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Atlantic City Boardwalk: 1908
... City, New Jersey, circa 1908. "Chalfonte Hotel and the Boardwalk." With some sort of spillage splotch in the middle, "double chair" ... in the history of the resort was the invention of the rolling chair in 1884. M.D. Shill, a Philadelphia manufacturer of invalid ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/24/2011 - 1:14pm -

Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1908. "Chalfonte Hotel and the Boardwalk." With some sort of spillage splotch in the middle, "double chair" rental on the right and a 45-star flag topping it all off. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. Chair rental50 cents for the double chair rental seems like a lot in 1908. Unless that included one of the many men standing around to push you? Kind of like a rickshaw. [Chair rental circa 1908 was 50 cents an hour. In 1913 the A.C. city commission, in a move to cut "chair congestion," passed an ordinance raising mercantile taxes on the chairs by $5 a year -- to $10 on single chairs, and $20 for double chairs. The commission's goal was a doubling of the rental rate to a dollar an hour. - Dave] Sandy ClothesWow. I can't imagine how long it must have taken to get the sand out of those heavy wool clothes. Double ChairsFrom a WPA guide to Atlantic City: The next milestone in the history of the resort was the invention of the rolling chair in 1884. M.D. Shill, a Philadelphia manufacturer of invalid chairs, go-carts and perambulators, came to Atlantic City and opened a store to rent out baby carriages to summer families. He also rented out invalid chairs for convalescents and cripples. Within a few years these invalid chairs evolved into the double chair with a pusher. Triple chairs followed, completing the fleet of comfortable sightseeing chairs of today. Tim-bers!Wow, those are some beautiful timbers stacked on the beach. Timbers like those would cost a fortune today. TransitionsAtlantic City transitioned from this sedate scene to a bustling family-oriented seaside resort by the 1940s. I remember the Steel Pier and the Diving Horse. By the early '70s, A.C. hit rock bottom...then gambling was legalized. The rest (along with visitors' money) is history. Tanning and HorsesLooking at all the clothes these people are wearing makes me realize that being tan probably wasn't as common, at least for city folk. There is hardly any skin showing on anyone. Also, note the horses bottom left. I guess someone had the job of cleaning up after them on the beach/boardwalk. Neat picture, btw. And I agree about the time machine, though I'd like a ticket back in case things didn't work out. Wow...Can I go back in time please... One way is OK... Sign me up and get me outta here! 45 StarsIf the flag has 45 stars and the date is 1908, the hotel owner should have bought a new flag. Utah was the 45th state, admitted in 1896. Oklahoma was 46th, admitted in 1907. [The 46-star flag was adopted July 4, 1908. If the photo was taken in 1908, it was probably before the Fourth of July. - Dave] Ah yes, the old ChalfonteIn the early 1940's, while the tires were still mileage-viable on my dad's 1937 Chevy 2-door, we traveled to AC from Newburgh, NY, several times as a family. We usually bunked at the Chalfonte or its sister hotel down the block, Haddon Hall. As a kid my favorite place on the AC boardwalk was the James Salt Water Taffy shop. They sold pressed paper cartons of those filling-yankers in really neat-looking wire barrel shapes. For many years, I used one of these as a piggy bank. Hotel lobbiesCirca 1926 Ethel Waters made a record called "Jersey Walk," about a girl who dances in the hotel lobbies "just to hear those bellhops yell... 'Shake 'em up kid, shake 'em up kid, shake 'em up lady...'" Janet Klein and her Parlor Boys recorded it much more recently. Postal PhotosI see that Palace Postal Photos are best. I assume that is a place you could go to get a souvenier photo made to mail to the folks back home. Got any of those in your bag Dave? [Afraid not. - Dave] The Chalfonte and The Haddon Hall down the blockThose were family favorites for mini-vacations from upstate New York, so long as the tires on my dad's '37 Chevvy two-door had viable treads. Best shop on the AC Boardwalk for me was the James' Salt Water Taffy shop a few blocks west of the Chalfonte. They packaged their product in a molded papier-mache carton in the shape and color of a white barrel. I used one of these for years as a kid for my spare pocket change. Nap time!I like the man on the beach taking a siesta. What strikes me most about this picture is how lazy we've become in regard to architecture. Maybe a glass brick is easier to heat and cool as well as construct but dang, look at that beautiful building! Shill Rolling ChairI recently purchased a Shill Rolling Chair that seats three people. The brass plate mounted on the front of the white wicker frame says the charge was 75 cents an hour for one person or $1 an hour for two or more. I am curious about the age of the rolling chair. Based on the price per hour, would you know the age of my chair? (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Sports)
Keep Smiling: 1906
The Jersey shore circa 1906. "Rolling chair on the Boardwalk, Atlantic City." In the distance, the giant safety razor ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 11:39am -

