The Boardwalk is Atlantic City’s most important manmade feature. Because of this simple and historic fact, the quality of the Boardwalk and the beach and buildings which engage it are central to the visitor’s experience.

HBA prepared the Design Standards for the Atlantic City Boardwalk. The Standards will be used by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and consulted as new construction and rehabilitation projects along the Boardwalk are prepared using the Authority’s funds.

Absent any previous design standards, construction along the Boardwalk has been allowed to proceed adhering only to the dictates of the developer and the prevailing market forces. Many lessons may be learned by comparing the physical manifestations of the buildings that front today’s Atlantic City Boardwalk with the buildings that were associated with the resort during its “heyday”, the period of maximum popularity from the 1920s through the 1940s. The practices and physical differences between these two periods of architecture are distinct and measurable.

In the field work necessary to prepare the standards, it became apparent that the Boardwalk still retains important links to its past in the form of buildings and features worth preserving and rehabilitating. For this reasons, the standards include a section on opportunities for preservation. While the bulk of original great hotels have been lost, significant resources remain that will allow Atlantic City to capitalize on its unique history and sense of place. Heritage tourism, widely recognized as a compelling force and marketing tool, should play an important role in Atlantic City’s future.

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