Atlantic City is much more than a fun beach town
Many people believe that although the area makes for a good day at the beach, the glamour and heyday associated with Atlantic City is a thing of the past.This may have been a true statement, back in the 1970s, when the local saying was "the last person out of town, turn off the lights"".
Since then, however, both the city and outside developers have poured big money into Atlantic City, and it shows: the area now serves as a vacation spot for thirty-four million visitors every year.
The big change came in 1978, when Atlantic City opened its first casinos. Names like Harrah's, Caesars, the Tropicana, and Trump have helped refurbish the town. Attracting the tourists, however, has been a slow process, and despite the numbers of visitors, Atlantic City has been lagging far behind Vegas in development over the last few years. But for the first time in nearly a decade, since Donald Trump put up his lavish Taj Mahal, plans for two new casino resorts are in the works.
For one, the Boyd Gaming Corporation is pouring out some $750 million to build a resort based on the Tuscany region in Italy. The resort will feature Tuscany-inspired design work on the inside. Aside from 1,200 guest rooms, the hotel, built on twenty-five acres, will have eight destination restaurants, all themed.
Next door, Mirage Resorts plans to build a $750 million casino. Both these resorts will be in the Marina District, near Trump Marina and Harrah's. State agencies and Mirage Resorts are joining forces to build a $330 million roadway connector to link the Atlantic City Expressway with the Marina District. The roadway will exit off the Atlantic City Convention Center downtown.Meanwhile, Boardwalk Convention Hall, designated a landmark in 1987, is one of many structures in the city undergoing renovation. More seating is being added to the site, which will allow it to host professional ice hockey and large-scale concerts.
The city has also built a $4 million Atlantic City Visitor Welcome Center, located on the expressway. There is a laser-light illumination show every night when it gets dark until mid morning on the building, although the lighting doesn't compare with the nightly Laser Lighthouse show on Grand Boulevard!
Grand Boulevard, constructed in 1997 at the cost of $88 million, consists of Atlantic Park and Atlantic Plaza. Atlantic Park, in front of Caesars, offers space for visitors to view the light and water show on the boulevard. Visitors can also view the show from the 20-foot-wide sidewalks of the Atlantic Plaza.
Atlantic City also recently refurbished the 1857-built Absecon Lighthouse, which now offers views of the entire city skyline. Another addition is the Ocean Life Education Center in Gardner's Basin, which features marine life exhibits.
It's doubtful any of the new attractions will usurp the casinos as Atlantic City's drawing card, but they do help revitalize the area and restore it to its original glamorous style. Not bad for "just" a beachfront town!