Tne of the classic Atlantic City Boardwalk hotels, the Traymore was also one of the earliest. Like most other hotels, it went through several incarnations, and its history parallels that of the resort's hotel industry. The Traymore began in 1879 as a beachfront, 10-room wooden cottage at Illinois Ave. and the Boardwalk. Originally a rooming house, the Traymore was named in honor of its steadiest customer, "Uncle Al" Harvey. Harvey incessantly waxed poetic over his Maryland estate, reportedly named after his Irish hometown. To this day, there is a Traymore Lane in Bowie, Maryland. The first Traymore "hotel" was more of a bath house than a full-service hotel, and it was, evidently, quite flimsy: on January 10, 1884, a fierce winter storm savaged the Boardwalk and reduced the Traymore to splinters, while the adjacent Park Parlors was left intact. The Traymore was quickly rebuilt and was continually enlarged until, in 1898, it became the city's largest hotel, with 450 rooms. As it stood then, the Traymore had a spacious lawn separating itself from the Boardwalk. This gave guests a pleasant space in which to meander but also served the very practical purpose of allowing a buffer from unfriendly waves. A September 1889 storm that breached the seawall did not appreciably damage the hotel itself, proving the wisdom of setting back the main building. Open year round, the Traymore's modern appointments and luxurious rooms attracted visitors even during the slow winter months. The Traymore continued to grow. In 1906 owner Daniel White hired the firm of Price and McLanahan to construct a new tower that brought the hotel up to the Boardwalk. During the summer of 1914, White contracted with Price and McLanahan to replace the existing wooden-frame Traymore with a massive concrete structure that would rival the Marlborough-Blenheim, which William Price had built across Park Place for White's cousin Josiah. Unlike later casino hotels that simply plunked down massive towers without regard to the surrounding environs, Price's Traymore, which was built directly behind the 1906 tower, was designed to take advantage of its ocean views: hotel wings jutted out further from the central tower toward Pacific Avenue, thus affording more guests ocean views. Commencing just after Labor Day, construction crews worked non-stop to erect the new Traymore in time for the 1915 season, and they were successful. Built with tan brick and capped by yellow-tiled domes, the Traymore instantly became the city's architectural showpiece when it opened in June 1915. The hotel was filled immediately, and Daniel White sought to expand. He commissioned a 40-story tower addition which, unfortunately, was not built because of problems securing financing during World War I. If it had been built, this building would still be the tallest in Atlantic City. Though the Traymore catered to an upscale clientele, it apparently also accepted less-refined guests. In the summer of 1916, two well-dressed women were arrested for pilfering over $500 worth of hotel property, chiefly linens and bath towels. After hotel managers noticed that a number of items had disappeared, they alerted a detective, who arrested the pair just as they were checking out. Also during that summer, the Secret Service was put on the trail of a male guest who was passing forged checks in the name of a bank vice president. Still, the Traymore prospered, and was described in 1924 as "the Taj Mahal of Atlantic City," decades before Donald Trump opened a casino resort with that name. But as Atlantic City declined in the 1960s, the Traymore did as well. By the early 1970s, the hotel was defunct and was slated for demolition, despite a campaign to save this architectural landmark. Even in its destruction, the Traymore was outstanding. To this day, the once-famous Atlantic City hotel still holds the Guinness World Record for largest controlled demolition—with a capacity of nearly 6.5 million cubic feet, the Traymore is the largest (though not highest) structure yet demolished. With the ongoing revitalization of Atlantic City, perhaps it is time to begin planning a new Traymore that will recall the innovative architecture of William Price while embracing the city's 21st century role as a casino mecca. But even if nothing ever rises again from the Traymore site, its place in history is secure.

By David Schwartz

David G. Schwartz (www.dieiscast.com), an Atlantic City native, is the Director of the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV and the author of several books, including Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling.

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