Every hour for 36 years you have heard the phrase “proud to be New Jersey” on New Jersey 101.5. For me that has always rung true. But the honest version of that line — the one that goes deeper — is that I am proud to be Atlantic City. I have been longer than the radio career.
I was born there.
Growing up in Mays Landing, Atlantic City was where everything happened. Shopping. Medical care. Dining. Entertainment. And this was before the casinos opened in 1978. Before the neon got louder and the stakes got higher. There was an Atlantic City that existed before all of that — and the Steel Pier was at the center of it.
My parents listened to WFPG, which broadcast from the Steel Pier with ocean sound effects woven into the programming. You would hear the waves in the background and know exactly where they were calling from. That station is still alive today as Lite 96.9, a proud part of the Townsquare family and stronger than ever. But back then, the idea of a radio station broadcasting from over the ocean felt like the most glamorous thing in the world to a kid from Mays Landing.
My first concert was on the Steel Pier
In the early 1970s my parents made an announcement that changed everything: we were going to see Chubby Checker in concert at the Steel Pier. That was my first concert. I was not ready for what the Pier actually was — the aquarium show, the rides, the TV dance show they taped right there on the boards. It was all larger than life. It was the biggest thing I had ever seen.
The term Steel Pier still carries that weight with me. It always will.
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Steel Pier Atlantic City carousel and ticket booth | Google Maps
Steel Pier Atlantic City carousel and ticket booth | Google Maps
What the Steel Pier is today
Here is the part that still amazes me: it is still here. Founded in 1898, the Steel Pier sits at 1,000 Boardwalk in Atlantic City’s North Beach, steps from the casino resorts and the beach, and it is still doing exactly what it has always done — making memories over the Atlantic Ocean.
The Wheel is the signature of the modern pier — an observation wheel that gives you views of the city, the ocean and some of the best sunsets on the East Coast. Helicopter rides over Atlantic City are available for the adventurous. The carousel is still there. The Slingshot for the thrill seekers. Games from cranes to skee-ball. Food from funnel cakes to seafood. The Ocean Reef Oasis event space offers 360-degree views of the Atlantic for weddings, reunions, graduations and corporate events — there is nothing else like it in New Jersey.
The history of the Steel Pier has changed like the tides beneath it since 1898. But the essential thing — the idea that you can walk out over the ocean and feel like the whole summer is in front of you — that has never changed.
A full circle moment still waiting to happen
Dennis and Judi did a summer show from the Steel Pier every year. I know that. I have thought about it more than once. The idea of doing a live Judi and EJ show from the Steel Pier — from the place where I heard my first concert, where my parents listened to the radio broadcasting from over the waves, where my Atlantic City story actually begins — that is a full circle moment worth chasing.
It will happen. When it does, I will be ready with more stories than I have time to tell.
Until then, if you have not been to the Steel Pier this summer, go. It is not a nostalgia trip. It is a living, running, spinning, glowing reminder of what made this place great — and proof that some things in New Jersey are exactly worth what they cost.
Travel back in time to a colorized Atlantic City circa 1919
Atlantic City was once considered ‘America’s Playground,’ one of the most popular destinations along the eastern seaboard. This video shows what the boardwalk looked like during its peak. These are some standout screengrabs.
Gallery Credit: Joe Votruba
