-Blenheim were demolished in the 1970s and 1980s. Of the many pre-casino resorts that bordered the boardwalk, only the Claridge, the Dennis, the Ritz-Carlton , and the Haddon Hall survive to this day as parts of Bally's Atlantic City ,
3750-537: The exterior work and had continued work on the interior after finally receiving the funding necessary to complete construction, and had a soft opening in April 2012 before being fully open the next month. Ten months later, in February 2013, after serious losses and a write-down in the value of the resort from $ 2.4 billion to $ 450 million, Revel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It was restructured but still could not carry on and re-entered bankruptcy on June 19, 2014. It
3825-420: The first hotel in Atlantic City but also the largest in the nation. Its rooms totaled more than 600, and its grounds covered some 14 acres. The first boardwalk was built in 1870 along a portion of the beach in an effort to help hotel owners keep sand out of their lobbies. Businesses were restricted and the boardwalk was removed each year at the end of the peak season. Because of its effectiveness and popularity,
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#17328449954253900-523: The initiative, in 1923, to construct the Atlantic City High School at Albany and Atlantic Avenues. Bader, in November 1923, initiated a public referendum, during the general election, at which time residents approved the construction of a Convention Center. The city passed an ordinance approving a bond issue for $ 1.5 million to be used for the purchase of land for Convention Hall, now known as
3975-535: The land. Most of the Traymore site remains a parking lot. Traymore Hotel is one of the locations featured in Grace Livingston Hill 's 1911 novel Aunt Crete's Emancipation. It can be seen in several exterior scenes of the 1972 Bob Rafelson film The King of Marvin Gardens , which was shot in Atlantic City only a few months before the building was demolished. Footage of the Traymore's demolition features in
4050-465: The luxury beach resorts during the hot summer. Finally, the rise of relatively cheap jet airline service allowed visitors to travel to year-round resort places such as Miami Beach and the Bahamas . The city hosted the 1964 Democratic National Convention which nominated Lyndon Johnson for president and Hubert Humphrey as vice president. The convention and the press coverage it generated, however, cast
4125-406: The morning. Soul food restaurants and ribs joints also lined Kentucky Avenue, including Wash's Restaurant , Jerry's and Sap's. Like many older East Coast cities after World War II , Atlantic City became plagued with poverty, crime, corruption, and general economic decline in the mid-to-late 20th century. The neighborhood known as the "Inlet" became particularly impoverished. The reasons for
4200-454: The opening of Louis Malle 's 1980 film Atlantic City . Nevertheless, the Traymore was demolished in 1972 for financial reasons and not in anticipation of legalized gambling (a 1974 referendum to allow casinos throughout the state was not approved by New Jersey voters). Gambling was legalized four years after the demolition in 1976 with Resorts International being the first legal casino to open in 1978. The HBO drama Boardwalk Empire used
4275-398: The partnership DePace & Juster , an architectural firm. Anthony DePace left the firm of Cass Gilbert in 1923 and formed DePace and Juster with Juster. The firm continued in practice until 1947 when the partnership was dissolved. Juster claimed in 1956 that the practice was established in 1925 and disestablished in 1948. Juster established his own firm under his own name in 1948,
4350-508: The proposed 'Mirage Atlantic City' around the idea that he would connect the $ 330 million tunnel stretching 2.5 mi (4.0 km) from the Atlantic City Expressway to his new resort. The roadway was later officially named the Atlantic City-Brigantine Connector , and funnels incoming traffic off of the expressway into the city's marina district and the city of Brigantine . Although Wynn's plans for development in
4425-504: The proposed mega casinos never advanced further than the initial planning stage. One of these developers was Pinnacle Entertainment , which purchased the Sands Atlantic City for $ 250–$ 270 million and closed it on November 11, 2006 with plans to replace it with a larger casino. The following year, the resort was demolished in an implosion, the first of its kind in Atlantic City. While Pinnacle Entertainment intended to replace it with
4500-553: The resort's decline were multi-layered. First, the automobile became more readily available to many Americans after the war. Atlantic City had initially relied upon visitors coming by train and staying for a couple of weeks. The car allowed them to come and go as they pleased, and many people would spend only a few days, rather than weeks. The advent of suburbia also played a significant role. With many families moving to their own private houses, luxuries such as home air conditioning and swimming pools diminished their interest in flocking to
4575-596: The state of New Jersey. In 2019, the Atlantic City area had the highest rates of foreclosures in the nation. This has disproportionately affected Black residents in neighborhoods segregated by redlining , a legacy that is mirrored by the values of properties on the Monopoly game board. After several casino closures and the COVID-19 pandemic , strikes and pickets were being threatened in June 2022 by casino employees which were short-staffed and wanted pay raises. Atlantic City
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#17328449954254650-412: The state saw a drop in money from its 8% tax on those earnings, which is used to fund programs for senior citizens and the disabled. On October 29, 2012, " Superstorm Sandy " struck Atlantic City and caused flooding and power-outages but left minimal damage to any of the tourist areas. The storm produced an all-time record low barometric pressure reading of 943 mb (27.85") for not only Atlantic City, but
