If you’d been a child in the late 1800s, the Atlantic City boardwalk would have been a place of pure wonder. Racing across the wooden boards, saltwater taffy in hand, you could weave between the legs of big-city visitors and the rolling chairs, pushed by dapper attendants, in which the wealthy rode past grand hotels. Opposite Applegate’s Pier was a carousel, mesmerizing crowds with its hypnotic revolutions and the siren song of its organ, piping out popular songs. Though originally designed as a temporary solution to keep the sand out of seaside buildings, the boardwalk—a simple raised wooden walkway—is an American institution. It has supported the feet of revelers for 150 years—an iconic place to people-watch, buy a hot dog, check out a sideshow or ride a Ferris wheel. This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-six Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 47 Alice Sheppard On dance as a channel to commune with the body—even when it hurts. Arts & Culture Issue 47 Dr. Woo Meet the tattoo artist who's inked LA. Arts & Culture Issue 47 Walt Odets The author and clinical psychologist on why self-acceptance is the key to a gay man's well-being. Arts & Culture Fashion Issue 47 A Picture of Health Xiaopeng Yuan photographs the world’s weirdest wellness cures. Arts & Culture Issue 47 Chani Nicholas and Sonya Passi Inside the astrology company on a mission to prove workplace well-being is more than a corporate tagline. Arts & Culture Issue 47 Julia Bainbridge On the life-enhancing potential of not drinking alcohol.
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