Boardwalk Empire (setting)

Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014) is an HBO period crime drama set primarily in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and early 1930s. The American series was created by Terence Winter for the premium cable channel HBO, and is set chiefly in Atlantic City during the Prohibition era of the 1920s. Winter was inspired by Nelson Johnson's 2002 non-fiction book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City, about the historical criminal kingpin Enoch L. Johnson. The series uses Atlantic City—its famous Boardwalk, grand hotels, nightclubs, and political machine—as both a backdrop and a narrative engine, transforming the city's documented Prohibition-era corruption into a richly detailed fictional world. The series premiered on September 19, 2010, and its five-season run of 56 episodes ended on October 26, 2014.

Historical Background: Atlantic City and the Prohibition Era

Atlantic City was incorporated in 1854, envisioned as a health resort by physician Jonathan Pitney and civil engineer Richard Osborne, who saw potential in the island's ocean breezes and expansive beaches. The completion of the Camden-Atlantic Railroad in 1854 connected the fledgling resort to Philadelphia, making it easily accessible to city dwellers seeking respite from urban life. Overlooking the beach, the iconic Atlantic City Boardwalk was introduced as a way to keep sand from being tracked into the hotels' lobbies. Several hoteliers and businessmen petitioned the city to construct a footwalk, and the council approved $5,000. The walk opened to the public on June 26, 1870, and was eight feet wide, one mile long, and stood approximately one foot above the sand.

With tourism peaking in the 1920s, the period is often considered by historians to be Atlantic City's golden age. During Prohibition, which was enacted nationally in 1919 and lasted until 1933, much liquor was consumed and gambling regularly took place in the back rooms of nightclubs and restaurants. Prohibition was effectively unenforced in Atlantic City and, as a result, the resort's popularity grew further. The city called itself "The World's Play Ground." In 1923, local officials even jailed federal Prohibition agents for three days and refused to let them correspond with Washington. This event later prompted a representative of the Justice Department to famously denounce Atlantic City as "the most corrupt city in the country."

During this period, the Boardwalk flourished with entertainment options. Elaborate hotels, theaters, and amusement piers extended from the Boardwalk out over the ocean. The Steel Pier, opened in 1898 but reaching its heyday in the 1920s, became one of the most famous attractions, offering everything from big bands to diving horses. The Miss America Pageant, which began in 1921 as a way to extend the summer tourist season past Labor Day, featured contestants parading down the Boardwalk in what became an iconic American tradition.

The Real Nucky Johnson and the Fictional Setting

The central character of Boardwalk Empire, Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, is directly based on a real Atlantic City political figure. Enoch Lewis "Nucky" Johnson (January 20, 1883 – December 9, 1968) was an American politician from the Republican Party who served as an Atlantic City political boss, sheriff of Atlantic County, businessman, and crime boss who was the leader of the political machine that controlled Atlantic City and the Atlantic County government from the 1910s until his conviction and imprisonment in 1941. His rule encompassed the Roaring Twenties when Atlantic City was at the height of its popularity as a refuge from Prohibition. In addition to bootlegging, the criminal aspect of his organization was also involved in gambling and prostitution.

In the HBO series, Nucky—played by actor Steve Buscemi—is named Nucky Thompson. The name was changed to reflect that the character was only loosely based on the real-life man. Show creator Terence Winter elected to portray a fictionalized version of Johnson, to give the writers creative license with history, and to maintain suspense. While the show embellishes some aspects of Nucky Thompson's character, such as his involvement in violence, the real Nucky Johnson was primarily a corrupt political boss who flouted the law but did not engage in direct acts of violence.

It was during Prohibition that the mob boss Enoch "Nucky" Johnson came to power in the city dubbed "The World's Playground." Nucky Johnson's income, around $500,000 (approximately $7.2 million in today's money) annually, came largely from illegal liquor distribution, gambling, and prostitution. At the height of his power, Johnson lived in a suite of rooms on the ninth floor of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, located on the Boardwalk. The Ritz, which opened in 1921, was where Johnson hosted many lavish parties. The show accurately reflects this detail: the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on the Boardwalk at Iowa Avenue once hosted everyone from presidents to Al Capone, and was famous for its revolving bar shaped like a carousel.

Under Nucky Johnson, Atlantic City was one of the leading ports for importing bootleg liquor and, in 1927, he agreed to participate in a loose organization of other bootleggers and racketeers along the East Coast, forming the Big Seven. He was the host of the Atlantic City Conference in 1929, a meeting of national organized crime leaders, including Al Capone. The series' most notable historical omission was its ignoring of this 1929 conclave in Atlantic City that Nucky Johnson hosted, at which organized crime as we know it was birthed—even though legendary mobsters like Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, and Meyer Lansky, all of whom were depicted in Boardwalk Empire, attended the conference.

Key Locations in the Setting

The world of Boardwalk Empire is populated by a number of Atlantic City landmarks, both real and reimagined for the screen. The Atlantic City of the 1920s depicted in the series featured more than 1,200 hotels and boarding houses, including Nucky's own residence in the Ritz Carlton Hotel; 21 theaters showing 168 shows annually; numerous nightclubs, including Babette's, the Paradise Club, and the Cliquot Club; the first Miss America Pageants, which started in 1921; and the construction of Convention Hall, now known as Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, from 1927 to 1929.

