How might a seaside resort in 1870 be expected to differ from the same Essay

How might a seaside resort in 1870 be expected to differ from the same resort in 1930 What accounts for the changes - Essay Example People began to filter into the cities to find work and thus seashore towns were developed. Many of the first settlers along the seashore began to open up boarding houses and hotels. The wealthy stayed in hotels and the less wealthy people used the boarding houses. The first boarding houses rented for a fee of $8 – 12 a week for room and board and often included meals and a wagon ride through the cornfields to the beach. As an example, Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey developed in the 1870s as a destination for visitors through Captain John Arnold. He retired from a sea career and bought land in Point Pleasant Beach. He built a railroad to the ocean, which is now known as Arnold Avenue. As in other seashore towns, the railroad was the most influential factor in development and tourism of seashore towns. The 1870s were an era of major tourism expansion brought on by developers who bought and subdivided old farms for vacation home lots. In 1877 The Point Pleasant Land Company bo ught a 250 acres farm and began selling lots. To attract buyers, a Resort House was built and began a horse-drawn trolley service for tourists. The Resort House was a four-story hotel type structure that housed 200 guests, and was the largest building in town. The resort featured shaded oak and locust trees, a manicured lawn and a clear view of the beachfront dunes. The inside included a ballroom and bowling alley, which was very upscale for that time. Several other hotels and boarding houses were built similar before the turn-of-the-century. Some of the hotels advertised access to New York and Philadelphia trains, trolley lines, water works, electric lights plants and no mosquitoes. Many of these hotels burned to the ground due to being wood structures and others lost business due to changing tastes in lodging. The first beachfront pavilion was constructed in 1880, and ten years later the first boardwalk was built. The first boardwalk was very flimsy and washed away within two year s. During the Victorian period rapid growth in population began in the seaside resorts. The railways made if possible for visitors to travel to the seashore, and it became much more affordable. The seashore had a nostalgic draw to people as a focal vacation point. A seaside holiday was considered very charming at that time. Again, only a few ordinary people owned cars or telephones until the 1950s. Even when televisions became available, they were very expensive for the average family. The working class worked hard all week in factories, offices, shops and mines and very rarely had the opportunity to travel. However, it became popular to set aside a time during the year to take a seaside holiday. This was popular both in England and the Americas. Traveling to the seaside became popular when it was decided that the sea and bathing in the sea was good for your health. Dr. Richard Russell advocated the use of seawater in bathing and in drinking to treat many early illnesses, in the lat e 1700s. So it became fashionable for the rich especially to visit the seashore. For people of England a railway trip to the seaside and a week or two-holiday stay at a resort was the highlight of the year. The popularity of holiday seaside trips grew until it became popular to take trips abroad to experience different lifestyles. This became very popular with the wealthy, as the ordinary person could not afford such luxuries. Just as the industrial revolution helped build the