The Jersey shore circa 1906. "Rolling chair on the Boardwalk, Atlantic City." In the distance, the giant safety razor seen on the Gillette sign in the previous post. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Keep SmilingWhaddaya mean, keep smiling ? I AM smiling. The Wicked Witch of the East?The smiling, striding woman on the left is a dead ringer for Margaret Hamilton. Ouch!I was admiring the smiling lady, which seems uncommon in this period, and when I panned over to the stern couple in the rolling chair with the sign I laughed myself out of my chair. Thanks Dave, this is the most delightful photo I've seen. A Short Time LaterI hope the poor bugger in the rolling chair hopped out and ran away with the smiling lady and left that evil eyed old biddy behind. Hotel TraymoreAs noted in Dave's comment, vantage point for the previous birds-eye view of the beach. Is it a smileor a maniacal grin? The lady on the left seems to be holding her cane in a very threatening way. Perhaps it's her husband in the rolling chair running off with her mother! Rolling chairsAh, that's what you call them. I was thinking maybe "nobility scooter." Hello Pork Pie HatLove the gent's hat. A cool modern topper, especially compared to the fusty lady sitting next to him. Rolling Chair Evils Washington Post, Apr 22, 1900 Reforms in Atlantic City Rolling-Chair Evil Regulated This resort wears the aspect of summer, with a crowded boardwalk, and ideal sky, warm breeze, and everything in the way of amusement and entertainment in full swing. So great is the multitude of people that certain features of the city which have given it its attractiveness promise to become, and to certain extent now are, veritable nuisances. Once of these is the rolling chair, which every invalid who has ever been here and many of the perfectly able visitors know and have enjoyed. There are other visitors, those of the pedestrian class, who find their strolls on the Boardwalk at times almost blocked by the chairs, which line up five and six across the walk. There are no less than 600 of them. But a new grievance against the chairs has come up. Careless attendants have recently been employed, and because of the rolling of the chairs against a number of visitors, several handsome Easter promenade gowns have been torn, and others ruined by the dust and grease from the unprotected wheels. The authorities have now stepped in with vigor, and all the chair attendants are to be uniformed, provided with badges, and are to held accountable to the police department. This move will be hailed with general satisfaction. The morals of the Boardwalk have also been tuned up by the authorities. It took the police an entire week to learn that one or two mutascope showmen were exhibiting for "a nickel a look," scores of pictures decidedly "Frenchy." Then one morning Mayor Frank Stoy and a Baptist clergyman took a stroll and examined the pictures. Before night official orders were issued, and before morning the mutascope men had changed the pictures in toto, and now complain that business has fallen off. But the police order stands. Washington Post, Feb 12, 1939 Atlantic City Rolling Chairs Prove Popular The Boardwalk rolling chair, almost exclusively an Atlantic City vehicle, which was first introduced in 1887, is still a popular feature in the resort. The late George Hayday at first rented the chairs to invalids, who found the Boardwalk chair rides stimulating but later learned that persons in the best of health also enjoyed the chairs. The chairs, which are constructed here, were later enlarged to accommodate two or three persons. There are now 1,500 in use. Everyone who has ever visited Atlantic City will remember them and many a romance has started under the moon in a Boardwalk rolling chair. Should the weather prove to be a trifle cool, a warm robe and glass windshield protect the ride. Amazing photoIt's almost surreal the way the characters pop out of this photo. The clarity of those early lenses makes one wonder why modern cameras can't match the dots per inch. Amazing! [It's not so much the clarity of the lens as the size of the "image sensor." In this case, a humongous 8 by 10 inches. - Dave] Sun GrinsThe "smiling lady" doesn't seem to be smiling to me. She has the same expression I do when I go outside and forget my sunglasses. I have VERY light sensitive eyes and end up with the "sun grins" without my sunglasses, even in cloudy weather. I can easily assume I'm not the only one to have this problem. DopplegangerLooks like Amy Winehouse stumbled into a time machine. The third wheel Oh God, Harold, She's gaining on us, give the man another dollar! (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Travel & Vacation)
Seawater Baths: 1905
Circa 1905. "Boardwalk, Atlantic City." Strollers on parade, at least one beach baby, and a ... I could see, but cold? Go swim with the fishies! Rolling chairs I see several examples of rolling chairs in this photo. Can ... are still part of Atlantic City. You pay someone with a chair and they push you on the boardwalk. (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 6:58pm -

