Atlantic City, NJ – In 2006, through my work with GoKidsNJ, I received a press release that Atlantic City’s Steel Pier was going to be closed down at the hands of Donald Trump and turned into high income ocean front hi rise condominiums.    GoKidsNJ joined the “Save the Steel Pier” campaign by doing interviews with local residents who have been going to the pier for 25 to 50 years.   We contacted local historians to build a Steel Pier history and tribute to a Jersey Shore landmark.

The pier was open again in 2007 as Donald Trump’s permit problems delayed his project and we were once again told it was the final stand for the Steel Pier.   Again, we helped promote the Steel Pier on GoKidsNJ and helped throw a few sentimental Steel Pier memory  articles into the fray and create awareness to tell our readers to go out and check it out before its gone.

The pier was open again in 2008.   This time, we ran out of things to write about, but nevertheless as always helped promote the Steel Pier and it’s summer events.    Last year was supposed to be the absolute end of the landmark as we know it.   

The pier was open again in 2009 and remains open.  Once again the future is uncertain.   I have been to the Atlantic City boardwalk about a dozen times since starting my work with GoKidsNJ.   We covered things like the Rainforest Cafe, Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum, the Atlantic City Surf, Lucy the Elephant (in Margate) and many other boardwalk landmarks and attractions. 

It dawned on me this week, that for all the work I have done helping to promote the Steel Pier on GoKidsNJ, I have never actually set foot on it since many of my visits were off season and the pier was closed, so tonight I headed down on this last week of summer before school and wanted to see first hand the pier we have all put so much time into saving.

Now, I have been to every amusement park in New Jersey about 10 times each over the past 5 years and in special, yet different ways, each one is fun and unique.   Much of my preconcieved notion of the Steel Pier actually had to do with the grandness of the Atlantic City Boardwalk itself.   It’s perhaps the most unique seaside attraction in New Jersey.    It mixes nicely, urban culture with seaside entertainment and a dash of history thrown in here and there.    I guess I was always expecting more from the Steel Pier, but after visiting, I sort of had the feeling that the Steel Pier’s hype is a bit overrated.    Perhaps I’m not entirely in tune with the history, but on a scale of 1 to 10 in amusement parks in New Jersey, I would have to give it about 3 or 4.     There’s just not much to it and the only ride that was truly exciting was the mouse rollercoaster, which I have to say was the craziest coaster I’ve been on in quite some time.   Usually, I’ll ride each ride once, but this one warranted a second look.

The only other attraction that set this pier apart from all the others was the crossbow shooting game where you shoot a real crossbow.    Other than that, there was no real redeeming value of the pier itself.   Most of the mystique and attraction to the pier for me was what lay beyond the main entrance.   The steel/concrete structure was somewhat captivating for the first few minutes considering all other amusement piers in New Jersey are built on timber pilings and frames with wood decking.

The view of the Atlantic City skyline from the pier and from the coasters is simply amazing and  breathtaking, but I really didn’t capture the allure of the history of the Steel Pier.  While I would suggest that anyone who has an interest in Jersey Shore history make a trip down there to see this landmark before it’s gone forever, I can completely understand Mr. Trump’s desire to turn the pier into condominiums and think perhaps the city would be better served as such.

I’m probably going to recieve hate comments about this, but remember I’m also for keeping NJ’s amusement parks where they are, have invested much time in the past in helping the cause, but there comes a time in the progression of the lifecycle of an amusement park where you need to be competitive with your neighbors and the Steel Pier is just not in the same league when it comes to an all around family experience.  On top of that, the rides are somewhat more expensive than Wildwood, Seaside, Point Pleasant and Fantasy Island.

If you could somehow bottle up the Steel Pier and stick it in a museum as a snapshot of 20th century Americana, it would be a spectacle to behold, but in the world of real live amusement parks where competition is fierce, the Steel Pier is lagging behind.