On June 18, 1898, what once was one of the most popular entertainment venues in the United States opened. The pier was built by the Steel Pier Company and for the first seven decades of the twentieth century, it was the place for concerts, exhibits and an amusement park. This 2298 foot pier in Atlantic City, a southern New Jersey coastal town was the showplace of the nation. It is still operated as an amusement pier and had been owned by Trump International Resorts for two decades until 2011.
Notable in Steel Pier History:
- John Philip Sousa performed a series of annual concerts.
- Miss America was crown at the Steel Pier from 1935 to 1938.
Miss America 1935 Henrietta Leaver
- High Diving Horse
- Rex the Wonder Dog, a water-skiing canine in the 1930s
Rex the Wonder Dog
- The Diving Bell
- Frank Sinatra
- Al Jolson
- Diana Ross and the Supremes in 1955, 1966 and 1967
- Bill Haley and the Comets in 1955
- The volume of ticket sales forced a move to Boardwalk Hall but the Beatles were originally booked to the Steel Pier in 1964
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