1783Architecture
While the date of European settlement in present-day Atlantic City is not precisely determined, it is commonly thought that it was in 1783, when Jeremiah Leeds built and occupie...
1848Architecture
The firm made use of reinforced concrete, a new building material invented by Jean-Louis Lambot in 1848, and Joseph Monier received the patent in 1867.
1850History
=== 19th century ===
In 1850, present-day Atlantic City was developed into a resort town.
1853History
Three years later, in early 1853, it was named Atlantic City.
1854Government
The city was incorporated on May 1, 1854, from portions of Egg Harbor Township and Galloway Township.
1868Architecture
The Quaker-owned Chalfonte House, opened in 1868, and Haddon House, opened in 1869, flanked North Carolina Avenue at the beach end.
1870Military
The first boardwalk was built in 1870 along a portion of the beach in an effort to help hotel owners keep sand out of their lobbies.
1874History
By 1874, almost 500,000 passengers a year were coming to Atlantic City by rail.
1876History
Rolling chairs were introduced in 1876 for handicapped visitors and have been in continuous use since 1887 when they were made available to the general public, and have been a b...
1878Infrastructure
By 1878, because of the growing popularity of the city, one railroad line could no longer keep up with demand.
1879Architecture
Constructed in 1879 as a small boarding house, the hotel grew through a series of uncoordinated expansions.
1882Architecture
Lucy is a six-story elephant-shaped example of novelty architecture, constructed of wood and tin sheeting in 1882 by James V.
1883History
In 1883, salt water taffy was conceived in Atlantic City by David Bradley.
1884Architecture
The first pier along the boardwalk, Applegate's Pier, opened in 1884.
1891Disaster
Young in 1891, who expanded and operated it as Young's Ocean Pier, but it was mostly destroyed in a 1912 fire.
1898Architecture
The most famous Atlantic City pier was Steel Pier, which opened in 1898, and which once billed itself as "The Showplace of the Nation".
1899Architecture
Steeplechase Pier opened in 1899 and operated until 1986.
1902Architecture
In 1902, Josiah White III bought a parcel of land near Ohio Avenue and the boardwalk, where he started construction and built the Queen Anne style Marlborough House.
1904Architecture
The modern Chalfonte Hotel, eight stories tall, opened in 1904.
1905History
In 1905, he chose to expand the hotel and bought another parcel of land adjacent to his Marlborough House.
1906Military
Young opened "Young's Million Dollar Pier" in 1906, and on the seaward side "erected a marble mansion", fronted by a formal garden, with lighting and landscaping designed by You...
1908Government
Founded in 1908, Our Lady Star of the Sea Regional School is a Catholic elementary school, operates under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Camden.
1914History
By 1914, the hotel's owner, Daniel White, Josiah White's half-brother, taking a hint from the Marlborough-Blenheim, commissioned the firm of Price and McLanahan to build an even...
1919History
During Prohibition, which was enacted nationally in 1919 and lasted until 1933, much liquor was consumed and gambling regularly took place in the back rooms of nightclubs and re...
1921History
From 1921 to 2004, Atlantic City hosted the Miss America pageant, which later returned to the city from 2013 to 2018.
1922Architecture
The remaining part of the pier was rebuilt in 1922 as the Central Pier, which is still in operation.
1923Education
He led the initiative, in 1923, to construct the Atlantic City High School at Albany and Atlantic Avenues.
1924Economy
The city passed an ordinance approving a bond issue for $1.5 million to be used for the purchase of land for Convention Hall, now known as the Boardwalk Hall, finalized on Septe...
1929Architecture
The modern Haddon Hall was built in stages and was completed in 1929, at eleven stories.
1930Architecture
By 1930, The Claridge Hotel, the city's last large hotel constructed before the casino era, opened its doors.
1933History
The lighthouse was deactivated in 1933 and although the light still shines every night, it is no longer an active navigational aid.
1935Infrastructure
A booklet included with the reprinted 1935 edition states that the four railroads that served Atlantic City in the mid-1930s were the Jersey Central, the Seashore Lines, the Rea...
1944Disaster
Prior to the destructive 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane, the historic length of the boardwalk was about 7 mi (11 km) and it extended from Atlantic City to Longport, through Ventn...
1946Infrastructure
== Sports ==
The Atlantic City Race Course in Hamilton Township was a horse racing track that operated from 1946 to 2015.
1954History
The pageant has been nationally televised since 1954.
1955History
The pageant's longtime emcee, Bert Parks, hosted the event from 1955 to 1979.
1964History
The city hosted the 1964 Democratic National Convention which nominated Lyndon Johnson for president and Hubert Humphrey as vice president.
1970Culture
The structure was moved and refurbished as a result of a "Save Lucy" campaign in 1970 and received designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1976, and is open as a museum.
1972History
It was demolished in 1972.
1973Culture
Tramcars carrying 25 passengers each were introduced in June 1973, by which time the number of rolling carts had dropped from the thousands to as few as 10.
1974History
In 1974, New Jersey voters voted 60%–40% against legalizing casino gambling at four sites statewide, but two years later approved by 56%–44% a new referendum which legalized cas...
1976Architecture
New Jersey voters legalized casino gambling in Atlantic City in 1976, and the first casino opened two years later.
