Showboating, Reveling, Boardwalking
What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear Atlantic City? 50 years ago, most people would probably say the beach or the boardwalk. Today, casinos are what they're known best for (though organized crime and cocaine are also acceptable answers). I wouldn't be doing this city justice if I didn't cover a couple more of them. Since photography isn't allowed in active casinos, you'll have to settle for some more closed ones. Not like AC has any shortage of them.
This casino opened in 1987. While it was originally independently owned, the land it sits on was leased from Resorts. It originally had a riverboat theme, but was remodeled in 1995 to a New Orleans theme. It was bought by Harrah's in 1998, who later took on the better-known Caesars' name after Harrah's bought them in 2005. It was still a popular and profitable casino at the time it closed in 2014, but the plug was pulled to prevent competition with Caesars' other casinos. Prior to the building being sold, Caesar's placed a deed restriction on the property to stop another casino from opening. It was purchased by Stockton University later that year, who planned on turning it into a satellite campus. Legal issues caused those plans to fall through, and it was then sold to developer Bart Blatstein, who immediately reopened the hotel portion of the building. The casino portion remains closed, but Blatstein plans to reopen it once the deed restriction expires.
This building originally housed Revel Casino, which opened in 2012 and had a very unfortunate two-year run before going bankrupt and closing. It changed hands a few times, and ultimately reopened in 2018 as the Ocean Casino Resort. Despite sitting vacant for a few years, the interior was still in good condition, and they were able to open without much remodeling.
The high-rise core of this building was built in the 1920's as the Haddon House Hotel. It was bought in 1968 by newly-formed Resorts International bought this building and spent the next decade lobbying the state government to legalize gambling. After a massive expansion and renovation, Resorts Casino opened in 1978 as the first US casino outside of Las Vegas.
This restaurant's pretty famous, it's well-known for having celebrities visit when they perform at the casinos. The neon sign isn't as old as it looks; this restaurant opened in the 90's. The neon has sadly been removed and replaced with covered-face signage.
This casino opened in 1984 and was one of the four to close in 2014 after Trump's deal to sell it to another operator was rejected by Icahn, who held the mortgage. The years it has been closed have taken their toll, and the building was condemned by the city in 2018. Several demolition plans have fallen through, but the city's current goal is to get the complex down by the end of the year.
This opened as a Golden Nugget Casino in 1980, and was sold to Bally's in 1987. Bally's (Fun fact: it's the same Bally's as the former gym) was acquired by Hilton in 1996. AC's other Bally's continued to operate under that name, while this became the AC Hilton Casino Resort. In 2011, Hilton sold off their casino division and it's name was abbreviated to ACH (likewise, Las Vegas Hilton became LVH). It was renovated and turned into the Atlantic Club in 2012. As Atlantic Club, it tried to cater more towards locals than the stream of New Yorkers most of the casinos here get. That plan failed, they went bankrupt the following year, and closed in 2014. Caesar's used the bankruptcy sale to buy all the gambling machines and placed a deed restriction on the property before handing it off to a developer. It's been bought and sold a few times and plans have come and gone, but I've been told the current owner plans to sit on the property until the deed restriction expires (I think in 2024), then flip it to a new casino.
The T-shaped sign post is usually only found on 60's/early 70's stores, so I was surprised to see this one actually has a store number in the 700's. That would be a late 80's opening date. It was remodeled in 2016 with their cheaper look usually saved for stores they plan on relocating or rebuilding in the not-too-distant future.
This picture's bad enough I almost pulled it, but between it being such a classic location and the fact that it has since been closed and demolished for an apartment building, I figured I might as well include it.
I was excited to find such a well-preserved 1920's Studebaker dealership, but I'm worried it won't stay that way for long. The lighting store that was last here closed over a decade ago, and that tree in the window isn't a houseplant- it's literally growing out of the floor..
This Amoco opened in the 60's, and has been closed since well before the BP merger. It then operated as a tire center until fairly recently, but didn't sell gas or do much else in terms of service. Despite that, the ancient gas pumps remain and the Service labelscar is clearly visible.
I believe the original restaurant building is still standing, but has been remodeled and expanded beyond recognition. The sign, on the other hand, remains very identifiable as a 60's/70's Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips.
This location looks like it opened originally in the 80's, was given a major remodel in the early 2000's, followed by a light remodel in 2017.
This location opened in the 80's, was given a remodel in the 2000's, and again in 2014. The last remodel was light, they did little more to the exterior than repaint.
This center first opened in 1957, and for some reason housed both an A&P and an ACME (on the right) with a Woolworth in between.. ACME closed in the 90's when the Mays Landing store was rebuilt. It operated as a vo-tech school for a while, but is now home to a rehab center. The Woolworth space is now home to an Asian supermarket, who has kept the interior more or less intact.
This was built in the mid-2000's as an outparcel to the existing shopping center. 50's centers always seemed to have massively oversized parking lots, so there was quite a bit of room to spare here.
Woolworth replaced their name-brand store in the adjacent shopping center with this Woolco in the 70's. It closed with the chain in 1983, and was picked up by Kmart, who operated it until they closed too in 2017.
What's a Jersey post without the Jersey Boys?
It's a shame that DQ got demolished. That BK is cool
ReplyDeleteI agree, that kind's a dying breed.
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