ATLANTIC CITY. A seaside• resort, on a long, narrow, sandy island, known as Absecon Beach, in Atlantic County, New Jersey, 60 miles southeast of Philadelphia and 137 miles south by west of New York; on divisions of the Penn sylvania and the Reading railroads (Map: New Jersey, D 5). The island, three-quarters of a mile wide, stretches for 10 miles along the coast and is separated from the mainland by 4 or 5 miles of meadows, partly covered with water at high tide, and by a narrow strait. Absecon Lighthouse, 160 feet high, is on the north end of the beach. The city- is well laid out, Atlantic Avenue being 100 feet wide; the streets are named after the States of the Union. A board walk skirts the ocean for four miles, forming a charming promenade; the boating and bathing facilities are good, and fishing and shooting are popular amusements; and hotels, boarding houses, and private cottages abound for the accommodation of visitors. The Atlantic City Hospital, Mercer Memorial Home for Invalid Women, and Children's Seashore Home are prom inent institutions. The government is adminis tered under a charter of 1902, which places the term of the mayor and practically all municipal officials, both elective and appointive, at three years, and secures to the city council enlarged legislative powers. The waterworks are owned
and operated by the municipality. A few set tlers came to the site of Atlantic City as early as 1780, but there were only seven houses standing in 1852, and the existence of the city and summer resort really dates from the com pletion hither of the Camden and Atlantic Rail road in 1854, when the name `Atlantic City' was also first adopted. On April 3, 1902, At lantic City suffered from a disastrous fire, which destroyed several hotels and smaller buildings, and the greater part of Young's Pier, a loss estimated at $1,000,000. By the terms of the new charter, all buildings hereafter erected within the municipal limits must be fireproof. Population, in 1890, 13,055; in 1900, 27,833. During the summer the transient population varies, but has been estimated at between 250, 000 and 300,000.