Abstract: By the 1960s, many thought of Atlantic City as a dead shark. George Hamid, Sr., his son George Hamid, Jr., and Pauline Hill, three influential players on the local scene, also knew that the city — their city — had to keep moving or die. Each of them tried to stir the place; they poked and prodded and offered a slew of new ideas and initiatives. Most of their suggestions had to do with the public, about how to recreate the crowds and commerce. The Hamids wanted to rebuild the mass market of the past, while Hill embraced the newer concept of market segmentation. Yet the efforts of Hamid and Hill failed because no matter how much effort they put into the task, they couldn't cover up enough of the city to dispel the fears of the crowd, first the white crowd, and then the new black crowd. So they were left with places that appeared empty and abandoned.

Keywords: Boardwalk, George Hamid Sr., Pauline Hill, exclusion,