The first Boardwalk was constructed in 1870 as a means to keep beach sand out of hotel lobbies, and was at that time a temporary, seasonal structure. The hotel, which boasted a capacity for 2,000 guests, was owned by the railroad and was the biggest in the country at the time. Hotel construction started with the United States Hotel, a 600-room resort spread over 14 acres of prime Atlantic City real estate. IN the 1850s Pitney convinced railroad investors to build rail lines from the Philadelphia/Camden area to the beachfront city he helped engineer Richard Osborne design. This barrier island was used primarily for shellfish harvesting and light farming, until a doctor named Jonathan Pitney became convinced it was the ideal location for a health resort. The resort city has withstood numerous legal and economic shifts as a major tourist location, and is finally currently again on the upswing. New Jersey has a long and storied history of gambling centered around Atlantic City and its historic Boardwalk on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.
