Charmed by snake oil salesmen posing as real estate developers who touted casinos as a panacea to what ailed “The World’s Famous Playground,” Atlantic City passed a referendum to legalize gambling.įrom Atlantic City (courtesy Circa Press) With forecasts worsening as calendars rolled over to 1976, citizens were desperate to revitalize the economy. Not even the 1964 Democratic National Convention could salvage the streets on which Monopoly, that celebration of American cutthroat capitalism, is based. Thousands of hotel room windows remained dark during what was once the high season in Atlantic City. The years after World War II were unkind to many East Coast cities. The legacy of the cut-and-run business which caused that downturn is captured in Brian Rose’s new photography book Atlantic City. Nevertheless, it held on for a while before taking a particularly American downturn. First conceived as the East Coast’s answer to Europe’s fashionable seaside resorts, its tawdry boardwalk attractions, backroom gambling establishments, and casual violence never approached the elegance of Cannes or Biarritz.
Atlantic City, New Jersey never really had a heyday, at least not one that lived up to the halcyon daydreams of its original architects.
