Kuehnle's Hotel was a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

first opened on January 9, 1875 by Commodore

Louis Kuehnle Louis Kuehnle, (; December 25, 1857 – August 6, 1934), known as "Commodore Kuehnle," was an American businessman and politician of German descent. He is considered a pioneer in the growing resort town of Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the late 1 ...

's father. The Commodore took over the management of the hotel shortly after his eighteenth birthday. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Kuehnle's Hotel served as the prime meeting place for some of the time's earliest gangsters, racketeers,

politicians A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, and unscrupulous entrepreneurs. The site is now part of City Center Park.

Location

The Kuehnle Hotel was located at the corner of South Carolina and Atlantic Avenues in

. After the building of the Pennsylvania Station Depot, Kuehnle saw much success because of its proximity to the depot, which made many boarders who were arriving and departing choose to stay there.

History

The Corner Bar was the saloon located within the Kuehnle's hotel that served as a hub of Republican politics in Atlantic City and the place that important political decisions were made, which later overturned the old Atlantic City elite. The Kuehnle's Hotel is credited with influencing some of the greatest political forces during the Prohibition Era such as

Harry Bacharach Harry Bacharach (October 24, 1873 – May 13, 1947) was the Mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1912 for 6 months, and from 1916 to 1920, and again from 1930 to 1935. A Republican, he also served as a city commissioner. Biography Bacharach was b ...

Isaac Bacharach Isaac Bacharach (January 5, 1870 – September 5, 1956) was an American Republican Party politician from New Jersey who represented the 2nd congressional district from 1915 to 1937. Early life and education Born in Philadelphia, Bacharach ...

, and

Enoch "Nucky" Johnson Enoch Lewis "Nucky" Johnson (January 20, 1883December 9, 1968) was an Atlantic City, New Jersey, political boss, a sheriff of Atlantic County, New Jersey, a businessman and a crime boss who was the leader of the political machine that control ...

. Kuehnle's Hotel served as a place at which Kuehnle and Johnson's father often discussed political ventures and allowed the young Johnson to participate. In 1903, Kuehnle's Hotel was mistakenly reported as sold to John H. Denny from Johnstown, Pennsylvania for a reported, $300,000 in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Kuehnle's father had bought the property not long before for a reported $6,200. Allegedly, Denny had acted as an agent for the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

and bought both Kuehnle's hotel and the adjacent southwest corner of the street for a combined $425,000. The purchase was for an immediate start for construction on a terminal station at the site of Kuehnle's Hotel. The station would also serve as a union for the Pennsylvania and the Reading railroad lines. Both Kuehnle and Denny repeatedly denied claims that the deal had taken place.https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1903/04/05/101987796.pdf In 1919, Kuehnle closed the bar at his hotel. He later sold the property, and the location was razed to make way for a new bank. The site is now part of City Center Park, a municipal park at South Carolina and Atlantic Avenues.

Legacy

When Commodore Kuehnle died in 1934, City Hall draped his city commissioners chair as well as the building in black and commissioned all firehouses to display their flags at half mast. Kuehnle Avenue is one of the few lasting memories of Kuehnle and the Kuehnle's Hotel. However, his character and the architecture of Atlantic City can be viewed in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series ''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter and broadcast on the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and ...

''.

References

{{coord, 39.362871, -74.426759, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-NJ, display=title History of Atlantic City, New Jersey Hotels in Atlantic City, New Jersey 1875 establishments in New Jersey Hotels established in 1875 Defunct hotels in New Jersey