1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (26 page)

Bert Parks Slept Here

New Jersey

The city by the sea was created in the 1850s as a seaside escape and has worn a lot of hats over the years: from the glamorous 1920s (which saw the birth of A.C.’s signature event, the Miss America Pageant) to the 1930s
(when the value of Boardwalk property lent the city’s street names to the game Monopoly) through the swingin’ postwar years (when Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis first teamed up at Skinny D’Amato’s legendary 500 Club) and on past the gritty 1960s to the post-1977 renaissance, when casinos saved the city’s life. Today A.C. is a pastiche of all those things, juxtaposing remnants of its golden era with the glam escapism of 21st-century resorts and a certain retro seediness that’s tantalizingly attractive.

Begin with the Boardwalk, that legendary stretch that started as a way to keep sand out of the tourists’ shoes and grew into a 6-mile, 60-foot-wide cultural icon. In 1929 (just months before the stock market crashed),
The New York Times
called it “a magnificent proof of America’s newly found wealth and leisure … an iridescent bubble on the surface of our fabulous prosperity.” Today, with its tangle of restored carnivalesque facades and tacky gift shops, the Boardwalk can create an irresistible urge to wear seersucker, ride in an old-time human-powered rolling chair, and eat saltwater taffy.

Inland, on Arctic Avenue, the little blue-and-white White House Sub Shop opened in 1946, naming its specialty in honor of WWII submarine crews. Back along the boardwalk, across from the Taj Mahal, the Steel Pier was once advertised as “The Showplace of a Nation,” presenting marathon dance contests, big bands, and a horse and rider who would jump from a platform into a tank of water 60 feet down. The original pier buildings burned in 1982, but today the pier’s up and running again, with dozens of rides and attractions.

Atlantic City has the longest boardwalk in the world.

Modern Atlantic City is, of course, all around. Far from the Boardwalk, the billion-dollar Borgata resort and casino opened its doors in 2003, setting a new A.C. standard with its sleek styling, luxurious rooms, 125,000-square-foot gaming floor, huge spa, and top-drawer restaurants, including the Old Homestead (a branch of the famous New York steakhouse) and Specchio (an upscale Italian restaurant from chef Luke Palladino). Recent restaurant additions up the ante: Stand in line to enjoy the kitchens of Bobby Flay, Michael Mina, and Wolfgang Puck. Two large theaters bring in top-name acts and prizefights. Elsewhere in town, The Quarter (an adjunct of the Tropicana) and the Pier at Caesars are entertainment complexes full of theaters, restaurants, comedy and dance clubs, and upscale shops.

The Miss America Pageant, that annual celebration of swimsuits and world peace that got its start here in 1921, was never really the same after it dropped longtime host Bert Parks in 1980. In 2004 the pageant itself was dropped by ABC-TV and, after 84 years, moved out of Atlantic City for its glitzier rival, Las Vegas.

W
HERE
: 60 miles southeast of Philadelphia.
W
HITE
H
OUSE
S
UB
S
HOP:
Tel 609-345-1564.
S
TEEL
P
IER:
Tel 866-386-6659 or 609-345-4893;
www.steelpier.com
.
When:
daily in summer; weekends only the rest of the year.
B
ORGATA:
Tel 866-MY-BORGATA (reservations) or 609-317-1000 (info);
www.theborgata.com
.
Cost:
from $129; dinner at Specchio $55, dinner at Old Homestead $75.
T
HE
Q
UARTER:
Tel 800-THE-TROP or 609-340-4000;
www.tropicana.net
.
T
HE
P
IER AT
C
AESARS:
Tel 609-345-3100;
www.pieratcaesars.com
.
B
EST TIMES
: Thurs in July and Aug for free jazz concerts on Chicken Bone Beach (
www.chickenbonebeach.org
); Aug for the Atlantic City Airshow (
www.atlanticcityairshow.com
).

A Victorian-Era Time Capsule “Down the Shore”

New Jersey

Cape May is the oldest seaside resort in the U.S., but its real claim to fame is its juxtaposition of Victorian country-town atmosphere and prime Jersey Shore location. In the mid-1800s it was a place for the elite to flee
the summer heat, its salty air and cool breezes drawing vacationers such as Abraham Lincoln, P. T. Barnum, and Henry Ford. Scores of homes were built during this period, of which some 600 survived the great fire of 1879 and the century of development that followed.

Today Cape May is a rarity—the whole town has National Historic Landmark status, its 2.5-square-mile historic district lined with grand old dowagers whose gingerbread excess and wedding-cake colors now house shops, cafés, boutiques, galleries, and gaslit inns. Victorian froufrou abounds from the boardwalk to the backstreets, all best seen via a rented bicycle or one of the horse-drawn buggies that congregate around the Washington Street pedestrian mall.

The Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge, run by the Nature Conservancy, is a top spot for viewing rare seabirds. More than 400 species of migrating birds pass through annually.

Midway between the beach and the mall, the Virginia Hotel first opened in 1879 and continues to offer a sublimely Victorian hotel experience, with outstanding service. While the building’s exterior is maintained in pristine period detail, the 24 guest rooms are furnished in an updated classic style. The hotel’s restaurant, the Ebbitt Room, is consistently ranked among the state’s finest, serving regional American cuisine with international accents.

