Atlantic City

Atlantic City, city (1990 pop. 37,986), Atlantic co., SE N.J., an Atlantic resort and convention center; settled c.1790, inc. 1854. Situated on Absecon Island, a barrier island 10 mi (16.1 km) long, Atlantic City was a fishing village until the construction in 1854 of a railroad that made it a fashionable resort for Philadelphians and New Yorkers. The first boardwalk was built in 1870. Atlantic City's chief industry is tourism, with more than 30 million visitors annually. The casino industry, which was legalized in 1976 and began in 1978, rivals that in Las Vegas, Nevada. The boardwalk, lined with casinos, hotels, shops, and amusements, is 6 mi (9.7 km) long. Urban blight, however, has continued to contrast sharply with oceanfront prosperity. Atlantic City has a large convention center. The Democratic national convention took place in the city in 1964, and the Miss America Pageant was held there annually from 1921 to 2005. Absecon Lighthouse, in operation 1854–1932, attracts tourists. The first Ferris wheel was built in Atlantic City in 1869. The board game Monopoly, which makes use of area street names, was invented here in 1930.

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Atlantic City

City (pop., 2000: 40,517) and resort, southeastern New Jersey, U.S. Lying on narrow Absecon Island, the resort began to be developed in the mid-19th century. Amusement piers were constructed, and the first beachfront boardwalk was built there in 1870. The Miss America Pageant was established in Atlantic City in 1921. After World War II the city began to decline. In 1976 the state approved legalized gambling, and extensive development in Atlantic City provided a huge influx of money to the resort, but much of the surrounding area remained impoverished.

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Atlantic City

New Jersey city has become the Las Vegas of the East. [Am. Hist.: Misc.]

See : Gambling