Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City–Hammonton metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses those cities and all of Atlantic County for statistical purposes. Both Atlantic City and Hammonton, as well as the surrounding Atlantic County, are culturally tied to Philadelphia and constitute part of the larger Philadelphia combined statistical area, along with other smaller South Jersey metros such as Vineland–Bridgeton (Cumberland County) and Ocean City (Cape May County).
Located in South Jersey on Absecon Island and known for its casinos, nightlife, boardwalk, and Atlantic Ocean beaches and coastline, the city is prominently known as the "Las Vegas of the East Coast" and inspired the U.S. version of the board game Monopoly, which uses various Atlantic City street names and destinations in the game. New Jersey voters legalized casino gambling in Atlantic City in 1976, and the first casino opened two years later. From 1921 to 2004, Atlantic City hosted the Miss America pageant, which later returned to the city from 2013 to 2018.
As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,497, a decline of 1,061 (c. 2.7%) from the 2010 census count of 39,558, which in turn reflected a decrease of 959 (c. 2.4%) from the 40,517 counted in the 2000 census.
The city was incorporated on May 1, 1854, from portions of Egg Harbor Township and Galloway Township. It is located on Absecon Island and borders Absecon, Brigantine, Egg Harbor Township, Galloway Township, Pleasantville, Ventnor City, and the Atlantic Ocean.
History
Prior to Atlantic City's founding, the region served as a summer home for the Lenape, a Native American tribe. While the date of European settlement in present-day Atlantic City is not precisely determined, it is commonly thought that it was in 1783, when Jeremiah Leeds built and occupied a year-round home there.
19th century In 1850, present-day Atlantic City was developed into a resort town. Three years later, in early 1853, it was named Atlantic City.
Because of its location in South Jersey, which hugs the Atlantic Ocean between marshlands and islands, Atlantic City was then viewed by developers as prime real estate and a potential resort town. In 1853, the city's first commercial hotel, the Belloe House, was built at the intersection of Massachusetts and Atlantic Avenues.About Us , City of Atlantic City. Accessed June 24, 2019. "The first commercial hotel the Belloe House, located at Massachusetts and Atlantic Ave., was built in 1853, and operated till 1902."
The following year, in 1854, the city was incorporated. The same year, train service began on the Camden and Atlantic Railroad.Thomas R. Winpenny, The engineer as promoter : Richerd B. Osborne, The Camden and Atlantic Railroad, and the creation of Atlantic City, Essays in Economic and Business History, 2004 Built on the edge of the bay, this served as the direct link of this remote parcel of land with Philadelphia, the second-most populous city in the United States at the time and the largest city in Pennsylvania. The same year, construction of the Absecon Lighthouse, designed by George Meade of the Corps of Topographical Engineers, was approved, with work initiated the next year.History , Absecon Lighthouse. Accessed July 27, 2017. "1854 – After a decade of prompting from Jonathan Pitney, considered by most to be the 'father' of Atlantic City, the U.S. Lighthouse Service requested and received a $35,000 appropriation from Congress for a lighthouse on Absecon Island.... 1855 Construction began under the direction of Major Hartman Bache."
By 1874, almost 500,000 passengers a year were coming to Atlantic City by rail. In Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City, "Atlantic City's Godfather"Strauss, Robert. "Judge Nelson Johnson: Atlantic City's GodfatherA Q&A with Judge Nelson Johnson, whose book—Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City—was made into an HBO miniseries.", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed October 15, 2015. Jonathan Pitney, known as the "Father of Atlantic City",Cunningham, John T. This is New Jersey, p. 241. Rutgers University Press, 1994. . Accessed October 15, 2015. initially sought to develop Atlantic City as a health resort. Pitney persuaded municipal authorities that a railroad to the beach in Atlantic City would be beneficial. His successful business relationship with Samuel Richards, an entrepreneur and member of what was then the most influential family in South Jersey, was designed to construct the railroad with the first 600 riders, who "were chosen carefully by Samuel Richards and Jonathan Pitney":
After arriving in Atlantic City, a second train brought the visitors to the door of the resort's first public lodging, the United States Hotel. The hotel was owned by the railroad. It was a sprawling, four-story structure built to house 2,000 guests. It opened while it was still under construction, with only one wing standing, and even that wasn't completed. By year's end, when it was fully constructed, the United States Hotel was not only the first hotel in Atlantic City but also the largest in the nation. Its rooms totaled more than 600, and its grounds covered some 14 acres.
The first boardwalk was built in 1870 along a portion of the beach in an effort to help hotel owners keep sand out of their lobbies. Businesses were restricted and the boardwalk was removed each year at the end of the peak season."Atlantic City Boardwalk: A Stroll On the Wooden Way is Steeped in History" , Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority. Accessed August 23, 2013. Because of its effectiveness and popularity, the boardwalk was expanded in length and width, and modified several times in subsequent years.
