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Boardwalk Hall
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
New Jersey Register of Historic Places
Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall
Location:	2301 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Coordinates:	39°21′18″N 74°26′19″W / 39.355°N 74.43861°W / 39.355; -74.43861Coordinates: 39°21′18″N 74°26′19″W / 39.355°N 74.43861°W / 39.355; -74.43861
Built:	1926
Architect:	Lockwood-Greene & Co.
Governing body:	Local
NRHP Reference#:	87000814
NJRHP #:	390[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	February 27, 1987[2]
Designated NHL:	February 27, 1987[3]
Designated NJRHP:	March 2, 1993

Boardwalk Hall, formally known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is an arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States. It was Atlantic City's primary convention center until the opening of the Atlantic City Convention Center in 1997.

Boardwalk Hall contains the world's largest musical instrument, a pipe organ of over 33,000 pipes, 8 chambers, its console the world's largest of 7 manuals and over 1000 stop keys, and one of two actual 64'stops (the other found in the Sydney Town Hall). Also included in this organ are pipes which are on 100 inches of pressure, the Grand Ophicleide being the loudest and also most famous. The Guinness Book of World Records states the following "..a pure trumpet note of ear-splitting volume,... six times louder than the loudest train whistle." However, these stops are actually well refined and are not overpowering in Boardwalk hall due to its massive interior size.

It was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1987.^[3][4]

The venue seats 10,500 people for ice hockey, and at maximum capacity can accommodate 14,770 for concerts.

History[link]

This section requires expansion with: building specifications (cost, square footage, etc.), uses (other than Miss America, especially from 1926 through 1950s), etc..

Edward L. Bader, mayor of Atlantic City from 1924–1929, lead the initiative to acquire the land for Convention Hall, now Boardwalk Hall, and construction was underway at the time of his death.^[5] The hall, designed by the architectural firm Lockwood Greene, was built in 1926.

Various uses[link]

The Miss America pageant, a competition which awards scholarships to young women and was founded in 1921 in Atlantic City, used Boardwalk Hall from the hall's opening until 2004.

It was also the venue for the August 1964 Democratic National Convention that nominated U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson as the Democratic Party's candidate for the 1964 U.S. presidential election, nine months after the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy, in November 1963.

The following week, The Beatles held one of their largest concerts on their first U.S. tour at the hall.

The hall was also the venue for the classic (and widely bootleg recorded^{[citation needed]}) concert by The Rolling Stones in 1989. The concert, which was shown on pay-per-view television, is widely remembered by fans for a mishap where viewers were cut off from the performance during the song "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction".

Sporting events[link]

Boxing[link]

Mike Tyson fought in Boardwalk Hall several times as Heavyweight Champion including four of his seven defenses as Undisputed Champion. Among his title defenses in Boardwalk Hall was a Fourth Round TKO over former champion Larry Holmes on January 22, 1988. His most famous bout at the venue was the 91 second Knockout of former champion and previously undefeated Michael Spinks on June 27, 1988.^[6]

On April 19, 1991, Undisputed Heavyweight Champion Evander Holyfield defeated former champion George Foreman in his first title defense.

Other fighters who have had boxing matches (many of which were title fights) in Boardwalk Hall include Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar De La Hoya, Roberto Duran, Lennox Lewis, Roy Jones Jr., Floyd Mayweather Jr., Bernard Hopkins, Riddick Bowe, Julio César Chávez, Héctor Camacho and Arturo Gatti.^[7]

In September 2007, it was the venue for the Kelly Pavlik - Jermain Taylor boxing match for the World Boxing Council, World Boxing Organization and The Ring magazine's middleweight championships.

Liberty Bowl[link]

In 1959, A. F. “Bud” Dudley, a former Villanova University athletic-director, created the Liberty Bowl, an annual post-season college-football bowl game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The game was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium, but as the only cold-weather bowl game, it was plagued by poor attendance. Atlantic City^[who?] convinced Dudley to move his game from Philadelphia to Boardwalk Hall for 1964 and guaranteed Dudley US$25,000.

It was the first bowl game played indoors^{[clarification needed]} and was also the first indoor football game broadcast nationwide on U.S. television.

Since artificial turf was still in its developmental stages and was unavailable for the game, the hall was equipped with a four-inch-thick grass surface with two inches of burlap underneath it (as padding) on top of concrete. To keep the grass growing, artificial lighting was installed and kept on twenty-four hours a day. The entire process cost about $16,000. End zones were only eight yards long instead of the usual ten yards.

6,059 fans saw the Utah Utes rout the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Dudley was paid $25,000 from Atlantic City businessmen, $60,000 from ticket sales, and $95,000 from television revenues, for a $10,000 net profit.^[8]

Other sporting events[link]

View of Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall and ocean, 2011

Boardwalk Hall was also the venue of the former Boardwalk Bowl post-season college-football games from 1961 to 1973.^{[clarification needed]}

In 1996, the hall was used for the women's tennis Fed Cup during which the U.S. beat Spain 5-0 in the Fed Cup women's tennis. This event was Monica Seles's return to tennis following her 1993 stabbing.