The Knife and Fork Inn is one of the most directly referenced real-world locations in the series. This iconic restaurant in Atlantic City still stands today as a testament to the city's checkered past. Opening its doors in 1912, The Knife and Fork was set up by "the Commodore" Louis Kuehnle and his accomplices, including Mayor William Riddle, as an exclusive club for men to dine and drink. In true Boardwalk Empire fashion, The Knife and Fork and its patrons openly defied the 18th Amendment, serving and consuming alcohol throughout the Prohibition era. The Knife and Fork's original upstairs dining room—complete with bottle-hiding banquettes and raid-warning wall buttons—was recreated as a set for the HBO series.

Prohibition-era Atlantic City's vice industry was fuelled by illegal alcohol, brought in by smugglers who navigated the salt-marsh shoals by night. Many boats sped straight into waterside houses where boxes of booze could be unloaded secretly in garage-like docks. This rum-running infrastructure is depicted throughout the series, reinforcing the show's portrait of a city where law enforcement was largely an arm of the criminal establishment.

The show also depicts Babette's Supper Club, a fictional stand-in for various real Atlantic City nightclubs of the era. This opulent establishment is portrayed as Nucky's preferred haunt, where he hosts mobsters and politicians in equal measure, while indulging in gourmet meals and an endless flow of illegal liquor. The series also references characters staying at "the Elwood," a stand-in for a real address: when someone in Boardwalk Empire says they're staying at the Elwood, they're talking about 164 St. James Place, an address now called the Irish Pub—a mahogany-paneled tavern just off the Boardwalk.

Production and Reconstruction of the Setting

Despite being set entirely in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the majority of Boardwalk Empire was not filmed there. While the story is set in Atlantic City, the majority of the series was filmed in New York, specifically in New York City, Westchester Country Club, Ditmas Park, Vinegar Hill, Miller Field, Historic Richmond Town, and the historic Woolworth Estate. Additionally, Steiner Studios in Brooklyn served as a significant filming hub for the series.

Most strikingly, the famous Boardwalk itself was a purpose-built set. HBO took the audacious step of recreating Atlantic City's boardwalk as it looked in the early 1920s as a standing outdoor set built on an empty parking lot in the Greenpoint area of Brooklyn. The boardwalk featured in the show is an enormous set constructed on an empty lot in Greenpoint, Brooklyn that served as the backdrop for everything from daily greetings to explosions. It is modeled after the 1920s version of the boardwalk in Atlantic City. Every single storefront, including the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, was recreated. According to the Press of Atlantic City, production designer Bob Shaw noted that the boardwalk had to be narrower than in real life—45 feet, not 60—due to the shortened length of the set.

The blend of these locations with state-of-the-art visual effects from Brooklyn-based effects company Brainstorm Digital further enhanced the realism and immersive quality of the series. The pilot episode, directed by Martin Scorsese, set the benchmark for this level of period authenticity. The first episode, with a final cost of $18 million, was directed by Martin Scorsese and was the most expensive pilot episode produced in television history.

Cultural Legacy and New Jersey Heritage

Boardwalk Empire drew renewed attention to Atlantic City's documented history of political corruption and organized crime, and sparked public interest in the city's Prohibition-era landmarks. The HBO series brought renewed attention to Atlantic City's infamous past. Steve Buscemi's portrayal of Nucky Thompson captivated audiences. The show's popularity sparked interest in the city's history and architecture, and led to increased tourism and preservation efforts for remaining landmarks from the era.

Premiering in September of 2010 and running for five seasons (a total of 56 episodes), Boardwalk Empire was inspired by the 2002 book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times and Corruption of Atlantic City by retired Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Nelson Johnson. Author Nelson Johnson worked closely with the production to maintain historical plausibility. Johnson recalled that the production team contacted him because "they were committed to historically accurate fiction," and would ask whether specific events could plausibly have occurred at a given moment in American history.

The incredible ensemble cast won two Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards for Outstanding Performance, in addition to 57 Primetime Emmy nominations, winning two for Outstanding Drama Series. The series has been credited with reshaping popular perceptions of the Roaring Twenties and cementing Atlantic City's place in American cultural memory as a city defined—at least during its golden age—by glamour, vice, and political impunity. Beyond board games, the Boardwalk has featured prominently in literature, film, and television. From the 1980 film Atlantic City starring Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon to HBO's Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014), which chronicled the Prohibition era through the fictional character of Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, the Boardwalk has maintained its place in the American imagination.

The real Nucky Johnson was dethroned as Atlantic City's political boss following the repeal of Prohibition when undercover IRS and FBI agents came to South Jersey to investigate him. A series of exposés in William Randolph Hearst's newspapers shed light on Nucky's dictatorial control over Atlantic City. The ensuing trial resulted in a verdict of guilty, and Johnson was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Though the show dramatized his fall differently, the underlying arc of unchecked power collapsing under federal scrutiny is drawn directly from the documented history of Atlantic County, New Jersey.