ATLANTIC CITY - ROLLING CHAIRS
April 17, 2008
My blog banner says, "wherever the ride goes" and I swear I never know what that will be. I was looking a the postcard of the Ambassador Hotel in Atlantic City and I remembered that my mom, Polly Spiegel Cowan, took me to Atlantic city for a weekend when I was about ten years old. It was rainy and cold and I hated it, but I did enjoy her stories about her visits there as a youngster. Of course she stayed at her Uncle Simon's hotel, The Ambassador. It would have been special trip, since she lived in Chicago as a girl. Her favorite memories seemed to be of the rolling chairs. And the salt water taffy. Honestly, I wasn't paying that much attention, I just wanted to get back home. But this vague memory inspired my search for images of Atlantic City rolling chairs.
Late 19th or Early 20th Century. The boardwalk was originally built to keep sand out of the hotels. Atlantic city, in it's early days of the 1850's was a health spa and middle class vacation playground. Leisurely walks, or rides, along the boardwalk were a famous attraction.
Sheet music. 1905
Same song, different version
Early 20th Century Postcard
1908 Postcard, Boardwalk at night
No date on this one. But early 20th century.
Boardwalk 1910
A Boardwalk pastime. 1914
1948
Rolling Chairs in 1961, around the time I went with my mother.
This must be late 1960's. The rolling cars have lost their elegance, and there's some horrible piece of institutional architecture added to the otherwise elegant cityscape.
Now Atlantic City is a big gambling strip and since I don't like to print ugly images on my blog I'll stop while the going's good.
Late 19th or Early 20th Century. The boardwalk was originally built to keep sand out of the hotels. Atlantic city, in it's early days of the 1850's was a health spa and middle class vacation playground. Leisurely walks, or rides, along the boardwalk were a famous attraction.
Sheet music. 1905
Same song, different version
Early 20th Century Postcard
1908 Postcard, Boardwalk at night
No date on this one. But early 20th century.
Boardwalk 1910
A Boardwalk pastime. 1914
1948
Rolling Chairs in 1961, around the time I went with my mother.
This must be late 1960's. The rolling cars have lost their elegance, and there's some horrible piece of institutional architecture added to the otherwise elegant cityscape.
Now Atlantic City is a big gambling strip and since I don't like to print ugly images on my blog I'll stop while the going's good.