Steel Pier

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This article is about the pier in Atlantic City. For the musical named after the pier, see Steel Pier (musical).

Steel Pier

The Steel Pier is a 1,000 foot long amusement pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is located opposite The Boardwalk from Trump Taj Mahal. The United States Coast Guard (USCG) gives these geographic coordinates for Steel Pier: Latitude - 39°, 21 Minutes, 30 Seconds - North; Longitude - 74°, 24 Minutes, 40 Seconds - West.

Steel Pier is now open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during the pre-season through June 15, 2008. Plans are being made for special events in the upcoming 2008 summer season.[1]

Steel Pier has continued to operate as an amusement pier, while plans are being finalized to redevelop the site:

On August 21, 2006 it was announced that Steel Pier, which has been "open since 1898", would close "permanently" in October.
On January 3, 2007 it was then announced that Steel Pier would be open for one more season.
On September 13, 2007, it was announced that Steel Pier will most likely reopen for the 2008 season (contracts have not yet been signed), since the plans for the redevelopment of the pier site have not been finalized due to the complexity of the project.[2]

The pier, which is owned by Trump Entertainment Resorts, reportedly will be redeveloped into retail and entertainment attractions along with luxury condominiums, once it gets the necessary approvals.

The pier has a storied past. Till 1939 it was where Miss America was crowned.^[1] It was described as "an Amusement City at Sea." It also was once called the "Showplace of the Nation" and included such acts as the High Diving horse, Rex the Wonder Dog, a water-skiing canine in the 1930's and even Frank Sinatra, Al Jolson and Liam Morland.[3] The pier used to be much longer, but a December, 1969 fire six months before the opening of the 1970 season shortened its size by about a third.[4] The original wooden pier with steel underpinnings was destroyed in a 1982 fire; the current concrete structure dates from 1993.