The Atlantic City Boardwalk is the backbone of this seaside resort city, providing access to hotels, resorts, shops, casinos and more. Stemming from the Atlantic City Boardwalk are several piers featuring a number of attractions and unique shopping venues. Garden Pier is known as the arts and cultural center of the Atlantic City Boardwalkcomplete with Atlantic City historical museum and Atlantic City Art Center. The AC Boardwalk provides shoppers a unique experience with local finds such as salt water taffy and delicious fudge to Atlantic City-themed souvenirs and gifts. The Pier Shops at Caesars offer world-class shopping, dining and entertainment with approximately 90 high-end shops and restaurants, boasting such luxury names as Gucci and Louis Vuitton. Casino gift shops are easily accessible from the Boardwalk as well.If you need an Atlantic City Boardwalk map to get around once you’ve arrived in what many refer to as “America’s Favorite Playground,” never fear, you can print one off online or pick one up at most hotels or casinos along the Boardwalk. Because Atlantic City is so used to having tourists visit their fair city from countries all over the world, many locals and shop owners are practiced at giving precise directions and love to help out those interested in their city.
After you’ve grabbed your Atlantic City Boardwalk map, your sunscreen, and a few twenty dollar bills to tide you over, you’re ready to explore what the Atlantic City Boardwalk has to offer. First make a visit to the Boardwalk Hall Atlantic City and take note of what shows they’ll be offering during your stay, next take a walk down the Boardwalk and visit all the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hotels you can manage. The folks back home may not believe you when you tell them about the grandeur of Trumps Taj Mahal Atlantic City — so take pictures for posterity. By this time, you’ll need a snack, so head over to the famous Mr. Peanut Shoppe on the Boardwalk and grab a snack to tide you over while you visit Lucy The Elephant and Storybook Land. By the end of the day I promise you’ll have enough memories to last until next year, when you’ll want to visit the Atlantic City Boardwalk again.
History of Atlantic City Boardwalk
Aaahh, the Atlantic City Boardwalk. It is the famed promenade known for the roaring sea and dozens of confection shops and amusements. It is the cherished blue property of the most popular board game in the world. It is truly the walk that inspired many more, but can never be duplicated. Surprisingly, the most famous walkway on the East Coast was not built to be anything more than a solution to keeping the sand out of the ritzy beachfront hotels and the Camden and Atlantic’s railroad passenger cars. A fed-up railroad conductor and hotel owner first petitioned to the city council in 1870, asking that a mile-long footwalk be established. Costing five thousand dollars and built 10 feet wide in sections of 12 feet, the first of the famed boards was dedicated on June 16, 1870. No commerce of any kind was allowed within thirty feet of the walk, and at the end of each summer season for many years, the Boardwalk was actually taken apart and stored for the winter months.Ten years later, vacationers had splintered the Boardwalk, so city council built a new one, this time four feet wider and much longer. The go-ahead was given at this time as well for commerce to get closer than thirty feet, ten to be exact. By 1883, this ordinance was “tossed to sea” and almost one hundred stores, stalls and stands had Boardwalk addresses.A storm in 1884 was the cause for a third boardwalk to be built, twenty-feet wide, two miles long, and this time with pilings five feet above the beach so the tides could wash beneath safely. Safety was not exactly the first thing you thought of when it came to the Boardwalk. There were no railings, and accounts told of at least somebody every day falling off the boards, usually in the act of flirting popular travel destinations.The late 1970s saw the groundbreaking decision to bring casino gaming to the fading beach resort. The Boardwalk stood as proud as ever when Resorts International first opened its doors on Memorial Day Weekend, 1978. Thousands came in those first three days and gave it the best stomp it had in years.
With the legalization of gambling, hotels, stores and piers along the Boardwalk started to make like deeds in a MONOPOLY game and changed hands rapidly. The boards stood by as out-of-town bigwigs came, saw and invested. This investing has prospered into the new century, with the Boardwalk ever by its side.Over a century after its emergence and evolution, the Boardwalk still stands as a historic American symbol of good times and rich culture. Some may still believe that Atlantic City’s future rides on the roll of a dice. They just might want to take a stroll on that timeless Boardwalk to realize this city is going nowhere but up. Place your bets!
Things to do
National Geographic calls it the grandfather of boardwalks, Travel+Leisure says don’t miss out on a rolling chair ride and USA Today named it one of the top “Best Boardwalks”. The Atlantic City Boardwalk is the backbone of this seaside resort city, providing access to hotels, resorts, shops, casinos and more. Oh, and Shopping on the Atlantic City Boardwalk is pretty great too! Stemming from the Atlantic City Boardwalk are several piers featuring a number of attractions, most notably, Steel Pier. Steel Pier was originally known for showcasing the world’s top entertainers, delighting thousands of visitors each day with top names and novelty acts. Today, kids of all ages enjoy Steel Pier’s thrilling amusement rides and games of chance. Garden Pier is known as the arts and cultural center of the Atlantic City Boardwalk complete with Atlantic City historical museum and Atlantic City Art Center.
Shopping
Atlantic City has many different shopping districts and malls, many of which are located inside or adjacent to the casino resorts. Several smaller themed retail and dining areas in casino hotels include the Borgata Shops and The Shoppes at Water Club inside the Borgata, the Waterfront Shops inside of Harrah’s, Spice Road inside the Trump Taj Mahal, while Resorts Casino Hotel has a small collection of stores and restaurants. Major shopping malls are also located in and around Atlantic City.
- Atlantic City Outlets The Walk, an outdoor outlet shopping center spanning several blocks. The only outlet mall in South Jersey, The Walk first opened in 2003 and is currently undergoing an expansion.
- The Quarter at Tropicana, an old Havana-themed indoor shopping center at the Tropicana, which contains over 40 stores, restaurants, and nightclubs.
- Pier Shops at Caesars, an underwater-themed indoor high end shopping center located on the Million Dollar Pier which was formerly known as “Shops on Ocean One”. The four-story shopping mall contains themed floors as well as a fountain show.
- Shore Mall in nearby Egg Harbor Township is anchored by Boscov’s and Burlington Coat Factory, as well as a movie theater and several recently opened restaurants, including Golden Corral, which opened in 2010.
- Hamilton Mall in nearby Mays Landing, anchored by Macy’s, JCPenney, and Sears, contains over 140 stores and several restaurants.
- Smithville Towne Center and Village Greene, a complex of over 60 stores and restaurants centered around a lake in historic Smithville, a section of Galloway Township. The center contains boutique stores, paddleboats, a hotel, as well as small amusement rides.
Exhibition
Boardwalk Hall, formally known as the “Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall”, is an arena in Atlantic City along the boardwalk. Boardwalk Hall was Atlantic City’s primary convention center until the opening of the Atlantic City Convention Center in 1997. The Atlantic City Convention Center includes 500,000 sq ft (46,000 m2) of showroom space, 5 exhibit halls, 45 meeting rooms with 109,000 sq ft (10,100 m2) of space, a garage with 1,400 parking spaces, and an adjacent Sheraton hotel. Both the Boardwalk Hall and Convention Center are operated by the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority.
It will not be an exaggeration to say that Atlantic City Boardwalk is a Awesome Place For Vacations.