Prior to the destructive 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane, the historic length of the boardwalk was about and it extended from Atlantic City to Longport, through Ventnor and Margate.Schwartz, David. "Storm of the Century: The Hurricane of '44 pounded Atlantic City like no other storm" , Casino Connection AC, Vol. 2, No. 9, September 2005. Accessed August 23, 2013.
The first road connecting the city to the mainland at Pleasantville was completed in 1870 and charged a 30-cent toll. Albany Avenue was the first road to the mainland available without a toll.History , City of Atlantic City. Accessed June 19, 2013.
By 1878, because of the growing popularity of the city, one railroad line could no longer keep up with demand. Soon, the Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railway was also constructed to transport tourists to Atlantic City. At this point massive hotels like the United States Hotel and Surf House, as well as smaller rooming houses, had sprung up all over town. The United States Hotel took up a full city block between Atlantic, Pacific, Delaware, and Maryland Avenues. These hotels were not only impressive in size, but featured the most up-to-date amenities, and were considered quite luxurious for their time.
In 1883, salt water taffy was conceived in Atlantic City by David Bradley. The traditional story is that Bradley's shop close to the beach was flooded with ocean water after a storm, soaking his taffy. He sold the "salt water taffy" to a girl, who walked down to the beach to show her friends. Bradley's mother was in the back of the store when the sale was made, and loved the name, giving the candy its name.Donohue, Jeanne. "Family / Boardwalk Tradition: Salt Water Taffy", The Press of Atlantic City, June 8, 2006. Accessed December 19, 2011."Taffy Madness", AtlanticCityNJ.com. Accessed December 21, 2016. "The year was 1880. Mr. Bradley, a young candy merchant, had a stand on the Boardwalk. One night the little stand, which was only a couple steps from the sand, was swamped by an evening storm."
20th century
In the early 20th century, Atlantic City experienced a radical building boom. Many of the modest boarding houses that dotted the boardwalk were replaced with large hotels. Two of the city's most distinctive hotels were the Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel and the Traymore Hotel.
Expansion of the city was driven by the relative ease of transport to and from Philadelphia. The fastest express trains traveled from one end to the other in about an hour, whereas competing towns on the Jersey Shore required an additional 30–90 minutes each way.
In 1902, Josiah White III bought a parcel of land near Ohio Avenue and the boardwalk, where he started construction and built the Queen Anne style Marlborough House. The hotel was a success. In 1905, he chose to expand the hotel and bought another parcel of land adjacent to his Marlborough House. In an effort to make his new hotel a source of conversation, White hired the architectural firm of Price and McLanahan. The firm made use of reinforced concrete, a new building material invented by Jean-Louis Lambot in 1848, and Joseph Monier received the patent in 1867. The hotel's Spanish and Moorish themes, capped off with its signature dome and chimneys, represented a step forward from other hotels that had a classically designed influence. White named the new hotel the Blenheim and merged the two hotels into the Marlborough-Blenheim. Bally's Atlantic City was later constructed at this location.
The Traymore Hotel was located at the corner of Illinois Avenue and the boardwalk. Constructed in 1879 as a small boarding house, the hotel grew through a series of uncoordinated expansions. By 1914, the hotel's owner, Daniel White, Josiah White's half-brother, taking a hint from the Marlborough-Blenheim, commissioned the firm of Price and McLanahan to build an even bigger hotel to replace the original wooden structure. Rising 16 stories, the tan brick and gold-capped hotel would become one of the city's best-known landmarks. The hotel made use of ocean-facing hotel rooms by jutting its wings farther from the main portion of the hotel along Pacific Avenue. It was demolished in 1972.Traymore Hotel, University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design. Accessed December 17, 2025. "Traymore Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ was a wood-frame structure on the boardwalk, until 1906 when Price & McLanahan designed a large concrete hotel tower that was built between the existing hotel and the boardwalk. The owner's plans for extensions were deferred for lack of funds until 1914-1915 when Price & McLanahan replaced the wood-frame hotel entirely. The new hotel flourished for decades until the decline of tourism to Atlantic City in the 1960s, and in 1972 the building was demolished."
One by one, additional large hotels were constructed along the boardwalk, including the Brighton, Chelsea, Shelburne, Ambassador, Ritz Carlton, Mayflower, Madison House, and the Breakers. The Quaker-owned Chalfonte House, opened in 1868, and Haddon House, opened in 1869, flanked North Carolina Avenue at the beach end. Over the years, their original wood-frame structures would be enlarged, and even moved closer to the beach. The modern Chalfonte Hotel, eight stories tall, opened in 1904. The modern Haddon Hall was built in stages and was completed in 1929, at eleven stories. By this time, they were under the same ownership and merged into the Chalfonte-Haddon Hall Hotel, becoming the city's largest hotel with nearly 1,000 rooms.