Looking at the 1907 photo in full size, it aches with charm. The architecture, the lawns, and crowds are almost idyllic. 1907 was, indeed, a time of prosperity and tranquility in the United States. It would be another 10 years before we entered WWI while the Spanish Flu killed 675,000 Americans.

Regardless of wars and disease, the Atlantic City of 1907 was doomed. Here is what this section of the boardwalk looks like today. The pin drop is on Brighton Park. You have beach on one side, and almost nonstop kitschy retail on the other.

Click to embiggen.

In Florida the developers would never allow a vacant piece of land like the park to stay. There must be a condo or hotel there. We have to put the New Yorkers somewhere!

I'm happy to see the little park next to the hotel is still there, even though the lovely old hotel has been replaced by an ugly monstrosity, Bally's Park.

I have wonder what the architects of said monstrosity would say to me. Maybe they would remind me that Bally's allows many more people to have an ocean view and that wood, stone and stucco are not viable choices for skyscrapers. To Bally's credit they kept the smaller Dennis hotel. Or maybe Atlantic City had something to say about that?