Beach Haven

Beach Haven, founded in 1874, was designed as one of the first summer seashore resorts in New Jersey for wealthy Philadelphians. Beach Haven's boardwalk extended from Seventh Street to Holyoke Avenue, one and a quarter miles long. Wool bathing costumes were the rage: women fanny dunked while men and children swam in the Atlantic. An 1883 Philadelphia Inquirer advertisement stated that the hotel opened for the season with thorough sanitary arrangements. A steamboat, connected with the Tucker...