Circa 1905. "Boardwalk, Atlantic City." Strollers on parade, at least one beach baby, and a number of ponies. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. Slowly --Careful with the baby!! My eye went straight to the ladies taking the stroller down to the beach. I just love how that moment was captured. About those power linesHawk777-I'd slap a newborn for some of those beehive insulators off to the right. Anyone expecting? Baby Carriages and StairsI wonder about the baby in the pram. Was it a boy or a girl? How much of the 20th century was he/she around to see? My grandfather, born just three years later, said that he thought he'd been born at about the best time possible. Better get a discount for thatIt's "Hot and Cold Seawater Baths"!. Charging for hot seawater baths I could see, but cold? Go swim with the fishies! Rolling chairsI see several examples of rolling chairs in this photo. Can someone enlighten me as to how they worked? Were they like bicycles or were they pushed? I've looked in Boardwalk Empire but he gives no details about their mechanics. [They're something of a Shorpy tradition: for example.] Boardwalk eye candyBoth men and women are stealing glances of the slender young ladies in the center foreground. We'll never see what they saw. The beach and people are nice butDave: best detail yet in all your pics of, er, powerlines. What a waist. The lady in the foreground has quite the figure. Considering the glances within the photo in her general direction, I'm not the only one me thinks. "But each day when she walks to the sea, She looks straight ahead not at me." Rolling chairsThe rolling chairs are still part of Atlantic City. You pay someone with a chair and they push you on the boardwalk. (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC)
All Lit Up: 1910
Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1910. "The Boardwalk at night." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing ... double chairs appear to be simply the famous Atlantic City rolling chairs for two. We know the exact date they were introduced there: June ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/01/2023 - 1:37pm -

Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1910. "The Boardwalk at night." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Double ChairsSmith's double chairs appear to be simply the famous Atlantic City rolling chairs for two. We know the exact date they were introduced there: June 11, 1887. TripAdvisor says that that 50-cent ride will cost you about $40 today. Incredible detailOutstanding photo. Somebody call GhostbustersI’ve never seen so many spectral bodies in one place before. Only the ghosts come out at nightHere is as close to a comparative daytime view as I could find, looking down from the Hotel Traymore about four years earlier. The only sign I can see for sure in both photos is Moerlein's Barbarossa, which Google tells me is a dark lager brewed in Cincinatti, Ohio. I couldn't identify any of the 1910 buildings in Street view. Based on where the Hotel Traymore was located and a slight dogleg in the boardwalk that you can see in the 1906 photo, here is where I think the nighttime photo was taken, on the boardwalk at S Kentucky Avenue. Early neon lights?The Moerlein's and Spearmint signs appear to be neon lights. If so, they must be very early examples of that art form. [Light bulbs only -- no neon. - Dave] Boardwalk rolling chairsAt one period after this photo two rolling chair lanes were created with boards going the opposite direction which created a smoother ride for rolling chair riders. All the rolling chairs in the photo have hard tires. Only one company (Eveler) had rolling chairs with balloon tires. The others (Shill, G. George, etc.) used hard rubber. (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC)
Dolly's Go-Cart: 1905
... The little girl has a baby nestled in front of her. Boardwalk Rollers This is one of Atlantic City's celebrated rental "rolling chairs," which have made numerous appearances on Shorpy. Most of them ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2013 - 4:09pm -

Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1905. "Dolly's go-cart." Behind this little princess: a pushy mother. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Why are we here?Neither mother nor daughter seem particularly happy. The only one with a semblance of a smile is the doll! By the poundConsidering that it was 1905, their prosperity might be in direct proportion to their girth. Here's an ideaLadies, why don't we stop in here at the Green's and take a sea water bath. Then we can go out on the porch and watch these guys climb around on the billboard. Easter '04The Easter Parade at Green's Hotel. Cute VehicleI've never seen one of these before..for such a big girl! I wonder how Mom could see where she was going. But it is very cute and interesting. Thank you, Shorpy! SweetDespite the seeming grimace on the child (the sun?) this is a sweet picture. Most of the photos from this period the children seem to be in rather purposeful tow with their parents. And there are two dollies in this photo. The little girl has a baby nestled in front of her. Boardwalk RollersThis is one of Atlantic City's celebrated rental "rolling chairs," which have made numerous appearances on Shorpy. Most of them are "double chairs." Nice to have a close-up of a single. Some things never changeIf you've been to Disney World anytime recently you'll know what I mean. There are still "pushy mothers" pushing around strollers overstuffed with older children who are more than capable of walking. Around foreverThey still had the double wicker carts when I was a kid going to Atlantic City in the 50s and early 60s. I remember always wanting to ride in one. They remind me of the kind of bicycle carts you can hop in today in NYC. Rolling chairEven though these are pushed, they are still called "rickshaws" in Atlantic city. You can still get a ride on one now, but it will cost you about five bucks or more. If you're smart you will refuse the first price that they give you and bargain for a better deal. (The Gallery, Atlantic City, Bicycles, DPC, Kids)
Atlantic City: 1900
Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1900. "Boardwalk, Easter morning." 8x10 dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing ... masses in the back make it too difficult to count... Rolling chairs Rolling chairs have been an Atlantic City boardwalk tradition ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2013 - 3:46pm -

Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1900. "Boardwalk, Easter morning." 8x10 dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The Common PeopleI realize it is Easter, but everyone is dressed so well that they all look like someone important. I wonder how different their attire would be on a regular day. WirelessAmazing how many more power lines there are in 6 years. Check out "Under the Boardwalk: 1906". Makes me sweatIt's lovely to look at the wonderful dresses and hats of old, but it makes me sweat! I know they look beautiful and I love looking at them but not so practical!!! One legged man?The man walking toward us on the lower far left, close-by the boardwalk fence, and just past the streetlight -- is the fact that he appears to have only one leg some kind an illusion? He doesn't have a cane, nor any help from the people he is with. How deyupd he otherwise move along? [I think he probably has the usual number of legs. ("Deyupd"?) - Dave] Upper Class ConveyanceI am curious about the adult baby buggies. Does anyone know who used these? Some of the passengers look like they could be dowagers, but it's hard to tell. Maybe it was just lazy people. Clackety clackI guess it was fashionable in this era to take the wife out for a push. ChildlessWhere are the kids? I can only see one. A scene like this today would be dominated by families with children. Put on your Easter bonnetThe importance of hatboxes, hairpins, hat racks and so on now helps me understand. There isn't one hatless person around that boardwalk. Re: ChildlessWell, I see at least 8 kids on the foreground, before the masses in the back make it too difficult to count... Rolling chairsRolling chairs have been an Atlantic City boardwalk tradition for many decades. They're still popular today. Look at the Slim WaistlinesThe ladies cut some beautiful silhouettes. Must be too coldI don't see any guys in speedos on the beach. There appears to bea lot of bustle-tugging by the ladies. The real skinnyCorsets, darling Anonymous Tipster. Corsets which bind, restrict and generally squeeze everything in a manner in which they were not meant to be squeezed are the cause of the "slim" waistlines. Who needs to take a full breath if their waist looks slim? On the Boardwalk, out by the seaWhen I was a very little girl (I am guessing spring of 1960) they still had the wicker rolling chairs on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City. By that time they were not pushed, but pedaled by a driver. In some cases the driver was at the front of the chair, on others at the rear behind the passengers. Very few were motorized back then. Some were no longer wicker. The second time I was in Atlantic City (late 1960's) there were no wicker pedicabs with bicycles left. They were all motorized, made of steel, but still of the rickshaw concept. They were part taxi (since you pay to ride them and they have a driver) and part amusement ride. At the time this photo was taken (until a 1944 hurricane destroyed it) the Boardwalk was seven miles long. That is why they had cabs. By the time I was there it was still over four miles long, as it remains today. (The Gallery, Atlantic City, Bicycles, DPC, Easter)
The Dennis: 1901
... work! [The vehicle at the foot of the stairs is a "rolling chair," used to convey guests along the Boardwalk. - Dave] Trees on the beach Why are all the trees stacked up ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/08/2016 - 7:21pm -

"The Dennis, Atlantic City, 1901." Decades before The Donald came to town. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Lady on leftEdith, I swear if it get any hotter I'm going swimming clothes and all! Second Boy from the right"Hey Elmer, check out the ankles on that chick" No towelsMust have been an extra sandy experience, back then. The Dennis"You'll love our pine-scented beaches.' Not wheelchair compliantIt appears the hotel is not ADA compliant. There is a wheelchair at the bottom of the stairs on the left. Looks like the user is hobbling up the stairs to her room. I hope they didn't put her on the top floor. No light colored parasols here, just dark rain bumbershoots to hide under. I really enjoy looking at these pictures on my tablet. The spreading of the fingers zoom feature allows one to check the fine detail. Keep up the good work! [The vehicle at the foot of the stairs is a "rolling chair," used to convey guests along the Boardwalk. - Dave] Trees on the beachWhy are all the trees stacked up on the beach in front of the fence? Some kind of erosion control? Strange effect The kid in front of the two ladies looks like he fell out of a Winslow Homer painting and landed on the beach. Trees on the beach, a Jersey Shore traditionAlthough those don't look like Scotch Pines and Doug Firs, they may be there for the same reason hundreds of New Jersey towns, at least throughout my youth, used to collect used Christmas trees at curbside and send them on a seaside excursion. Yes, it was for erosion control, they claimed... possibly to keep the sands from swirling and shifting during the rough winter-spring transition. Earlier generationWhile the Dennis Hotel is still used by Bally, this picture is of an earlier incarnation of the hotel: "The latest version of the Dennis, pre-casinos, was constructed between 1919 and 1925, Kutschera said. It was built in the French regency style, with a distinctive mansard roof." [Other Shorpy photos show mansard roofs present as early as 1905 and 1908. -tterrace] Where?Anyone have any idea of where in AC this hotel was. I will be going to AC in 3 weeks and would like to see what's there now. [It's still there, now incorporated into the Bally's complex. -tterrace] (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Swimming)
Carnival of Fire: 1905
Atlantic City circa 1905. "Hotel Chalfonte and Boardwalk." Where the diversions include shooting flames, rolling chairs and "social drama." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/06/2014 - 10:27am -

Atlantic City circa 1905. "Hotel Chalfonte and Boardwalk." Where the diversions include shooting flames, rolling chairs and "social drama." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. What could possibly be the job description of the operator of those vehicles? [Chairman of the Boardwalk. - Dave] All the newsI swear that the wind blew a newspaper onto the face of the women in the first sedan chair the INSTANT the photo was taken - Hilarious! [That's the veil of her hat. -tterrace] The Strenuous LifeNice to see Colonel Roosevelt (right there behind the girl in white) out for a strenuous stroll on the boardwalk! (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC)
Sun City: 1910
... and Rudolf hotels, Atlantic City." From the heyday of the Boardwalk, parasol and rolling chair. View full size. The Monopoly Card "Advance to St. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/25/2015 - 12:26pm -

The Jersey Shore circa 1910. "St. Charles and Rudolf hotels, Atlantic City." From the heyday of the Boardwalk, parasol and rolling chair. View full size. The Monopoly Card"Advance to St. Charles Place," only in this case it would have to say "Return to St. Charles Place". The Mailbox. When I started with the Post Office Department in 1970, we only had one box in our city like the one in the picture (out of 100 or more collection boxes). Notice it has a lock instead of a slot for a key. Instead of inserting and turning the key to open it, You inserted a special flat key into a slot on the lock and it would pop open. Every Letter Carrier had to sign for the special key and the regular key daily, even though most never used it. Mailbox MemoriesThey haven't changed much over the years but eventually rust out and get replaced. The oldest one I remember was in the mountain community of Julian, CA, embossed with the manufacture year 1933. I think it was there until about the 1980s, so they sometimes have a good long run. St Charles PlaceAnd not a scotty dog, flat iron, or thimble to be seen. The U.S. P.O. TardisThat U.S. Mailbox does indeed look like the one setting on the corner near my house at this very moment. Too bad we're not Timelords. We could crawl into it like Dr. Who's police box and visit 1910, then come back and get some KFC. I suppose I, myself, would look pretty suspicious wearing jeans and tennis shoes, and a teeshirt that reads "Bonnie and Clyde Death Death Car." "It's So Dreadfully Hot, Mabel""Let's dress in many layers and stroll under a parasol." What a DumpI see one piece of white litter along the curb. Mail BoxAnd one hundred and five years later the U. S. Mail collection box could still be in use somewhere. (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC)
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