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Atlantic City, New Jersey

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Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, USA. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 40,517. It is a resort community located on Absecon Island, off the Atlantic Ocean coast of New Jersey. Other municipalities on the island are Ventnor City, Margate City, and Longport. The main route onto the island containing Atlantic City is the Atlantic City Expressway.

Contents

History

Atlantic City has always been primarily a resort town. Its location in South Jersey, hugging the Atlantic Ocean between marshlands and islands, presented itself as prime real estate for developers. The city was incorporated in 1854, the same year in which train service began, linking this remote parcel of land with the more populated, urban centers of New York City and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Atlantic City became a popular beach destination because of its proximity to Philadelphia.

In 1870 the first boardwalk was built along a portion of the beach to help hotel owners keep sand out of their lobbies. The idea caught on, and the boardwalk was expanded and modified several times in the following years. Today, it is several miles (kilometers) long and sixty feet (twenty meters) wide, reinforced with steel and concrete. It is now the world's longest boardwalk.

The city hosted the 1964 Democratic National Convention which nominated Lyndon Johnson for President and Hubert Humphrey as Vice President. The ticket won in a landslide that November. The convention and the press coverage it generated, however, cast a harsh light on Atlantic City, which by then was in the midst of a long period of economic decline.

Although a small city, it had been plagued with many large city problems, especially poverty and crime. The neighborhood known as the "inlet" was particularly impoverished. In an effort at revitalizing the city, New Jersey voters in 1976 approved casino gambling for the city of Atlantic City. Resorts International became the first legal casino in the eastern United States when it opened on May 26, 1978. Other casinos were soon added along the boardwalk and later in the marina district for a total of twelve today. The introduction of gambling did not, however, quickly eliminate many of the urban problems that plagued Atlantic City. Many have argued that it only served to magnify those problems, as evidenced in the stark contrast between tourism-intensive areas and the adjacent impoverished working-class neighborhoods. Drug-infested tenements in poor condition stand directly beside multi-billion dollar casino hotels along the ocean in some locations. In addition, Atlantic City has played second-fiddle to Las Vegas, Nevada, as a gambling mecca in the United States. On July 3, 2003, Atlantic City's newest casino, The Borgata, opened with much success. Another major attraction is the oldest remaining Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditorium in the world. It is also Ripley's most famous odditorium.

Atlantic City is home to New Jersey's first wind farm. The Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm consists of five 1.5 MW turbine towers, each almost 400 feet (120 meters) high.

Gambling was stopped for the first time since 1978 at 8:00 a.m. on July 5, 2006, during the 2006 New Jersey State Government Shutdown mandated by Governor Jon Corzine. The casinos reopened at 7:00 p.m. on July 8, 2006.

Geography

Atlantic City is located at [39°21′54″N, 74°26′21″W] (39.364966, -74.439034)[Geographic references#1GR1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 44.9 km² (17.4 mi²). 29.4 km² (11.4 mi²) of it is land and 15.5 km² (6.0 mi²) of it (34.58%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 40,517 people, 15,848 households, and 8,700 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,378.3/km² (3,569.8/mi²). There were 20,219 housing units at an average density of 687.8/km² (1,781.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 26.68% White, 44.16% Black or African American, 0.48% Native American, 10.40% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 13.76% from other races, and 4.47% from two or more races. 24.95% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 15,848 households out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 24.8% were married couples living together, 23.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.1% were non-families. 37.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,969, and the median income for a family was $31,997. Males had a median income of $25,471 versus $23,863 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,402. About 19.1% of families and 23.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.1% of those under age 18 and 18.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Atlantic City is governed under the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) system of municipal government. The current Mayor of Atlantic City is Bob Levy.

Federal, state and county representation

Atlantic City is in the Second Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 2nd Legislative District.

New Jersey's Second Congressional District, covering all of Atlantic County, Cape May County, Cumberland County and Salem County and portions of Burlington County and Gloucester County, is represented by Frank LoBiondo (R, Vineland). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Robert Menendez (D, Union City).

The 2nd legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by William Gormley (R) and in the Assembly by Francis J. Blee (R, Absecon) and Jim Whelan (D, Atlantic City). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).

