HISTORICAL TRIVIA......
Number One Atlantic Ocean
Captain John Lake Young-
( no one knows what he was Captain of ) was an Atlantic City rags to riches story. He started out operating a carousel and ended up owning
several major piers in Atlantic City.
Nothing succeeded like excess at the time and the Captain topped off his Young's Million Dollar Pier with an Italianate Mansion at the end
of the pier.
Imported marble, statues, furniture from all over the globe and illuminated at night by thousands of miniature lights outlining the mansion
provided by his fishing buddy Thomas Edison. He entertained celebs from entertainers to presidents.
Monmouth Beach Life-Saving Station
At one time there were 41 active stations along the NJ coast - more than anywhere in the country.
This is one of the few surviving stations and we will tell the story of U.S.Life-Saving Service ( created in our Garden State) - the father
of the U.S. Coast Guard
The 1987 Long Branch Fire
A sad end to an era; Max's, the boardwalk and the amusement pier that created so many memories. Do you know it was considered suspicious by many? Gifted Sara (Long Branch's Madame Marie) was asked a few days later by a reporter if the amusement pier would be rebuilt as the politicians were claiming. Her mouth curled into a sly smile and she said " I see condominiums"
A Long Branch institution
Here is the original Max's built in 1928 as a 25 seat hot-dog stand. Lost in the 1987 boardwalk and amusement pier fire. The new one is at 28 Matilda Terrace still in Long Branch and still a local favorite. Today people disagree on who has the best dog- Max's or The Windmill on Ocean Ave also in the Branch.
Atlantoc City Heyday - 1920's
This is what the Atlantic City beach and boardwalk looked like during the days of Enoch "Nucky" Johnson.
( changed to Thompson for the show ) Steeplechase Pier was an amazing place. George Tilyou built Steeplechase Park in Coney Island and then expanded to the Jersey Shore. Working out an idea for a Tales of the Jersey Shore episode about these piers.
Asbury Park 
Besides showing a young Springsteen you can see so much history...that is the Palace Amusements he made famous in the background.
There was a hand-carved carousel in the building and that Ferris Wheel went right through the roof. It is now a parking lot.
Great Blizzard of 1888
This rare photo shows Asbury Park along the New Jersey Shore during the Great Blizzard of 1888. Known as the "white hurricane" it was one of the most horrific blizzards in recorded history and while it was almost mid March it dumped 40-50 inches of snow in the NJ/NY area. No snow plows back then with 50 foot drifts and people were housebound for over a week.
1950's Ocean Grove, NJ
Atlantic City 1957
Before the great hotels fell to the wrecker's ball.
Atlantic City fish haul
- those of you that watch "Boardwalk Empire" might have seen a detailed set that looks like this. Young's Million Dollar Pier had a daily fish haul for years that attracted tourists like a magnet. The nets would be pulled in through trap doors on the pier and the bounty of the sea visible for all to enjoy. A joke among the locals was that some of the "catch" of the day were not even native to that part of the Atlantic Ocean. No one can say John Lake Young did not know how to reel them in.
The Diving Horse
Watching "Boardwalk Empire" made me think of the old attractions on the boardwalk when Atlantic City was America's Playground. The Diving Horse and rider (women) dove 45 feet from a platform into a tank of water and was the most popular attraction for decades. Before any animal lovers get on my case I love animals. There was an ongoing battle with the SPCA but the operators claimed no horse was ever injured, they were treated like royalty and most lived to old age.The act was booked in 1929 for one week only but was so popular it continued into the late 1970s when the Steel Pier closed.
Long Branch Parade
This is a KKK parade that lasted hours in Long Branch in the 1920's setting the resort back a generation.
Cape May Railroad
Here is an interesting image. At the turn of the century there was an electric railroad that ran along the beach in Cape May.
There were places where it ran along the boardwalk and you could travel from Cape May Point and the steamboat landing to Sewell's
Point at the eastern end of Cape May. Eventually it was claimed by Mother Nature and shut down. As we can see by this photo near the
end of its life erosion and numerous storms hastened its closure.
The Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944
Cape May
The Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944
Asbury Park
The Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944
Ocean City
McCreary Cottage
1915 photo (The famous Cape May - Abbey B&B today) This one is the oldest known images of the McCreary cottage believed to be taken not too long after it was built. Notice the wood siding is vertical when it was first built..later changed to horizontal in the 1915 photograph.
Source Email : Tales of the New Jersey Shore and its Environs
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