Could Atlantic City Become a Wellness Destination Again? New ‘AC Heals’ Campaign Wants to Try

Organizers want to promote the beach, Boardwalk, fitness, spas and other wellness businesses — reviving an idea that reaches back to Atlantic City's beginnings

ATLANTIC CITY — Long before the casinos, nightclubs and bars, Atlantic City was promoted for something very different.

Health.

Now, a new initiative called AC Heals wants to take that nearly 175-year-old piece of Atlantic City's history and give it a modern spin.

Skate AC founder Jason Klotz unveiled details of the developing wellness initiative Thursday on The AC Mike Lopez Show, describing a planned marketing campaign, website and recurring festival designed to promote Atlantic City as a place where visitors can do more than gamble and party.

“You do not just have to come to Atlantic City to party,” Klotz said. “This place, you can come here and get healthy.”

It may sound like an entirely new pitch for modern Atlantic City.

Historically, it isn't.

Back to Atlantic City's Beginning

Dr. Jonathan Pitney, widely known as the “Father of Atlantic City,” envisioned the largely undeveloped Absecon Island as a seaside health resort during the 19th century.

Atlantic City's own official history says Pitney believed the island “had much to offer” and envisioned making it a health resort, but recognized that transportation had to improve. Pitney and Philadelphia civil engineer Richard Osborne helped develop the idea of bringing a railroad to the island. Construction began in 1852, and the first train arrived in 1854.

Atlantic County's historical account similarly says Pitney believed the island's climate was ideal for a health resort and helped convince authorities of the value of establishing rail service to the beach.

A New Jersey historical marker goes even further, describing Atlantic City as having been “conceived as a health resort by Dr. Jonathan Pitney.”

The Atlantic City Free Public Library says Pitney promoted what people at the time believed were the healing qualities of salt air and ocean water while selling investors on the idea of a seaside resort and the railroad needed to reach it.

Those were 19th-century health beliefs and marketing claims, not modern medical conclusions.

But the historical connection is real.

And Klotz believes Atlantic City can use it again.

What Is AC Heals?

Klotz described AC Heals as both a wellness movement and a tourism marketing initiative.

“Essentially, AC Heals is a mantra and it's a movement that is bringing Dr. Pitney's original vision — this island being founded as a wellness resort,” Klotz said.

“We want to shine light on all the wellness businesses, on all the wellness movements, and then we want to amplify it all.”

The concept stretches well beyond traditional health care.

Klotz mentioned gyms, yoga studios, spas, juice bars, mental-health services and other wellness businesses, along with some of Atlantic City's simplest assets: its beach and Boardwalk.

The organizers envision creating an AC Heals website that highlights those businesses and activities.

They also plan to hold an AC Heals Fest several times a year, bringing together local wellness providers and organizations.

No date for the first festival was announced during Thursday's interview.

Selling Something Other Than the Party

Perhaps the most interesting part of the idea is what organizers are trying to change about Atlantic City's image.

For decades, the resort has been marketed heavily around casino gambling, nightlife, restaurants and entertainment.

Klotz isn't arguing that those attractions should disappear. Instead, AC Heals would try to build another reason to visit alongside them.

“We want to create an image for the town that doesn't exist in people's minds necessarily right off the bat,” Klotz said.

“We want to really help people come here and leave feeling good and feel inspired and feel healthier than when they got here.”

Klotz said Skate AC already fits naturally into that idea through physical activity and getting young people outdoors.

He also pointed to existing running groups, gyms and other wellness-oriented businesses and activities as pieces of a larger movement that could be marketed collectively rather than individually.

An Old Idea in a Very Different Atlantic City

Atlantic City has reinvented itself repeatedly since Pitney began promoting Absecon Island in the 19th century.

The railroad turned an isolated barrier island into a major seaside destination. Massive hotels followed. The Boardwalk became an attraction of its own. Entertainment flourished. Legal casino gambling arrived in 1978.

AC Heals is nowhere near that scale, and at this stage it remains an emerging private initiative rather than a citywide tourism strategy.

But its premise presents an intriguing question:

Could Atlantic City take one of the oldest ideas in its history and make it relevant again?

Klotz thinks the answer lies in broadening what visitors associate with the resort.

“You do not just have to come to Atlantic City to party,” he said.

Nearly two centuries after Pitney envisioned a health resort beside the Atlantic Ocean, a group of local organizers is trying to put wellness back into Atlantic City's identity — this time with gyms and yoga, spas and running groups, skateboards, beaches and the Boardwalk.

Whether visitors buy into that new image remains to be seen.

But historically, Atlantic City has sold something very much like it before.

Jason Klotz discussed AC Heals Thursday on The AC Mike Lopez Show, heard Monday through Friday from noon to 1 p.m. on News Talk 1400 & 92.3 WOND.