1978History
The old Ambassador Hotel was purchased by Ramada in 1978 and was gutted to become the Tropicana Casino and Resort Atlantic City, only reusing the steelwork of the original build...
1984Government
==== Casino Reinvestment Development Authority ====
The CRDA was founded in 1984 and is responsible for directing the spending of casino reinvestment funds in public and privat...
1985Economy
From 1985 through April 2008, CRDA spent US$1.5 billion on projects in Atlantic City and US$300 million throughout New Jersey.
1986Culture
The ShopRite LPGA Classic is an LPGA Tour women's golf tournament held near Atlantic City since it started in 1986.
1988Disaster
It suffered significant damage in a 1988 fire, and the remnants of the pier were removed in 1996.
1992History
==== Atlantic City Special Improvement District ====
The Atlantic City Special Improvement District (SID) was a nonprofit organization created in 1992, funded by a special asses...
1994Culture
Originally started in 1994 as a fundraiser for local LGBT charities, the event features drag queens on the runway in a similar manner to the Miss America pageant.
1995History
It was not until 1995 that Parker Brothers acknowledged this mistake and formally apologized to the residents of Marven Gardens for the misspelling, although the spelling error ...
1997Architecture
==== Current casinos ====
a The Wild Wild West Casino, which opened on July 2, 1997, and has an American Old West theme, was part of Bally's Atlantic City until 2020, when it b...
1999Culture
In 1999 the Atlantic City Redevelopment Authority partnered with Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn to develop a new roadway to a barren section of the city near the Marina.
2000History
=== 2000 census ===
As of the 2000 United States census, there were 40,517 people, 15,848 households, and 8,700 families residing in the city.
2002Architecture
Although Wynn's plans for development in the city were scrapped in 2002, the tunnel opened in 2001.
2003Architecture
Borgata opened in July 2003, and its success brought an influx of developers to Atlantic City with plans for building grand, Las Vegas-style mega casinos to revitalize the aging...
2004History
=== Miss America pageant ===
Atlantic City was the home of the Miss America competition, hosting the event from its inception until 2004, and again from 2013 to 2018.
2005Architecture
The Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm, opened in 2005, is the first onshore coastal wind farm in the United States.
2006Economy
One of these developers was Pinnacle Entertainment, which purchased the Sands Atlantic City for $250–$270 million and closed it on November 11, 2006 with plans to replace it wit...
2007History
MGM Resorts International announced in October 2007 that it would pull out of all development for Atlantic City, effectively ending its plans for the MGM Grand Atlantic City.
2008Government
In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 10,975 votes (82.1% vs.
2009Government
In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon Corzine received 4,988 ballots cast (69.9% vs.
2010History
Revel was hindered with many problems, the biggest setback occurring in April 2010 when Morgan Stanley, the owner of 90% of Revel Entertainment Group, decided to discontinue fun...
2011History
In January 2011, Chris Christie announced the creation of the Atlantic City Tourism District, a state-run district encompassing the boardwalk casinos, the marina casinos, the At...
2012Architecture
Revel completed all of the exterior work and had continued work on the interior after finally receiving the funding necessary to complete construction, and had a soft opening i...
2013Economy
Ten months later, in February 2013, after serious losses and a write-down in the value of the resort from $2.4 billion to $450 million, Revel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
2014History
It was restructured but still could not carry on and re-entered bankruptcy on June 19, 2014.
2015Military
A tram service was introduced in 2015, initially using the warning announcements that had been used on Wildwood's tramcars until it was changed after complaints from Wildwood.
2016History
Trump Taj Mahal closed October 10, 2016, after failing to come to terms with union workers.
2017Infrastructure
=== 21st century ===
==== Legalized sports betting ====
On June 27, 2017, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear Christie v.
2018Infrastructure
Then, on May 14, 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was unconstitutional.
2019History
In 2019, the Atlantic City area had the highest rates of foreclosures in the nation.
2020History
In 2020, Bally's Atlantic City was acquired by Bally's Corporation.
2021History
To remedy this, proposals for a supermarket were floated beginning in May 2021, and Atlantic City's City Council authorized the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to look...
2022Disaster
After several casino closures and the COVID-19 pandemic, strikes and pickets were being threatened in June 2022 by casino employees which were short-staffed and wanted pay raises.
2023Culture
VSM created a new plan for CRDA and the city's Council to review and by July 2023, it and a Chinese conglomerate headquartered in Hong Kong emerged as the two candidates to buil...
2024History
As of 2024, there was only one functioning supermarket in Atlantic City, the Save-A-Lot food store located in Renaissance Plaza, an area of the city known for its significant ho...
2025History
As of 2025, Atlantic County's Executive is Dennis Levinson (R, Northfield), whose term of office ends December 31, 2027.
2026Architecture
The project, expected to be completed by the end of 2026, would increase the size of the existing store by 50% to more than 28,000 square feet (2,600 m2), allowing the expansion...
2027Military
Kurtz (R, 2027; 6th Ward), Stephanie Marshall (D, 2025; At-Large), George Tibbitt (D, 2025; At-Large), Bruce Weekes (D, 2025; At-Large) and Maria Lacca (R, 2027; 5th Ward).