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Atlantic City (continued)

Postcard circa 1940. President Hotel. The back of the card reads: "Atlantic City boasts of more hotel rooms than have thirty entire states. Fine food, unexcelled service, and magnificent furnishings, all combine to make these hotels some of the finest in the world." This is the eastern terminus of Route 40. Or at least one of the eastern termini. The President Hotel stood at the intersection of Albany Avenue and the Boardwalk. This vintage postcard shows the President in its glory days. Albany Avenue came in just to the left of the hotel. It was from this hotel that George Stewart took the first photograph for his 1953 book, U.S. 40. In 1979, the President Hotel was leveled is a series of three implosions. The intent was to build the high-rise Sahara Hotel and Casino on the site, but the plans went awry and nothing was ever built. The site of the grand old hotel is now a parking lot. Another postcard view of the President Hotel.

Photo 1962. Official Terminus Sign. In the 1960's, someone realized that Route 40 lacked a proper sign marking the highway's terminus. Someone (the city, perhaps?) erected this sign as a tribute to the great highway that ended in their streets. In the minds of whoever erected the sign, the highway began (or ended) in the sands of the beach. The sign's message: Seashore life begins at 40 This is the eastern terminus of U.S. 40 3,020 miles long - through 14 states The message contains an interesting error, citing the highway's transcontinental length at 3,020 miles. This is about 200 miles less that the roughly 3,220 miles most people use to measure the highway during the Golden Age of Automobiling. Unfortunately, the sign didn't last too long. By the end of the 1960's the sign was gone. Springsteen sings, "...everything dies in Atlantic City." How true. Today, a rack of pay telephones stands where this sign once stood.

Postcard circa 1920. War Memorial. The southeast corner of Pacific and Albany Avenues is the subject of Stewart's first photo. Many people consider this to the be starting point of Route 40. The state DOT considers the highway's starting point to be the intersection of Atlantic, Pacific and Albany Avenues, one block to the east of the memorial. The memorial was designed by Carrere and Hastings and features the statue Liberty in Distress by Frederick MacMonnies. Formerly, there was a traffic circle around the memorial, however, the eastern quadrant has been converted to a pleasant little park. Today, the asphalt around the northeast quadrant has been replaced with greenery. It is now a pleasant urban park. Perhaps, the traffic flow in this part of Atlantic City has dropped significantly to warrant the loss of two lanes of roadway around the memorial. Or, more likely city planners figured removing the island in the traffic circle was worth the cost of a bottleneck. Traffic circles are bad enough to the uninitiated, but to have a traffic circle with a large obstruction in the center was probably too much for some visitors. Regardless, the park is a welcome addition to the roadscape. The park surrounding the memorial also makes it easier to view the interior of the memorial. Rather that trying to dodge a steady stream of cars circling the memorial, today you can stroll across the park with ease and safety. On my last visit, the memorial has iron gate that were padlocked shut. One can view the interior with ease through the gates. I suspect the gates were added to keep overnight loiterers out - the memorial area was littered with more than a few empty wine and beer bottles.

Postcard circa 1949. Chelsea Park. Here is a broader view of the War Memorial area. This bird's eye view shows Chelsea Park and Chelsea High School (later renamed Atlantic City High School). The War Memorial is just to the right of the school. The view is to the south. The main boulevard on the right is Chelsea Park Boulevard, not Route 40. Route 40 enters the scene from the left where it "begins" about a block earlier at the Boardwalk. The Route continues in front of the high school (see below) and then circles counterclockwise around the War Memorial. Route 40 exits the scene on the right. The tall tan building on the left is the Mayfair apartment building. When Thomas and Geraldine Vale visited the scene for their 1980 update of Stewart's book, the President had been razed. They used the Mayfair as their vantage point. Like the President Hotel, the Mayfair has also been razed.

Postcard circa 1940. Chelsea (Atlantic City) High School. Here is a 1930's era postcard of Atlantic City High School. The school is the same one shown in Thomas and Geraldine Vale's update of George Stewart's book. The high school has been torn down and now serves as a parking lot for the city's many casinos. Ah, progress...

Postcard circa 1949. Lucy the Margate Elephant. A few miles south of Atlantic City is Margate, home to Lucy - the first of the larger-than-life roadside attraction found along Route 40 (9200 Atlantic Avenue; 823-6473). A trip to visit Lucy is well worth the time. Built in the 1880's, Lucy still stands thanks to a relocation and the work of some dedicated preservationists. In this 1920's postcard on the right, Lucy is known as the "Elephant Hotel." Lucy has been renovated (left) and continues to draw crowds. If you'd like to know more about Lucy, visit her web site.

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