4725-572: The state to initiate the landmark ruling, New Jersey was actually the third state to legalize sports betting after Nevada and Delaware . In June 2018, New Jersey governor Phil Murphy signed the legislation into law, and several New Jersey–based casino brands subsequently opened sportsbooks , especially in Atlantic City. With the redevelopment of the Las Vegas Strip and the opening of Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut in
4800-413: The surrounding Atlantic County, are culturally tied to Philadelphia and constitute part of the larger Philadelphia metropolitan area or Delaware Valley , the nation's seventh-largest metropolitan area as of 2020. Located in South Jersey on Absecon Island and known for its taxis , casinos , nightlife , boardwalk , and Atlantic Ocean beaches and coastline , the city is prominently known as
4875-515: The time for the contract expired, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) announced that the deal with Village Super Market (VSM) was dead and that they were looking for new contenders. VSM created a new plan for CRDA and the city's Council to review and by July 2023, it and a Chinese conglomerate headquartered in Hong Kong emerged as the two candidates to build the supermarket. However, as of November 2023, no further progress had been made on
4950-408: The urban problems that plagued Atlantic City. Many people have suggested that it only served to exacerbate those problems, as attested to by the stark contrast between tourism intensive areas and the adjacent impoverished working-class neighborhoods. While Atlantic City has been less popular than Las Vegas as a gambling city in the United States, Donald Trump helped bring big name boxing bouts to
5025-467: Was built in stages and was completed in 1929, at eleven stories. By this time, they were under the same ownership and merged into the Chalfonte-Haddon Hall Hotel , becoming the city's largest hotel with nearly 1,000 rooms. By 1930, the Claridge, the city's last large hotel before the casinos, opened its doors. The 400-room Claridge was built by a partnership that included renowned Philadelphia contractor John McShain . At 24 stories, it would become known as
5100-498: Was decided to demolish the hotel, despite a campaign to save the architectural landmark. On April 27, 1972 the hotel experienced the first of four planned controlled implosions implemented by Jack Loizeaux . By May 1972 the hotel was completely demolished. For a time, the once-famous hotel held the Guinness World Record for largest controlled demolition—with a capacity of nearly 6.5 million cubic feet (180,000 m),
5175-563: Was incorporated in 1854, the same year train service began on the Camden and Atlantic Railroad . Built on the edge of the bay, this served as the direct link of this remote parcel of land with Philadelphia , the second-most populous city in the United States at the time and the largest city in Pennsylvania . The same year, construction of the Absecon Lighthouse , designed by George Meade of
5250-466: Was largely unenforced in Atlantic City. Because alcohol that had been smuggled into the city with the implicit approval of local officials, it was easily obtained at restaurants and other establishments, and the resort's popularity grew further. The city then dubbed itself as "The World's Playground". Nucky Johnson's income, which reached as much as $ 500,000 annually, came from the kickbacks he took on illegal liquor, gambling and prostitution operating in
5325-587: Was leased by the US Military during World War II , as part of Army Air Force Basic Training Center No. 7 . The forty-seven Atlantic City resort hotels taken over by the United States Military were collectively dubbed "Camp Boardwalk". The Traymore was operated jointly with the adjacent Chalfonte-Haddon Hall Hotel as the England General Hospital , which opened on April 28, 1944. The hospital
5400-541: Was named for Lt. Col. Thomas Marcus England, who had worked with Walter Reed researching yellow fever in Cuba in 1900. The Traymore served as the convalescent reconditioning section of the hospital. The last patients left the hospital in June 1946 and the Traymore was returned to its owners and reopened soon after. The Traymore Hotel Outdoor and Indoor Swimming Pools were built 1954 to designs by architect Samuel Juster of New York City . The hotel remained popular well into
5475-654: Was put up for sale, however as no suitable bids were received the resort closed its doors in September 2014. The property was bought by AC Ocean Walk, LLC for $ 200 million in 2017, and reopened in 2018 as Ocean Casino Resort. In the wake of the closures and declining revenue from casinos, Governor Christie said in September 2014 that the state would consider a 2015 referendum to end the 40-year-old monopoly that Atlantic City holds on casino gambling and allowing gambling in other municipalities. With casino revenue declining from $ 5.2 billion in 2006 to $ 2.9 billion in 2013,
5550-471: Was the modern Blenheim hotel which was one of the first hotels constructed using reinforced concrete . Built during the autumn and winter of 1914–15, White contracted with Price and McLanahan to replace the existing wooden-frame Traymore with a massive concrete structure that would rival the Marlborough-Blenheim. Price's Traymore was built directly behind the 1906 tower, and was designed to take advantage of its ocean views: hotel wings jutted out further from
5625-472: Was unable to secure funding for the project due to World War I. The Traymore catered to an upscale clientele, and was described in 1924 as "the Taj Mahal of Atlantic City," decades before Donald Trump opened a casino resort with that name. The Traymore featured four faucets in every bathtub: hot and cold city water, hot and cold ocean water. There was a fifth faucet in the sink for ice water. The Traymore
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