Boardwalk (entertainment district)

This article is about the amusement venue. For walks made of boards, see Boardwalk. For other uses, see Boardwalk (disambiguation).

Many people walking on a boardwalk at the beach in Atlantic City, New Jersey
The Atlantic City, New Jersey boardwalk, as seen from Caesars Atlantic City, opened in 1870, as America’s first boardwalk. At 5+1⁄2 miles (9 km) long, it is also the world's longest,[1] busiest, and oldest[1] boardwalk. New Jersey is home to the world’s highest concentration of boardwalks.

A boardwalk is a promenade along a beach or waterfront. In North America, and particularly in the United States, many waterfront commercial boardwalks have become so successful as tourist attractions that the simple wooden pathways have been replaced by esplanades made of concrete, brick or other construction, sometimes with a wooden façade on the surface. An entertainment boardwalk often contains an amusement park, casinos, or hotels on a pier-like structure.[2] One of the earliest such boardwalks was designed in New Jersey and opened June 26, 1870, in Atlantic City,[3] and one of the longest is Mazatlán's Malecón, at 13 miles (21 km) of oceanfront boardwalk.[4]

  1. ^ a b Molly O'Brien (July 18, 2022). "The 12 Best Boardwalks in America". Fodor's Travel. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  2. ^ Khederian, Robert (July 19, 2018). "The origins of the Atlantic City and Coney Island boardwalks". Curbed. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  3. ^ "Today in History". loc.gov. Archived from the original on July 10, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  4. ^ "In Mexico, history-rich Mazatlan offers equal proximity to nature and culture". Washington Post. October 9, 2018. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 6, 2024.