Remembering when the Claridge was AC’s ‘smaller, friendlier’ casino
It was old. It was small. It was plagued by financial issues pretty much from the moment it opened on July 20, 1981. Nonetheless, what was originally called Del Webb’s Claridge Hotel & Casino was a pretty special place. Before we get into the particulars of the...
The 20-cent coin folly
It’s a fact of history that outside interests have a way of influencing decisions made by our politicians, producing results that have the average person ask, “Why did they do that?” While one may think the production of coins for use would be pretty straight forward,...
The Shore Mall: The shopping mecca that used to be
There was a time when shopping malls were thriving all over the country. In New Jersey, circa 1968, the following malls were open for business: Cherry Hill Mall, Monmouth Mall in Eatontown, Menlo Park Mall in Edison, Moorestown Mall, Bergen Town Center and Garden...
Remembering Atlantic City’s small but mighty Steeplechase Pier
It may have existed in the shadows of the Steel Pier, and it was smaller than the Million Dollar Pier, but during its 86-year existence, roughly from 1900 to 1986, Atlantic City’s Steeplechase Pier was one heck of an amusement pier. Located on the Boardwalk, between...
Prohibition: When Atlantic City was wide open
On Jan. 17, 1920, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, a law that banned “the manufacture, transportation and sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States,” went into effect several months after it was ratified under the aegis of President Woodrow Wilson. “The...
