Atlantic City: Steel Pier (July 2018)

Steel Pier (July 2018) – A Survivor Through the Decades

Atlantic City’s Steel Pier is a 1,000-foot-long pier that houses an amusement park built out over the Atlantic Ocean. The pier is located on the boardwalk across from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (formerly called Trump Taj Mahal). First opened in 1898, it was one of the most popular entertainment venues in the United States for the first seven decades of the twentieth century, with concerts, exhibits, attractions, and rides. It billed itself as the “Showplace of the Nation” and at its peak, it measured 2,298 feet long.

During its illustrious history, it has experienced some obstacles. In 1904, a storm washed away part of Steel Pier, after which many engineers stated that it could not be rebuilt, which proved untrue. Then in 1924, a fire caused significant damage, but it was renovated a year afterward by a man called the "Saltwater [version of PT] Barnum”; the pier hosted dance bands, several theaters (Music Hall Theater, Marine Ballroom), exhibits, operas, children's shows, a water circus, stunts (high diving horse; Rex the Wonder Dog, a water-skiing canine in the 1930s; the diving bell), musicians (Frank Sinatra, Al Jolson, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Bill Haley and the Comets), and other attractions. John Philip Sousa performed annually, and a large exhibit was hosted by US car manufacturers (first General Motors, then Ford). Miss America was crowned on Steel Pier for a few years. In 1962, another storm damaged parts of the pier, and another fire in 1969 decreased its size by about one-third. In the late 1960s, tourism began to decline, and the pier changed hands several times before a final fire in 1982 destroyed the wooden pier completely. It was rebuilt of concrete in the 1990s at its present shorter size. 

Today, Steel Pier offers some carnival games, snacks/food, rides (including a Ferris wheel), helicopter sightseeing flights, and two bars (one mid-pier and the other at the far end over the ocean; the latter location sometimes offers live entertainment). It was fun to experience the nostalgia of Steel Pier.