(Steel Pier. Atlantic City, NJ. April 2008. © Robin)

A little something about the Steel Pier I found on YouTube.

The Steel Pier in Atlantic City was opened in 1898. It was called the Steel Pier because the underpinnings are made of steel. You can read more about it here if you’re interested.

Some of the things I remember about the Steel Pier are the famous Diving Horse, and the infamous (to me) Diving Bell, a claustrophobic’s nightmare that was hardly worth the trip as the water was always murky and you couldn’t see a thing.

I remember the Marine Ballroom (that seemed grand to me at the time although I think it was already into shabbiness by then) and when the Supremes performed there. I met Soupy Sales, and got his autograph, on the Steel Pier. (Sort of coincidentally, my youngest son met Soupy Sales at a disc golf tournament — the Soupy Sales Pro/Am — at Rotary Park in Huntington, West Virginia, a few years ago. He also got his autograph.)

But what I remember most is Tony Grant’s Stars of Tomorrow. The reason I remember it so well is because I performed on the show. I tap danced with a dance troupe, and did acrobatics with the Poodles (I mentioned them here before). It was such a big deal at the time, being able to perform on the Steel Pier. I don’t remember how many years I performed there, or how many shows. It seems like eons ago (and in a way, I suppose it was).

We had to wear makeup for our performances, something I absolutely hated. I’d disappear in hopes that whichever mom was in charge wouldn’t notice that I didn’t have makeup on. It never worked. Someone usually caught me and slathered the stuff on me in what I thought were clown-like proportions. If you’ve never worn stage makeup, this will give you an idea of what it’s like. Not that anyone managed to get that much makeup on me, but they did try.

Atlantic City was fun and exciting to me when I was a child. Dancing on the stage at the Steel Pier was the highlight of that fun and excitement, but I also enjoyed just being on the boardwalk, walking or riding a bike. Or playing in the hotel elevator which was endlessly fascinating because it was one of those old-fashioned elevators with a manual control. It was doubly fascinating to us because we weren’t allowed to play in it. As far as I can remember, we never got caught.

I always associate the smell of roasting peanuts with the boardwalk in Atlantic City. Planters’ Peanuts had a store near the Steel Pier where a guy dressed as Mr. Peanut would walk up and down, waving and sometimes handing out sample bags of peanuts. The pigeons liked to hang out near the store, too. My friends and I would rush up to the pigeons and laugh as they all took off in a huge burst of wing-flapping noise. Or sometimes we would feed them (something strongly discouraged these days, and I can understand why).

Another powerful memory of Atlantic City is the night my uncle died. My dance coach pulled me aside to say my parents were coming early to pick me up. I don’t remember much about Uncle James. He must have been young when he died in that car crash. In his 20’s maybe. He was my father’s youngest brother and even though I thought my parents were old at the time (like all kids do), they must have been in their early 30’s. Uncle James was single. For some reason I think he had a reputation for being somewhat wild.

It’s odd how much family history I don’t really know. I should do something about that. Soon.

Neglect and a fire in 1982 pretty much did in the Steel Pier. In the 90’s Donald Trump bought it and rebuilt it. This is what it looks like these days:

(April 2008. © Robin)

(Taken from Trump’s Taj Mahal. © Robin)

The Planters’ Peanut store has been replaced by Trump’s Taj Mahal (the Steel Pier is now part of the Taj Mahal).

(The Taj Mahal. April 2008. © Robin)

(Another view of the Taj Mahal. © Robin)

Most of my memories of Atlantic City are good memories. Fun memories. But it seems to me that even then Atlantic City had a shabbiness about it that it still hasn’t quite shaken off in spite of the revitalization brought about by gambling and the casino industry.

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