Fabulous Atlantic City by the Beautiful Sea
Atlantic City, NJ

Most of us have had images of Atlantic City embedded in our minds since we were old enough to watch the Miss America pageant on TV or move the little dog and iron game pieces around a Monopoly board. Atlantic City may have changed over the years, but its reputation as the ultimate resort area lives on.

This retail gift and logo store catering to today's tourists draws on the iconography of Atlantic City's heyday. Fixtures are topped with vitrines featuring seagulls, lighthouses and other symbols of the seaside on loan from the Atlantic City Historical Museum. A six-foot high photo mural band, lit by nostalgic billboard and marquee lights, showcases images from the boardwalk's bygone era.

The store's almost too-good-to-be-true location, right on the corner of Park Place and Broadway, is referenced in the Monopoly shop. Here, a turn-of-the-century lamppost with street signs identifies the famous street corner from its position on a giant Monopoly game-board floor. Large replicas of the classic game pieces perch atop fixtures. Customers can purchase a game after checking out antique Monopoly games and memorabilia.

A depiction of a nautical compass, inset in the wood floor in the gift, apparel and sundries area, marks the spot where a sand-sculpture representation of King Neptune presides. Overhead, a life-size horse and rider seem caught in suspended animation as they seemingly dive from the 22-foot-high ceiling.

In the rear of the store stands a model of the Absicon lighthouse, equipped with lights and monitors that run historical videos about the boardwalk. The lighthouse and a decorative handrail, salvaged from a historic hotel that once stood on the site, further anchor the shop to the city's illustrious past.