Arrive Magazine - July/August, 2008

Ferris wheel,” says Emil R. Salvini, a shore historian and author who summers in Cape May.

The Jersey Shore is its own sweet universe, a world that thrives adjacent to the beach but remains distinct. That’s why no one will raise an eyebrow if you go down the shore but never set foot on the sand.

On the Boardwalk

New Jersey’s coast stretches about

127 miles along the Atlantic, from Long Branch and Asbury Park, immortalized by Bruce Springsteen’s first album, to its southernmost tip, Cape May. Linking them is a string of sandy seaside towns that burst with activity from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The best-known shore town is Atlantic City, which gave the world the Miss America pageant, the names of the Monopoly board properties and the boardwalk—the classic summer thoroughfare.

The boardwalk is “a Jersey thing. It’s really Jersey born and bred,” Salvini says. Atlantic City’s Boardwalk—the city spells it with a capital B—is, he says, “the biggest, busiest and brightest wooden walkway in the world.” It was born out of necessity. When a new railroad line began shuttling Philadelphians 60 miles to the Jersey Coast in the mid-1850s, beachgoers flocked to the shore to escape the oppressive summer humidity. They tracked fine beach sand into the seaside hotels, boarding houses and train cars. Jersey businessmen and railroad owners quickly realized that a raised promenade along the beach would not only provide amusement for the crowds but also keep grit off their carpets and floors.

As train service expanded through the turn of the century, the shore boardwalks widened and lengthened to accommodate the increasing flow of pleasure seekers. Shore towns have a total of 31 miles of boardwalk, Salvini says. Atlantic City’s is the longest, with nearly five miles of elevated wooden walkway fronting casinos, shops and glitzy retail piers. Ocean Grove’s is the shortest—less than one mile, punctuated by benches and planters.

Each community’s boardwalk is an extension of its character. Ocean Grove, founded in 1870 as a Methodist summer retreat, clings proudly to its devout roots. The town is “dry” (no alcohol permitted) and its little boardwalk is

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