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Rehoboth Beach, Virginia

ehoboth Beach was founded in 1873 as making Rehoboth a foodie destination for
a site for Methodist camp meetings. The summertime favorites.
Rplan was to create a “Christian sea-side Dolles Candyland, perhaps one of
resort” and encourage interested persons to take Rehoboth’s best-known landmarks, has been a
advantage of the seaside atmosphere, and to favorite Boardwalk candy store since 1927.
fund the enterprise by selling shares and Almost destroyed during the Great Storm of
property. That same year, a boardwalk was laid 1962, which decimated the Boardwalk and
to run the full length of the oceanfront and Rehoboth Beach, Dolles’ almost two-ton taffy
connect the newly developed resorts. By 1881, machine survived, and today is still in use.
the annual religious camp meetings were dis- Today, the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk is
continued but Rehoboth Beach and its considered “One of the Nation’s 10 Great
Boardwalk by then had started to attract a Coastal Boardwalks,” with old-fashioned
wider tourist audience. family amusements, attractions, beach stores and good eats along its
Food has always been and is today, one of the Boardwalk’s greatest roughly one-mile-long stretch. Children can still enjoy the rides, mid-
attractions. Starkey’s Funnel Cakes, the Candy Kitchen, Thrasher’s salt way games, skeeball, and arcade games at Funland, which first opened
and vinegar french fries, and Grotto Pizza follow in the tradition of its doors on the Boardwalk in 1962, and is still run by the same family.

Ocean City, Maryland

he Boardwalk, officially known as Atlantic Avenue, dates back to building-trades projects—even kiddie rides like this—as artistic
1902 when several oceanfront hotel owners got together and canvases. Marty’s Playland is another throwback to the Boardwalk’s
Tconstructed a wooden walkway for the convenience of their roots, still a popular stop along the promenade. Marty’s Playland dates
guests. At high tide, it was rolled up and stored on hotel porches. back to the 1930s but today the arcade offers a mix of modern games
Around 1910, a permanent promenade was built. After being leveled by and popular favorites, including an antique skeeball game and a
a storm in March of 1962, it was rebuilt to its fortune-telling gypsy woman, encased in a glass
present 2.5-mile length. and wooden booth, who has been telling the
In 1907, a pavilion was erected that fortunes of tourists for over a half-century.
contained a dancing pavilion, skating rink, The Jolly Roger Amusement Park, which
bowling alleys, pool room, and refreshment opened in 1964, is another old-time favorite,
booths. In 1926, this original pavilion was featuring numerous thrill rides including a
replaced by the current pier building, a focal looping roller coaster at the pier, bumper cars,
point for entertainment and commercial Ferris Wheel, a carousel, and kiddie rides,
activity since the early twentieth century. among others.
One of the oldest fixtures on the Boardwalk Although the Boardwalk itself has changed
is the carousel at Trimper’s Amusements, over the century, some things loved by guests
in continuous operation since its 1912 from its earliest decades remain for the
installation. Some 4,000 such carousels were built during that golden enjoyment of future generations: Fisher’s Popcorn is celebrating its
age of carousels in the early 1900s. Only about 150 remain. This 80th year this summer, Thrasher’s French Fries is two years away
survivor, the oldest continuously run carousel in the U.S., is a priceless from celebrating its 90th anniversary, and Dolle’s has been operating
time capsule from days when immigrant artisans used all manner of since 1910.

Coney Island, New York

s Coney Island emerged as a vibrant beach resort destination for famous of its kind, and the Parachute Jump from the New York
New Yorkers at the turn of the century, Town World’s Fair (1939-40).
Aplanners looked to the Atlantic City Boardwalk as a model for Rides and attractions were not the Boardwalk’s only attractions.
how to connect and unite the different sections of Coney Island under Food was very much a part of the Coney Island experience. During the
development to build a tourist trade. late 19th century the clam was the most popular delicacy on Coney
The Riegelmann Boardwalk—billed as “Coney Island’s Fifth Island. They were always fresh and plentiful, easily raked up from the
Avenue”—officially rolled out on May 15, 1923, and quickly became a shores of Sheepshead Bay and even from the ocean beach. Clams—
weekend playground for wealthy Manhattanites and A-listers. But as grilled, in soup, fried—continue to be a Boardwalk staple. Hot dogs
more hotels popped up—and carriages, boats, were and continue to be another Coney Island
and steam railroads began transporting the favorite and today, the hot dog and Nathan’s
masses—it turned into an everyman’s getaway, are synonymous with Coney Island.
and in 1870, when the Brooklyn Bridge con- Both the former Child’s Restaurant
nected Brooklyn to Manhattan, Coney Island building on the Boardwalk—constructed in
became a bona fide day-tripper’s paradise. 1923 and renovated and reopened in 2017—
Between 1880 and World War II, the and the Coney Island Theater—constructed in
Coney Island Boardwalk was the biggest 1925 to bring year-round entertainment to
amusement park in the U.S. with such Coney Island and recently restored—continue
now-iconic attractions as the steel Wonder to attract visitors with a nod to its past.
Wheel Ferris Wheel (1920), the Cyclone Roller
Coaster (1927), which became one of the most

26 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles