{"product_id":"steel-pier-atlantic-city-showplace-of-the-nation","title":"Steel Pier, Atlantic City: Showplace of the Nation","description":"For much of the 20th century Steel Pier in Atlantic City, NJ, was the center of American entertainment on the East Coast. There were big bands, movies, sideshows, acrobats, flag-pole sitters, Frank Sinatra, Miss America -- and throngs of people lining up to get a seat so they could watch brave horses and riders dive into a pool of water. It was aptly called the ''Showplace of the Nation'' and it was all that and more. This all-in-one entertainment mecca on the Boardwalk, novel in its day, has never been matched, not even at latter-day theme parks. Where else could you take the entire family for a day and see fortune-telling parakeets, the World of Tomorrow, John Philip Sousa and his band, a bear on a bicycle, World Famous Diving Horses, take a ride below the sea in the Diving Bell, spend the evening in the marine ballroom, and take in a movie -- all for one ticket? It was a colossal offering of escape, popular culture, fun and fantasy. It was a grand treat served up with gusto and cotton candy, a destination not to be missed -- an empire of grand-thinking impresarios, oddities and glamor that meshed into one cohesive and attainable summer destination. This large-format coffee-table book, published in full color, includes 227 historic photographs, illustrations, and advertising images. Steel Pier evokes a time when more really was more, a time when there was so much invention, talent and industry that it could only be experienced in one place -- at the edge of the continent, in a city that took its name from a vast ocean, on a great pier reaching out into the sea. (Benjamin Franklin Awards 2010 finalist: Regional Book, Cover Design, and Interior Design.)\u003cbr\u003eASIN: 1593220367\u003cbr\u003eVSKU: LFV.1593220367.VG\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Very Good\u003cbr\u003eAuthor\/Artist:Steve Liebowitz\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Notes\u003c\/b\u003e: Book is in very good condition.  Clean with little to no signs of wear or markings highlights.  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Books for Life","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45973520351429,"sku":"LFV.1593220367.VG","price":11.47,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0650\/2914\/4773\/files\/1593220367-0.jpg?v=1773853313","url":"https:\/\/www.booksforlife.store\/products\/steel-pier-atlantic-city-showplace-of-the-nation","provider":"Books for Life","version":"1.0","type":"link"}