It was once the most popular entertainment pier in America, featuring everything from Live TV, to Miss America, to big name stars. Anyone who was anybody could be seen at the historic Steel Pier, in Atlantic City, NJ. Once a victim of fire, neglect, and closure; the pier continues to reinvent itself with a wave of new additions. Atlantic City’s Steel Pier officially opened the gates in Saturday, June 18, 1898 featuring movie theaters, dance halls, live performances, attractions, concessions, and sharpshooter Annie Oakley headlining the festivities. The pier was constructed on steel pilings and wooden beams at a cost of $350,000. After being open for only a few short years, in 1904 a massive storm washed away a large portion of the pier and engineers at the time said it could not be rebuilt. Edward Bader (who would later become mayor of Atlantic City and have an airport named for him) took on the challenge and had his company reconstruct the pier for the following season. The pier, along with Atlantic City itself, gained much popularity during the summer months as vacationers flocked to the beach. Atlantic City is easily accessible from New York and Philadelphia by rail and city goers were eager to relax at the beach and escape the hustle and bustle. The pier was full of attractions for the whole family. The reasonable prices kept the people coming back again and again. In the early days, the pier was described as “an amusement city at sea” and “a vacation in itself.” The pier extended more than 1,621 feet out into the Atlantic Ocean and could accommodate large crowds gathering to witness the many acts. The entrance featured brightly lit billboards like those that would take decades to catch on in Vegas. Spot lights would shoot beams into...