Ocean City Boardwalk
Encyclopedia
The Ocean City Boardwalk is one of the most recognizable landmarks in New Jersey
. It is also one of the most well-known boardwalk
s in the world. It is located in the resort town of Ocean City, New Jersey
. It is 2½ miles long and runs north from 23rd Street to North Street. The boardwalk is marked with mile markers for people who are exercising.
is built from the Second Street wharf
to Fourth Street and West Avenue.
1885: Plans are made to extend the boardwalk along the entire length of the beach.
1885: An amusement
pavilion called The Excursion House opens on the beach at 11th Street. Ocean City
officially promotes it as the city's first amusement house.
1891: City promotional material includes the following statement: "A striking peculiarity of this "city by the sea' is that there are no liquor saloons
or places of a questionable character within its bounds. The sale of liquor is forever prohibited, and as a result the best classes of people are drawn here, and disorder and drunkenness
are unknown."
1891: The I.G. Adams pavilion, at Ninth Street and the boardwalk, another amusement park, becomes a popular family destination, but is destroyed by fire in 1893.
1895: Ocean City advertises itself as "A Moral Seaside Resort; Not Excelled as a Health Restorer."
1898: Shrivers, a confection shop known for its Salt water taffy
, opens for business on the boardwalk.
1898: A 625 feet (190.5 m)-long ocean pier is completed between 10th and 11th streets. Advertised as a concert pavilion, it can accommodate up to 2,500 people.
1905: A new, two-mile (3 km) long boardwalk is dedicated by Mayor Joseph G. Champion.
1905: The Municipal Music Pavilion, on the boardwalk at Moorlyn Terrace, is finished and is the site of daily free band concerts. The pier extends 118 feet (36 m) into the Atlantic Ocean.
1911: The Breakers, Ocean City's first boardwalk hotel, opens.
1915: The city's first fishing pier is built at 14th Street by the Ocean City Fishing Club.
1916: Ocean City advertises itself under the new slogan: "The Greatest Family Resort In America," which remains its moniker to the present day.
1927: A catastrophic
fire sweeps through a portion of the city, including the boardwalk.
1927–1928: The boardwalk
and its businesses are rebuilt 300 feet (91.4 m) closer to the ocean and constructed on concrete pilings. Where the buildings and boardwalk once stood, parking is created for automobiles, which are gaining in popularity.
1951–1952: More than $400,000 is spent building a seawall and jetty
near the Great Egg Harbor Inlet
to halt beach erosion.
1955: The landmark Playland Amusement
Center, located at 6th Street and the boardwalk, is leveled by fire.
1962: The Ash Wednesday
nor'Easter brings with it severe damage to the boardwalk
and its businesses.
1965: Wonderland, a new modern amusement center, opens on the boardwalk at 6th Street.
1967: Boardwalk businesses see a decline in profits after one of the wettest summers on record.
1970: The Breakers Hotel, at the boardwalk
and Delancey Place, is torn down in November.
1972: Construction begins on the city's first high-rise condominium
, the Garden Plaza at 3rd Street and the boardwalk.
1977: An effort to defeat the city's "blue law
," restricting boardwalk businesses from opening on Sundays, fails.
1985: Boardwalk businesses are permitted to open on Sundays.
1987: Seaside Baths, one of the boardwalk's oldest businesses, does not open for the summer season. The Ninth Street bathhouse
was the first stop for day-trippers since 1917. The demolition
of the two-story building in October marks the end of the big bathhouses.
1993: The Ocean City Music Pier, built in 1928, reopens in June after $4 million in renovations.
, a type of wood, to redeck parts of the boardwalk. Environmental activists immediately launched a campaign to stop the city's use of the wood, but Mayor Sal Perillo stood by the plan. As of 2007, a decision has not been reached yet.
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. It is also one of the most well-known boardwalk
Boardwalk
A boardwalk, in the conventional sense, is a wooden walkway for pedestrians and sometimes vehicles, often found along beaches, but they are also common as paths through wetlands, coastal dunes, and other sensitive environments....
s in the world. It is located in the resort town of Ocean City, New Jersey
Ocean City, New Jersey
Ocean City is a city in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is the principal city of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Cape May County. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 11,701...
. It is 2½ miles long and runs north from 23rd Street to North Street. The boardwalk is marked with mile markers for people who are exercising.
Timeline
1880: A modest boardwalkBoardwalk
A boardwalk, in the conventional sense, is a wooden walkway for pedestrians and sometimes vehicles, often found along beaches, but they are also common as paths through wetlands, coastal dunes, and other sensitive environments....
is built from the Second Street wharf
Wharf
A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
to Fourth Street and West Avenue.
1885: Plans are made to extend the boardwalk along the entire length of the beach.
1885: An amusement
Amusement
Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations, and is associated with enjoyment, happiness, laughter and pleasure...
pavilion called The Excursion House opens on the beach at 11th Street. Ocean City
Ocean City, New Jersey
Ocean City is a city in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is the principal city of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Cape May County. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 11,701...
officially promotes it as the city's first amusement house.
1891: City promotional material includes the following statement: "A striking peculiarity of this "city by the sea' is that there are no liquor saloons
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
or places of a questionable character within its bounds. The sale of liquor is forever prohibited, and as a result the best classes of people are drawn here, and disorder and drunkenness
Drunkenness
Alcohol intoxication is a physiological state that occurs when a person has a high level of ethanol in his or her blood....
are unknown."
1891: The I.G. Adams pavilion, at Ninth Street and the boardwalk, another amusement park, becomes a popular family destination, but is destroyed by fire in 1893.
1895: Ocean City advertises itself as "A Moral Seaside Resort; Not Excelled as a Health Restorer."
1898: Shrivers, a confection shop known for its Salt water taffy
Salt water taffy
Salt water taffy is a variety of soft taffy originally produced and marketed in the Atlantic City, New Jersey, area beginning in the late 19th century.-Etymology:...
, opens for business on the boardwalk.
1898: A 625 feet (190.5 m)-long ocean pier is completed between 10th and 11th streets. Advertised as a concert pavilion, it can accommodate up to 2,500 people.
1905: A new, two-mile (3 km) long boardwalk is dedicated by Mayor Joseph G. Champion.
1905: The Municipal Music Pavilion, on the boardwalk at Moorlyn Terrace, is finished and is the site of daily free band concerts. The pier extends 118 feet (36 m) into the Atlantic Ocean.
1911: The Breakers, Ocean City's first boardwalk hotel, opens.
1915: The city's first fishing pier is built at 14th Street by the Ocean City Fishing Club.
1916: Ocean City advertises itself under the new slogan: "The Greatest Family Resort In America," which remains its moniker to the present day.
1927: A catastrophic
Disaster
A disaster is a natural or man-made hazard that has come to fruition, resulting in an event of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life, or drastic change to the environment...
fire sweeps through a portion of the city, including the boardwalk.
1927–1928: The boardwalk
Boardwalk
A boardwalk, in the conventional sense, is a wooden walkway for pedestrians and sometimes vehicles, often found along beaches, but they are also common as paths through wetlands, coastal dunes, and other sensitive environments....
and its businesses are rebuilt 300 feet (91.4 m) closer to the ocean and constructed on concrete pilings. Where the buildings and boardwalk once stood, parking is created for automobiles, which are gaining in popularity.
1951–1952: More than $400,000 is spent building a seawall and jetty
Jetty
A jetty is any of a variety of structures used in river, dock, and maritime works that are generally carried out in pairs from river banks, or in continuation of river channels at their outlets into deep water; or out into docks, and outside their entrances; or for forming basins along the...
near the Great Egg Harbor Inlet
Inlet
An inlet is a narrow body of water between islands or leading inland from a larger body of water, often leading to an enclosed body of water, such as a sound, bay, lagoon or marsh. In sea coasts an inlet usually refers to the actual connection between a bay and the ocean and is often called an...
to halt beach erosion.
1955: The landmark Playland Amusement
Amusement
Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations, and is associated with enjoyment, happiness, laughter and pleasure...
Center, located at 6th Street and the boardwalk, is leveled by fire.
1962: The Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...
nor'Easter brings with it severe damage to the boardwalk
Boardwalk
A boardwalk, in the conventional sense, is a wooden walkway for pedestrians and sometimes vehicles, often found along beaches, but they are also common as paths through wetlands, coastal dunes, and other sensitive environments....
and its businesses.
1965: Wonderland, a new modern amusement center, opens on the boardwalk at 6th Street.
1967: Boardwalk businesses see a decline in profits after one of the wettest summers on record.
1970: The Breakers Hotel, at the boardwalk
Boardwalk
A boardwalk, in the conventional sense, is a wooden walkway for pedestrians and sometimes vehicles, often found along beaches, but they are also common as paths through wetlands, coastal dunes, and other sensitive environments....
and Delancey Place, is torn down in November.
1972: Construction begins on the city's first high-rise condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
, the Garden Plaza at 3rd Street and the boardwalk.
1977: An effort to defeat the city's "blue law
Blue law
A blue law is a type of law, typically found in the United States and, formerly, in Canada, designed to enforce religious standards, particularly the observance of Sunday as a day of worship or rest, and a restriction on Sunday shopping...
," restricting boardwalk businesses from opening on Sundays, fails.
1985: Boardwalk businesses are permitted to open on Sundays.
1987: Seaside Baths, one of the boardwalk's oldest businesses, does not open for the summer season. The Ninth Street bathhouse
Public bathing
Public baths originated from a communal need for cleanliness. The term public may confuse some people, as some types of public baths are restricted depending on membership, gender, religious affiliation, or other reasons. As societies have changed, public baths have been replaced as private bathing...
was the first stop for day-trippers since 1917. The demolition
Demolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
of the two-story building in October marks the end of the big bathhouses.
1993: The Ocean City Music Pier, built in 1928, reopens in June after $4 million in renovations.
Notable boardwalk businesses
- 7th Street Surf Shop http://7thstreetsurfshop.com
- Atlantic Books http://www.atlanticbooks.us/locations.html
- Bob's Breakfast Grill
- Fralinger's Salt Water Taffy http://www.fralingers.com
- Gillian's Wonderland Pier http://www.gillians.com
- Henry's Landmark Jewelers http://www.henrysoc.com
- Johnson's Popcorn http://www.johnsonspopcorn.com
- Kohr Brothers Ice Cream http://www.kohrbros.com
- Litterer's Food Court
- Mack & Manco Pizza http://www.mackandmancos.com
- Moorlyn Theatre http://www.moorlyn.com/moorlyn.htm
- Playland's Castaway Cove http://www.boardwalkfun.com/prices.asp
- Shriver's Salt Water Taffy http://www.shrivers.com
- Strand Theatre https://frank.tstickets.com/ticketing.aspx?theatreid=116&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
- Surf Mall http://1392.downtownoceancity.com
- The Flander's Hotel http://www.theflandershotel.com
- The Fudge Kitchen http://1392.downtownoceancity.com
Ipê controversy
In 2007 controversy emerged about the city's proposed use of ipêTabebuia
Tabebuia is a neotropical genus of about 100 species in the tribe Tecomeae of the family Bignoniaceae. The species range from northern Mexico and southern Florida south to northern Argentina, including the Caribbean islands of Hispaniola and Cuba...
, a type of wood, to redeck parts of the boardwalk. Environmental activists immediately launched a campaign to stop the city's use of the wood, but Mayor Sal Perillo stood by the plan. As of 2007, a decision has not been reached yet.