Long Beach has had many unusual moments in its history, but one of the more memorable came during the construction of its boardwalk.
In 1907, developer William H. Reynolds was working to transform the Long Beach barrier island into a major seaside resort. Reynolds had acquired 1,084 acres of marsh and meadow from the Town of Hempstead on April 2, 1907, after the sale was approved by voters.
His plan was ambitious. He wanted Long Beach to become a resort destination comparable to Atlantic City. One of his first major projects was the boardwalk.
The boardwalk was built in the early 1900s and completed at 2.2 miles. It stretched from Neptune Boulevard to New York Avenue. While Reynolds originally wanted a longer boardwalk, the finished version established the basic length that Long Beach residents still recognize today.
The unusual part was how some of the work was promoted.
Reynolds brought elephants from Dreamland, his Coney Island amusement park, to Long Beach. The elephants were used to help carry and move heavy timber during construction of the boardwalk.
Photo: “Boardwalk Pilings Laid.” Long Beach History Collection, Long Beach Public Library. Courtesy of the Long Island Library Resources Council.
A surviving historic image from the Long Beach Public Library’s Long Beach History Collection identifies two of the elephants as Roger and Alice. The photo is described as “Elephants Roger & Alice Build the Long Beach Boardwalk 1907.”
The use of elephants was practical to a point, since they could move heavy material. But it was also clearly a publicity stunt. Reynolds understood spectacle. He had been connected to Dreamland at Coney Island and used the animals to draw attention to his new Long Beach development.
After the boardwalk was finished, Reynolds continued building up the resort. He later developed a casino at Shore Road and Long Beach Boulevard and opened the Nassau Hotel at West Broadway and National Boulevard.
Photo: “Boardwalk Looking East With Visitors, Gaslight and Railings.” Burton Collection, Long Beach History Collection, Long Beach Public Library. Courtesy of the Long Island Library Resources Council.
The boardwalk itself would be rebuilt more than once. In 1938, it was rebuilt through the Works Progress Administration, and early jetties were created to help protect it from the tides.
After Superstorm Sandy destroyed the boardwalk in 2012, it was rebuilt again. The first blocks reopened in July 2013, and the full boardwalk reopened in October 2013.
No elephants were used that time.
Photo: “Elephants Roger & Alice Build the Long Beach Boardwalk, 1907.” Long Beach History Collection, Long Beach Public Library. Courtesy of the Long Island Library Resources Council.