Atlantic County's County Executive is Dennis Levinson. The executive, along with the Board of Chosen Freeholders, administers all county business. Atlantic County's Freeholders are Francis Sutton, James Curcio, Frank Finnerty (Freeholder Vice Chairman), Alisa Cooper, Joe Kelly, Rev. Lawton Nelson, Thomas Russo, Sue Schilling and Joseph F. Silipena (Freeholder Chairman).

Casino resorts

The Borgata
Enlarge
The Borgata

The Trump Taj Mahal, as seen from the Atlantic City boardwalk
Enlarge
The Trump Taj Mahal, as seen from the Atlantic City boardwalk

1 Claridge Tower (Formerly The Claridge Casino/Hotel) is now part of Bally's Atlantic City and is no longer listed separately.
² Harrah's Entertainment announced that it will rebrand Bally's sometime in the future to either the Horseshoe or Rio brands.

Planned casino/resorts

Former, closed and never opened casino/resorts

Media outlets

Media outlets without a link do not currently have a website.

Newspapers

Radio stations

Television stations

See also: Television stations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Transportation

Atlantic City is connected to other cities in several ways. New Jersey Transit's Atlantic City Line runs from Philadelphia and several smaller southern New Jersey communities directly to the Atlantic City Rail Terminal at the Atlantic City Convention Center. The Atlantic City Bus Terminal is the home to local, intra-state and interstate bus companies including New Jersey Transit and Greyhound bus lines. Access to Atlantic City by car is available via the 44 mile (70 km) Atlantic City Expressway, US 30 (commonly known as the White Horse Pike), and US 40/322 (commonly known as the Black Horse Pike). Atlantic City has an abundance of taxi cabs and a local Jitney service providing continuous service to and from the casinos and the rest of the city.

Commercial airlines serve Atlantic City via Atlantic City International Airport, located 9 miles (14 km) northwest of the city in Egg Harbor Township. Many travellers also choose to fly into Philadelphia International Airport or Newark Liberty International Airport, where there are wider selections of carriers to choose from. The historic downtown Bader Field airport, now used only by private pilots, is scheduled to be closed later in 2006.

Atlantic City in popular culture

The boardwalk in Atlantic City, outside the Trump Taj Mahal
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The boardwalk in Atlantic City, outside the Trump Taj Mahal

Atlantic City has been a rather frequent subject in popular culture. The eccentric 1972 Bob Rafelson film The King of Marvin Gardens with Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, and Ellen Burstyn was shot on location there and strongly conveys a feel for the pre-casino/post-glory-days limbo the city was mired in at the time. The powerful Oscar-nominated 1981 movie, Atlantic City, by French director Louis Malle, starring Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon, reflects the city at the dawn of its casino-driven "rebirth". Atlantic City is cited as the Sundance Kid's birthplace in the 1969 classic western film, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. A popular Bruce Springsteen song, "Atlantic City", depicting a young couple's escape to the city, appears on Springsteen's 1982 album Nebraska.

More recently, several episodes of Donald Trump's television show The Apprentice have been based and filmed in Atlantic City.

Atlantic City is often mentioned in Friends (which is based in nearby New York).

It was the home of the Miss America pageant from 1921 to 2005. In August 2005, it was announced that the pageant would no longer be held in Atlantic City. On January 21, 2006, the first pageant to occur outside Atlantic City took place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Aladdin Casino and Resort.

The streets of Atlantic City are used in the American version of the boardgame Monopoly.

The sticky confection salt water taffy is closely associated with the Boardwalk.

Episode 5.3 of the US hit show Sex and the City is set primarily in the Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City.

A Disney Vacation Club (DVC) resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Disney's BoardWalk Villas, is based on Atlantic City in the 1930s.

The Simpsons also visited Atlantic City; with Homer making a derrogatory remark towards the flag by pointing out it has a fat man kissing a woman on it. Of course in reality it doesn't.

Famous 'Welcome To Atlantic City' sign from US 30.
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Famous 'Welcome To Atlantic City' sign from US 30.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
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Boroughs Folsom | Longport | Buena Cities Absecon | Atlantic City | Brigantine | Corbin City | Egg Harbor City | Estell Manor | Linwood | Margate City | Northfield | Pleasantville | Port Republic | Somers Point | Ventnor City Town Hammonton Townships Buena Vista Township | Egg Harbor Township | Galloway Township | Hamilton Township | Mullica Township | Weymouth Township 
 State of New Jersey

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