Steel Pier, Atlantic City: Showplace of the Nation [Hardcover]

Steve Liebowitz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 25, 2009

For much of the 20th century Steel Pier in Atlantic City, NJ, was the center of American entertainment on the East Coast. There were big bands, movies, sideshows, acrobats, flag-pole sitters, Frank Sinatra, Miss America -- and throngs of people lining up to get a seat so they could watch brave horses and riders dive into a pool of water. It was aptly called the ''Showplace of the Nation'' and it was all that and more. This all-in-one entertainment mecca on the Boardwalk, novel in its day, has never been matched, not even at latter-day theme parks. Where else could you take the entire family for a day and see fortune-telling parakeets, the World of Tomorrow, John Philip Sousa and his band, a bear on a bicycle, World Famous Diving Horses, take a ride below the sea in the Diving Bell, spend the evening in the marine ballroom, and take in a movie -- all for one ticket? It was a colossal offering of escape, popular culture, fun and fantasy. It was a grand treat served up with gusto and cotton candy, a destination not to be missed -- an empire of grand-thinking impresarios, oddities and glamor that meshed into one cohesive and attainable summer destination. This large-format coffee-table book, published in full color, includes 227 historic photographs, illustrations, and advertising images. Steel Pier evokes a time when more really was more, a time when there was so much invention, talent and industry that it could only be experienced in one place -- at the edge of the continent, in a city that took its name from a vast ocean, on a great pier reaching out into the sea. (Benjamin Franklin Awards 2010 finalist: Regional Book, Cover Design, and Interior Design.)

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Pier's glory days live again in 'Steel Pier, Atlantic City,' a big nostalgic history of the Pier. --The Philadelphia Inquirer

Chronicling the Pier's history -- and more... in 263 picture-packed pages.
--the Press of Atlantic City

Celebrates Atlantic City's magical Steel Pier.
--Courier Post

An homage to Atlantic City's best-known entertainment mecca.
--Baltimore Jewish Times

Almost as much fun as a day on Steel Pier, and as close as you can get to it in the 21st century.
--The SandPaper

Covers the great entrepreneurs and showmen who made the Pier run through the vaudeville acts and stars of the '20s and '30s, the diving horse era, the big band era and the rock'n roll of the '50s and '60s.
--Atlantic City Weekly

An exhaustively researched and impressively illustrated history of what, for a large chunk of the 20th century, was celebrated far and wide as ''the showplace of America.'' --Philadelphia Daily News

As I turned the pages of this book and saw so many, many people having the time of their lives, I began to care, not so much about a place that has come and gone, but about the kind of imaginative, entrepreneurial spirit that made Atlantic City the fun, fascinating place it was.

Someone should read this book, and make history repeat itself. --The Philadelphia Inquirer

About the Author

Steve Liebowitz has been researching Atlantic City entertainment history and the Steel Pier for many years. He has written articles for the Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Jewish Times, and Generations, the journal of the Jewish Museum of Maryland. He wrote about the old days of Wildwood, NJ in that Shore town's newspaper for six years. After writing and producing commercials for CBS Radio, he wrote, co-produced and co-hosted ''The Rock & Leebo Show'' and has now gone out on his own with his comedy sports program ''The Leebo Show'' heard in Baltimore. A graduate of the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, he has also painted animation cels in Chicago's Cioni Studio. Steve is a student of old theaters and show business history and is involved with historic preservation as a member of the Theatre Historical Society of America. He lives outside of Baltimore with his wife Andrea, where he dreams of living near an ocean and a boardwalk.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 263 pages
• Publisher: Down The Shore Publishing (November 25, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593220367
• ISBN-13: 978-1593220365
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 9.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #777,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flying better than a paper mache horse!, December 10, 2009

By 

Craig A. Schoenfeld - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Steel Pier, Atlantic City: Showplace of the Nation (Hardcover)

What a great reminder of what Atlantic City was like before gambling! Mr. Liebowitz's book paints a vivid portrait of the entertainment and excitement that generations were able to experience. He has allowed us to almost feel like we were there and given us the great gift of bringing to life the memories of our own youth, as well as those of our parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents. The photos, diagrams and illustrations support great stories about the history of an era that Mr. Liebowitz certainly makes us miss!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT, December 5, 2009

By 

J.T. (Wynnewood, Pa.) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Steel Pier, Atlantic City: Showplace of the Nation (Hardcover)

WHAT A GREAT BOOK THIS IS. FOR ANYONE WHO HAS EVER VISITED STEEL PIER AND ENJOYED THE "SHOWPLACE OF THE NATION"...THIS IS A MUST READ. I SPENT A NUMBER OF YEARS WORKING ON THE PIER IN THE 50'S, AND HAVE COLLECTED OLD PHOTOS OF THIS ATTRACTION, SO WHEN I CAME ACROSS THIS BOOK, I KNEW I JUST HAD TO HAVE IT. THE BOOK IS FILLED WITH WONDERFUL PHOTOS AND MANY INTERESTING DETAILS OF WHAT THE OLD ATLANTIC CITY WAS LIKE, BEFORE CASINOS. IT WILL BRING BACK MANY HAPPY MEMORIES FOR ANYONE WHO HAS EVER VISITED THIS SHORE COMMUNITY. THIS BOOK IS GREAT FUN, AND I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Pleasant overview of days gone by!, April 18, 2010

By 

William G. Ratcliffe "wearevinyl" (Lawrenceville, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Steel Pier, Atlantic City: Showplace of the Nation (Hardcover)

Living in New Jersey, I had the good fortune of visiting Atlantic City quite a bit growing up as a child. The beaaches were free (tho were not that clean), the boardwalk had alot to offer, and then there was Steel Pier. A mecca in itself, one could spend hours there being entertained by 2 movies, a diving horse, the diving bell, popular entertainers, and just relaxing, all for one price!
Many pictures abound in this somewhat exhaustive book. Only pictures i wish there were more of was the inside where the animals would play the piano, the concession stands, etc. Otherwise, the pics of the performers who were there are great to look at, as well as the pier on the outside itself, a wonder to view.
This is the type of book that one can pick up and not put down until the final pages. Many happy memories were had at 'The Pier', and it was like seeing an old friend again.
A must have for those who missed Atlantic City of old (before the casinos), and to those who remember the Pier for what is was, a place for the whole family to come visit, stay for hours, and go home knowing they all got their money's worth.