Steel Pier, Atlantic City

Steel Pier, Atlantic CityIt was aptly called the Showplace of the Nation and it was all that and more. There were big bands, movies, sideshows, acrobats, flag pole sitters, Miss America and throngs of people lining up to sit on bleachers to watch World Famous High Diving Horses and their brave riders dive into a pool of water. For much of the 20th century Steel Pier in Atlantic City was the center of American entertainment on the East Coast. Nearly every big name entertainer

through the triumphs and tribulations our battered shore communities experienced in the days and months afterward

But it is here

if you know what those letters mean

If you were to list all that you love about this 18-mile-long New Jersey sandbar — its rich history and lore

natural history — including terrapins

or wherever you are in need of a warm reminder of the Shore

Parker Miller: The Original Year-Round Resident

Coast Guard Station No

seductive exterior

filled with never-before-seen photographs — we finally hear those personal accounts

all bound together

This book establishes — for the first time — a category of impressionist American painters who focused on or were profoundly influenced by the landscapes and seascapes of this region — from Sandy Hook and Highlands to Barnegat Bay to Cape May