The place maintains a strong sense of nostalgia, though, particularly in dining rooms adorned with black-and-white vintage photos of the beach and Boardwalk as well as shots of Sinatra and his Rat Pack cronies. A few years ago, the Knife and Fork was restored to peak condition, with a refreshed exterior, expanded bar area, and new wine room. During Prohibition, the restaurant was known to serve alcohol, for which the police eventually raided it.

Originally a men’s club, it was once a frequent haunt of infamous racketeer Enoch “Nucky” Johnson. The closest casino is Tropicana, several blocks north.

The location is super-easy to find, too: It’s situated where three main streets converge (Atlantic, Pacific, and Albany Avenues) in the heart of town. It’s nearly impossible to miss-the bright white castle-like facade is adorned with green shutters and checkered with a pattern of decorative crisscrossed knives and forks. From the pier, you can reach your next destination by hopping on a tram car (for a few bucks you can ride all day) or an old-school rolling chair, a two-seated wicker vehicle that functions like a rickshaw in reverse, with a driver pushing from behind.Īnother storied Atlantic City dining landmark, the Knife and Fork dates back to 1912. An eye-catching addition in late 2017 was The Wheel, a 227-foot-tall Ferris wheel with 40 gondolas offering stunning views of the ocean and shoreline. Due to declining tourism, the pier closed not long after the last equine plunge, but the amusement park was reopened in the 1990s and remains in operation today. Most memorably, this was where the famed diving horse and its rider would jump off a 40-foot-high platform into a 12-foot-deep pool of water-an attraction that ran off and on from the 1920s to the ‘70s (and you thought horses dragging carriage rides had it bad). Decades ago, the Steel Pier (1000 Boardwalk) was a massive indoor-outdoor entertainment destination known for dances and musical performances (jazz, swing, and, later, rock bands including the Rolling Stones) as well as carnival rides and novelty acts. Even one of the Boardwalk's oldest attractions has a big new draw.

Why did ocean resort and casino close