In the 1960s, Atlantic City was one of the most visited resort towns in the United States. Sitting on the New Jersey shore, it drew millions of tourists every year who came for the beach, the entertainment, and the energy of a city that never really slowed down. The population hovered around 65,000 full-time residents, but the number of visitors who passed through each summer season dwarfed that figure by a wide margin.
The boardwalk was the city’s spine. Stretching for miles along the beach, it was packed with shops, restaurants, and arcades. People walked it in the morning, the afternoon, and late into the night. It wasn’t just a strip of wooden planks — it was the social center of the whole resort, where families strolled, couples met, and vendors sold everything from postcards to salt water taffy. Construction of the boardwalk had begun back in 1870, and by the 1960s it had become an American institution.
The beach itself was a massive draw. Miles of sandy shoreline welcomed sunbathers, swimmers, and families setting up for the day. Hotels like the Haddon Hall and the grand Marlborough Blenheim sat close to the water’s edge, offering guests sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean. The Marlborough Blenheim, named in part as a nod to Blenheim Palace in England — the birthplace of Winston Churchill — was one of the most recognizable buildings on the skyline. It had been built in the early 1900s and stood until its demolition in 1978, when Bally’s Hotel and Casino took over the site.
Steel Pier was the crown jewel of Atlantic City’s entertainment scene. It had first opened in 1898, jutting out into the ocean off the boardwalk. By the 1960s, it was one of the biggest concert venues in the region, hosting artists like Frank Sinatra and Diana Ross and the Supremes. It also offered amusement rides, attractions, and live comedy. A giant advertisement for Fralinger’s salt water taffy — a local favorite — could be spotted on the pier from the boardwalk itself.
In March 1962, an Ash Wednesday storm tore into the Atlantic City shoreline with devastating force. Parts of Steel Pier were destroyed and lost to the sea. The storm caused around $2 million worth of damage to the pier alone, and across six states it caused hundreds of millions of dollars in total destruction, claiming 40 lives. Sea defenses along the shoreline were badly damaged. Despite the scale of the destruction, Atlantic City managed to get back up and running for visitors within just two days.
The city’s hotels were a world of their own. Guests lounged around swimming pools, retired to TV rooms, and enjoyed ocean-facing views from their rooms. Newer properties like the Colony Resort and Motel, which opened in 1959 on the former site of the Brighton Hotel, catered to a growing crowd of car-owning travelers. By 1962, more Americans owned cars than ever before, and hotels were noticing that guests were staying for shorter periods — using Atlantic City as one stop on a longer road trip rather than a full vacation destination.
One of Atlantic City’s biggest annual events was the Miss America pageant. First held in the city in 1921, the pageant continued to draw massive crowds and national television audiences through the 1960s. Boardwalk Hall — a large arena just off the famous strip — served as the main venue for the event. The 1966 pageant brought contestants and spectators flooding into the city, keeping the tradition alive as one of the most-watched competitions in the country.
Boardwalk Hall also hosted one of the most significant political events of the decade. In 1964, Atlantic City welcomed the Democratic National Convention. It was here that Lyndon B. Johnson was formally nominated as the party’s presidential candidate. Walt Disney’s television operation covered the event, and the convention drew global attention to the city. That same year, The Beatles held a press conference at Convention Hall ahead of their Atlantic City concert, bringing a new wave of excitement and youth culture to the resort.
Behind the glamour, Atlantic City had a darker side. Much of the city’s economy depended on tourism and gambling, and many of the casinos and hotels were controlled by organized crime figures. Illegal gambling, prostitution, and drug trafficking were part of the city’s underbelly, and corruption ran through local government and law enforcement. Casinos weren’t legally permitted to operate in Atlantic City until the 1970s — but illegal gambling operations ran openly through the decade, tolerated and in many cases protected by those in power.
Even with organized crime in the background, tourists kept coming. Conventions filled hotel ballrooms. Families packed the beach. Couples dined along the boardwalk. The city hosted major events and attracted big-name performers year after year. Atlantic City in the 1960s was loud, busy, and in constant motion — a resort town operating at full throttle.
None of the clothing aligns to the era.
Was Atlantic City considered a hip destination in the 1960s, or was it considered a dilapidated area?
Probably cooler
The 1964 Demicratic convention was a big turning point. Atlantic City’s image plummeted after that.
Peak high tide of the city was about 1950’s. Downslide started about 1960. Gambling didn’t become legal until 1978.
At least Lucy appears to be in better condition now.
for the AC Airshow, we’ll have a good laugh seeing the Thunderbirds flying in their “brand new” F4 Phantoms! LOL.
I don’t see any crackheads
I’m curious to see what the rates of alcoholism and addiction were pre vs post gambling legalization
Casinos didn’t cause the problems for AC. It was a mess long before they showed up in the late 70s. And it’s not like the poor people that live in AC are the ones gambling in the casinos causing their gambling problems. The biggest problem are the drugs, like any large city.
The city is in better shape now then it has been in a long time. Companies are putting money into the city, new production studios and race tracks planned, hotels are constantly being renovated, they have the Outlets, there are hundreds of conventions and shows each year. Before the casinos, it was a dying city.
They talk about the casinos and gambling in the 60’s. There were no casinos here in the 60’s.
This article is crap. There weren’t any casinos until the late 70s. AC had problems from the 50s and 60s. Casinos were pitched as a way to save the city.
My grandparents lived in Atlantic City from approximately 1972 through 1976, immediately before gambling passed, so we visited AC two or three times every summer. The city itself was clearly down on its luck, but the boardwalk was still busy and teeming with people during the summer. Lots of amusement rides, arcades, tons of cheesy gift and novelty stores, it was a lot of fun for a little kid. I remember that revolving space needle thing, the Steel Pier, the “diving horse”, the diving bell you could take to the bottom of the water by the pier, and a few of the old hotels, which were mostly abandoned by that time, but still standing.
Erroneous information. There were no casinos in Atlantic City in the 1960’s. The first casinos were there were opened in the late 1970’s (1978.)
This article seems like flakey AI. Casino gambling didn’t start until 1978 and the Tropicana wasn’t built until the 1980s.
Look, there were a lot of factors that lead AC to shit the bed, but I will never understand how Atlantic and Cape May County voters forgot how much Trump contributed to fucking that city up before they voted for him in three separate elections. Just wild.
I am almost certain that the demographics of Atlantic City compared to the rest of the South Jersey coastal counties is why they assign no blame to Trump or any other slumlord businessmen. Minorities get blamed for ruining areas all the time, just go ask white boomers in and around any major city.
If you look at who voted dem. Pleasantville and Atlantic City were very blue. Surrounding towns were light red, and the rest were bright red. A combination of farmer/fishermen and “fuck you, I got mine.” types.
The older boomers were the ones fucked by Trump. I would put more weight on the younger 25% of that generation and really more responsibility on Gen X as a whole. They were in school when Trump began suffocating the working class and blissfully ignorant.
A shame what it is today. I’m in Atlantic City today working and it’s just a disgusting town. I also work in Philly frequently and I’d take Philly any day of the week. It’s the only ghetto that is a beach front town, it’s crazy. Undeveloped lots right at the boardwalk that have been there for over a decade. The local crime and population is a big problem here. You travel one town away to Ventnor, Brigantine and it’s a night and day difference. In Philly you see tons of people walking to work, exercising, enjoying the shops. In AC all you see is very few people anywhere on the streets and they’re homeless or look like they’re on drugs. Nobody dressed for work just slumming it at 6:30am in front of the corner store.
I’ve been working in the AC area for over 20 years and lived here my entire life and always heard “AC is on the up and coming”. I can tell you it’s not. In the booming economy we’ve had the last 10 years and nothing is happening there, that should be pretty obvious sign. They do have more dispensaries than any other city in NJ though for very little population, like that’s what the city needed.
There have been countless plans to tax those vacant spots to promote development but the politicians always chicken out.
the problem with AC is CRDA. They own all those empty lots. They bought and bulldozed them to combat urban blight with no plans on what to do with them beyond that.
The other issue with AC is that is the dumping ground for all the surrounding towns. Homeless in Absecon or Ocean City? you get a ride to the homeless Shelter in AC. Cant afford to live in Northfield? There is tons of section8 in AC.
And even when AC has nice things the locals might want, like the Sand Castle stadium or the Skate Zone nearby, people from nearby towns won’t go there. The locals want nothing to do with it. The waterpark is beautiful, priced high enough to keep the locals out, but the people from Brigantine don’t go there either.
There are two movies from the 70s that really provide a unique historic snapshot of AC at two significant points. “The King of Marvin Gardens” from the early 70s, starring Jack Nicholson and Bruce Dern, among others, shows AC as a quiet rotting old resort complete with these older hotels of the bygone era. And “Atlantic City” from the later 70s, starring Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon, shows AC undergoing a transformation in the later 70s as gambling is legalized and the old hotels make way for the new casinos.
The Long Kiss Goodnight offers some perspective in the late 80’s, early 90’s.
Thanks, didn’t know that one.
everyone just vibing, not a phone in sight
I have such pleasant memories of my family going to Atlantic City and staying over for a couple of nights. We used to get up early, rent bikes and pedal along the boardwalk with the smell of roasted Planters Peanuts wafting through the air. Good times. Now when I need to travel to A.C. for business, I look around and see a depressing area barely resembling any form of its former, glorious self and cannot wait to leave. Trump is a good deal responsible for leaving the city in ruins.
The photos are from the ‘60s, but the narrative was written by somebody who never been to Atlantic City.
Gambling wasn’t even legal here in the 60s and the Trop wasn’t built til the 80s
Man, what an ugly city so glad they tore it down for all the casinos.
You can see Bally’s Dennis Towers in the middle, the green copper roof cladding. Also, the barrel roof of the Boardwalk Hall.
Chalfonte-Haddon Hall later became Resorts International in 1978