It played host to the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies, an ice-hockey team, from 2001–2005, and the Atlantic City CardSharks, a professional, indoor-football team, in 2004.

It hosted the World Wrestling Entertainment's WrestleMania IV and V in 1988 and 1989, respectively, although on the television coverage it was referred to as "Trump Plaza" because the adjacent casino hotel was the primary sponsor.^{[citation needed]} Many WWE shows have also been held with both WWE Raw and WWE Friday Night SmackDown making appearances.

The PBR hosted a Built Ford Tough Series bull riding event at Boardwalk Hall during the 2003 season.

From 2007 through 2012 the Atlantic 10 Conference held its men's basketball championship at Boardwalk Hall. The 2013 tournament is scheduled to be held in the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

In 2010, Boardwalk Hall hosted four home games for the Albany Devils and one home game for the Trenton Devils both affiliated with the New Jersey Devils.

Beginning in 2011, the ECAC Hockey has held its men's ice hockey championship at Boardwalk Hall.

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association uses the hall to host the annual individual state wrestling tournament.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has held 3 events in the hall, UFC 41: Onslaught in 2003, UFC 50: The War of '04 in 2004 and UFC 53: Heavy Hitters in 2005.

Despite not having a team in Atlantic City, the American Hockey League hosted the 2012 All-Star Classic at Boardwalk Hall.

Since 2003 a midget race car feature race known as the Gambler's Classic has been held.

Pipe organ[link]

When built in 1929^{[clarification needed]}, it became the home of the world's-largest pipe organ, the Main Auditorium Organ, as listed in The Guinness Book of World Records. The Midmer-Losh-manufactured organ has approximately 33,000 pipes and requires approximately 600 horsepower (450 kW) of blowers to operate. However, the condition of the organ was allowed to deteriorate and is no longer fully functional. Dust from the hall's renovation has also been problematic.

Boardwalk Hall's attached ballroom has a 55-rank theater/concert pipe organ — originally installed to accompany silent movies — which was severely damaged during the hall's renovation. Compared to the Main Auditorium organ, this organ looks tiny. But in reality, the Ballroom organ is actually one of the largest of its kind.

Restoration efforts are underway, overseen by the Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ Society and are funded by private donations and federal Save America's Treasures grants.

2001 Restoration and awards[link]

A $90-million restoration designed by EwingCole was completed in 2001^[9] and received several awards, including the 2003 National Preservation Award^{[clarification needed]} and Building magazine's 2002 Modernization Award.

Other awards[link]

Billboard magazine recognized Boardwalk Hall as the top-grossing mid-sized arena in the U.S. in 2003 and 2004.

See also[link]

• Atlantic City Armory
• Atlantic City Convention Center
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Atlantic County, New Jersey

References[link]

External links and sources[link]

• boardwalkhall.com, Boardwark Hall's official website
• acchos.org, Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ Society's official website

v t e Atlantic City boardwalk Casinos (North to South) Revel Showboat Trump Taj Mahal Resorts Bally's Wild Wild West Caesars Trump Plaza Tropicana Atlantic Club Hard Rock Former Casinos (North to South) Sands Claridge Trump World's Fair Shopping Centers The Walk The Quarter The Pier Shops Spice Road Shops Attractions Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Harlem Ballroom at House of Blues Boardwalk Hall Steel Pier Absecon Lighthouse Transportation Boardwalk Rolling Chairs Hotels (North to South) Flagship Resort Atlantic City Atlantic Palace The Chelsea

v t e National Register of Historic Places in Atlantic County, New Jersey Historic districts Bay Front Historic District Bethlehem Loading Company Mays Landing Plant Archeological Historic District Estellville Glassworks Historic District Linwood Historic District Marven Gardens Historic District Mays Landing Historic District Port Republic Historic District John Stafford Historic District Other properties Absecon Light Atlantic City Convention Hall Capt. Francis Babcock House Barclay Court Belcoville Post Office William L. Black House Amanda Blake Store Church of the Ascension Church of the Redeemer John Doughty House Egg Harbor Commercial Bank Great Egg Coast Guard Station Head of the River Church Holmhurst Hotel Jacobus Evangelical Lutheran Church Capt. John Jeffries Burial Marker Linwood Borough School No. 1 Lucy the Elephant Madison Hotel Mays Landing Presbyterian Church Morton Hotel Neutral Water Health Resort Sanitarium Dr. Jonathan Pitney House Pleasant Mills Samuel Richards Hotel Jeremiah II or Edward Risley House Santa Rita Apartments Segal Building Shelburne Hotel Smithville Apothecary Somers Mansion St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church Ventnor City Hall Weymouth Weymouth Road Bridge World War I Memorial See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Atlantic County, New Jersey and List of National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey