How It All Goes Down
The Grand Illusion
- The boisterous John Young is in the midst of a performance on his very own Atlantic City pier, dubbed "Young's Million Dollar Pier" (2.1). He sure sounds like a humble guy.
- We're getting ahead of ourselves, though. Richards's new railroad transforms the city, making it a must-visit destination for working class families throughout the Northeast. By the end of the 1800s, Atlantic City is booming. This leads to an influx of "building tradesmen and laborers" (2.9)—most of whom are Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigrants.
- At this time, most visitors stay in boarding houses. They're not quite as nice as hotels (and you have to share your bathroom—yuck) but they're pretty luxurious for the time.
- Naturally, the city's economy is seasonal. City officials are desperate to attract visitors during the off-season, even claiming that it doesn't snow it Atlantic City. Spoiler alert: It does.
- It's around this time that the first boardwalk is built. Although it's originally meant solely to make the city less sandy, the boardwalk eventually becomes integral to the city's economy. Our boy John Young plays a big role in this development. After buying his pier off a dude named John Applegate, Young transforms it into the most decadent thing the city has ever seen—and one of the most profitable, too.
- Meanwhile, Atlantic City's hospitality industry is shooting through the roof. Hoteliers like Benjamin Brown and Charles McGlade are changing the ways that hotels work, revolutionizing "newspaper advertising" (2.41) and the hotel experience itself.