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| Steeplechase Pier 1914 |
Arthur H. Bonsor took his grandchildren, Margaret, Bart, Art and Bobby Johnson out on a wonderful day to the Steeplechase Pier, on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, NJ, in 1932. The Steeplechase Pier was built in 1899 as an amusement park auditorium for the growing Atlantic City tourist trade. It was originally called Auditorium Pier and held many concerts of music of the day, including John Phillip Sousa and his 85 piece orchestra. In 1909 George C. Tilyou purchased the pier and renamed it Steeplechase Pier and modeled it after the amusement park he owned in Coney Island NY. Steeplechase Pier became known as the Funny Place. Customers could enter the pier through the mouth of a clown; you can see the clown mouth in the film as Arthur and his grandchildren exit the park. It had a rollercoaster, a monorail that stretched out over the ocean and numerous other fun rides. The owner was especially interested in providing families with children rides and so created Babyland, where the Johnson children enjoyed many rides. The magnificent 72 horse Carousel was installed in 1930 to attract more families. The pier was located between Pennsylvania and North Carolina Ave, just south of Steel Pier. Steeplechase Pier was damaged and rebuilt numerous times. First by a fire in 1932, and then from a hurricane in 1944. During the hurricane of 1962, half the pier was demolished. For a while the remains of the pier were used as a heliport. It was completely shut down after another fire in 1988, and what was left was demolished in 1996.
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| Steeplechase Pier |
Currently, The Landshark Bar and Grill is built on the footprint of the former Steeplechase Pier.
Here is the film showing the wonderful
time the Johnson children spent with their grandfather, Arthur H. Bonsor at
Steeplechase Pier in 1932. Please enjoy
this blog and let me know any feedback, questions or information. Thanks again for your interest.
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