Nearby, the Mainstay Inn was among the town’s first B&Bs, and remains one of its undisputed gems. A dignified Italianate manor dating to 1872, it offers 14-foot ceilings, 8-foot chandeliers, and airy rooms that mix museum-quality antiques with 21st-century amenities. A stone’s throw away, the Chalfonte has been serving guests since 1876, and with its wraparound veranda and Victorian details is one of the most photographed buildings in town. Simply furnished rooms in the main hotel and two cottages have ceiling fans and louvered doors to stir up the sea breezes.

Charming historic homes are a common sight during a stroll through Cape May.

W
HERE
: 90 miles south of Philadelphia.
Visitor info:
Tel 609-884-5508;
www.capemaychamber.com
.
B
IRD
R
EFUGE:
Tel 609-785-1735;
www.nature.org
.
V
IRGINIA
H
OTEL:
Tel 800-732-4236 or 609-884-5700;
www.virginiahotel.com
.
Cost:
from $100 (off-peak), from $255 (peak); dinner $50.
M
AINSTAY
I
NN
: Tel 609-884-8690;
www.mainstayinn.com
.
Cost:
from $145 (off-peak), from $250 (peak).
C
HALFONTE:
Tel 888-411-1998 or 609-884-8409;
www.chalfonte.com
.
Cost:
from $130.
When:
late May–mid-Oct.
B
EST TIMES
: early spring and late fall for bird-watching; late Apr–early May for the annual Spring Festival and mid-Oct for Victoria Week, both offering tours of exceptional Victorian mansions not usually open to the public.

Dogs as Delicious as the Atmosphere

Clifton, New Jersey

Located in the heart of North Jersey’s industrial
Sopranos
country, Rutt’s looks like the kind of place your mother wouldn’t approve of—long and low-slung, saturated with the aroma of fried food. While much of the world
makes do with boiled hot dogs, fans of Rutt’s know that for a truly sublime frankfurter, hot water can’t hold a candle to hot oil. Yes, that’s right: Rutt’s has been deep-frying its hot dogs since 1928, producing dogs that look like they’ve been savaged by wolves—hence their name, “rippers”—shredded, crisped, and oily on the outside, soft and tender on the inside. Top ’em off with some of Rutt’s legendary relish (made with pickles, carrots, and chopped cabbage), a splat of spicy brown mustard, or some chili for the full effect. Those with weak stomachs can order an “in and out dog” (dipped quickly in the fat) while those with cast-iron innards can order a “cremator,” cooked till it’s charred black. Head for the roadhouse-like taproom bar if you want to sit and wash ’em down with a beer. If not, lean on one of the stand-up counters near the long serving window and enjoy the view of I-21 and the parking lot.

W
HERE
: 417 River Rd. Tel 973-779-8615.
Cost:
$1.85.

A Garden State Park with a Grand Vision

Hillsborough, New Jersey

Anyone who wonders where New Jersey got the name the “Garden State” has only to visit Duke Farms, a lavish 2,700-acre estate created by tobacco and hydropower magnate James Buchanan “Buck” Duke
beginning in 1893. North Carolina–born Duke had first come north in the mid-1880s to open a branch factory for his family’s cigarette empire, and soon began buying up land in central New Jersey to re-create the farm atmosphere of his childhood. Within a decade, though, Duke had a change of heart and hired landscape architect James Greenleaf (an employee of Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of New York’s Central Park) to transform his property into a grand public park. By 1905, the estate encompassed a reservoir, five lakes, woodlands, fountains, arbors, and a series of carriage paths. Things took a more European turn over the following six years, as English landscape engineer Horatio Buckenham added more formal elements to the original vision. For nearly two decades, Duke’s park was open to the public, but incidents of vandalism in 1915 caused him to seal up the gates.

Buck Duke died in 1925, passing his property to his 12-year-old daughter, Doris,
who would later add to her father’s legacy by creating a Japanese garden, an aviary for exotic birds, and a series of indoor display gardens, the latter open to the public beginning in 1964. It would be almost 40 more years, though, before the rest of the property—one of the largest private estates in New Jersey—would reopen to visitors.

Today, guests can once again marvel at the estate’s flora, as well as its 9 man-made lakes, 10 waterfalls, 18 fountains, 54 bridges, and several miles of walls constructed from locally quarried stone. Different tours explore the Dukes’ 67,000-square-foot manor house, showcasing its use of greenery and gardens; the 700-acre core of the grounds, with their historic buildings and nature habitats; and the indoor display gardens, in many respects the highlight of the whole estate. Beginning in 1958, Doris Duke spent six years traveling the world, assembling ideas and specimens for her 11 themed gardens, all housed in gorgeous Victorian-style greenhouses constructed by renowned greenhouse builders Lord & Burnham.

W
HERE
: 50 miles southwest of New York City; 80 Route 206 S. Tel 908-722-3700;
www.dukefarms.org
.
B
EST TIMES
: select Sat in Apr–Oct for 7-mile guided bicycle tour; mid-Apr–Nov for outdoor garden blooms; Sept–May for indoor garden blooms.

Springsteen Country