‘Boardwalk Empire’ boosts Atlantic City
Fans of the Emmy Award-winning HBO series “Boardwalk Empire,” the show based on Prohibition-era Atlantic City, will want to dust off their knickerbockers and boas when they visit today’s Atlantic City.
“We have a variety of trolley tours that showcase authentic venues that inspired the set, the stories and the characters of ‘Boardwalk Empire,’” said Elaine Zamansky, media relations manager for the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority.
Groups may find themselves on board an old-time trolley with a reincarnated Nucky Thompson, the political boss and racketeer around whom the show is centered, and stopping at Renault Winery, a place that managed to stay open during Prohibition.
“During that time, Renault obtained special permission to provide its products in a medicinal form,’” said Zamansky, with a chuckle.
“And Nucky’s actual girlfriend worked here; and Nucky even named his dog Renault.”
Other stops might include the docks at Gardner’s Basin, where original boathouses have docks tucked underneath so rumrunners could unload their cargo in privacy, and the Ritz, the hotel where Nucky lived.
Lucy the Elephant, a six-story elephant and iconic roadside attraction, has her own history during this time of speakeasies and mob bosses, according to Zamansky.
“She is rumored to have been used by rumrunners to signal boats in the ocean — a red light in her eyes if they should stay in the ocean, a green light if it was safe to come ashore.”
