In 1854, a group of engineers and railroad businessmen drew a straight line from Philadelphia to the New Jersey coast, built a railroad along the line, and created Atlantic City.  From the 1850s to the 1950s, the city attracted the creme of American society and the working class alike and gave birth to the beauty pageant, the rolling chair, the boardwalk, saltwater taffy, the jitney, and the successful Monopoly board game.  But the onset of air travel in the 1950s and the aging grand hotels brought Atlantic City to its knees.  The opening of Resorts International in 1978 and the prosperous gaming business that followed in its wake helped the city rise from its own ashes, and a year-round tourism industry exploded.  Garish and opulent casino hotels replaced many of the boardwalk dowagers, and new palaces transformed the once desolate marina section into an again vibrant destination.
Softcover, 6 x 9, 128 pgs.