By Bruce Klauber
As a kid I was fascinated by Atlantic City’s amusement piers. When I visited Atlantic City with my family several times in the late 1950s and early 1960s, I nagged them mercilessly to take me to Million Dollar Pier.
When I reached driving age, the first place I drove to was Atlantic City, and my first stop when I arrived was Million Dollar Pier. My father once tried to explain this behavior to my mother saying, “The boy likes the honky-tonk.”
The storied history of Million Dollar Pier has been previously detailed in Shore Local, but there was another amusement pier in Atlantic City, and it was a good one.
Steeplechase Pier, on Pennsylvania and North Carolina avenues, just south of Steel Pier, was built in 1899 and was initially called Auditorium Pier. There aren’t a lot of details available about just what attractions were on Auditorium Pier, other than the fact that John Philip Sousa’s large orchestra played in the auditorium portion of the pier around 1904.
Things changed in 1909 when showman and ballyhoo master George C. Tilyou bought the pier, renamed it Steeplechase after the Steeplechase Pier he owned on Coney Island and began installing amusement rides.
Although Tilyou passed away in 1914, his parks thrived. At Atlantic City’s Steeplechase, the rides and attractions evolved and changed through the years. In the early days, visitors could choose to enter the pier by walking through the mouth of a clown into a revolving barrel. Then there was the entrance where blasts of air would raise the skirts of unsuspecting female patrons, long a favorite at Coney’s Steeplechase.
By the 1950s, Steeplechase had more real “thrill” rides than Million Dollar Pier. Steeplechase had a roller coaster, a monorail that actually rode over the ocean, and several versions of what is now called the Himalayan. Million Dollar Pier had mainly kids’ rides like the Tilt-A-Whirl, kiddie cars and the twirling teacups.
Steeplechase was also much smaller than Million Dollar Pier. A fire damaged it in 1932, a hurricane ravaged the pier in 1944 and almost half of it was destroyed in the 1962 nor’easter. A portion of it was, for a time, used as a heliport. In 1988, a fire destroyed what was left and eight years later, Steeplechase Pier was demolished.
There was and still is another amusement-type pier on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. Schiff’s Central Pier, located on Tennessee Avenue and the Boardwalk and now known as Central Pier Arcade and Speedway, opened in 1884 as Applegate’s Pier, was later renamed Young & McShea’s Pier, and then Young’s Pier before becoming Central Pier.
Upon its opening, Applegate’s was said to be the first successful amusement pier in Atlantic City. It had several decks and was 665 feet long. John Young, who later built Million Dollar Pier, bought it in 1891 and renamed it Young & McShea’s pier (Steward McShea was Young’s investment partner). Features of the pier in the early days included something called an “ice water fountain” as well as a roller skating rink. Capitalizing on their success, Young and McShea built a pier just opposite Applegate’s, and at one point, the new venue had a ballroom, aquarium, carousel, an electric trolley, an early version of a roller coaster and a ballroom. It was said to be 2,000 feet long. In 1912, Young bought out his partner McShea and the pier burned down shortly after.
The history of Central Pier is unremarkable, possibly because of its relatively small size or because it could never make up its mind what it wanted to be. It is one of the oldest buildings in Atlantic City and a beautiful Art Deco pavilion built in the late 1920s, still stands. Through the years, it’s been home to an arcade, retailers, a go-kart ride, various offices, and at one point, it even had a couple of small rides at the end of the pier.
Sadly, when Central Pier made news, it was likely because of the tragic event that occurred there in 2009. By that time, the area under Central Pier was populated by the homeless, who often used trash to protect themselves from the biting wind coming off the ocean. On Nov. 21 of that year, a fire broke out under the pier. Four businesses on the pier were destroyed and the decomposed body of a man was found at the scene.
Today, even though it’s still standing and still in business, when I mention Central Pier to my friends and colleagues, most say they have never heard of it.
Garden Pier, at the upper end of the Boardwalk close to the Inlet, also falls into the “forgotten” category, though it still stands. Built in 1913, it’s hard to believe that at one time it housed a world-class theater. B.F. Keith’s Theater hosted stars like Sophie Tucker and Douglas Fairbanks, as well as a gigantic ballroom.
Garden Pier was the location for the first Miss America Pageant in 1921, but in 1944 a good deal of it was destroyed in the hurricane. It was never the same after that.
Through the years Garden Pier’s attractions have included the Atlantic City Arts Center and the Atlantic City Historical Museum. A fire damaged it in 1981, but it was rebuilt. Unfortunately, as of 2023, not much goes on there.
So where does a kid, fascinated by amusement rides and honky tonk, go at the shore these days? Steel Pier on the Atlantic City Boardwalk has everything from the Carousel to the Slingshot for the most intense thrill seekers out there. A 227-foot Ferris wheel offers astounding views along with a helicopter pad featuring tours along the coast. With two more roller coasters in the works, it is sure to satisfy ride lovers of all ages.
Bruce Klauber is the author of four books, an award-winning music journalist, concert and record producer and publicist, producer of the Warner Brothers and Hudson Music “Jazz Legends” film series, and a working jazz drummer and vocalist since childhood.
