Design
Photographing the Trumpian Urbanism of Atlantic City
Brian Rose’s new book uses the deeply troubled New Jersey city as a window into how a developer-turned-president operates.
The day after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, photographer Brian Rose went to the place that perhaps best displays the notorious real-estate developer’s true self: not New York, but Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Atlantic City got a promising start as a rail-accessible getaway for nearby New Yorkers and Philadelphians in the late 1800s, a resort town rife with architecturally decorative hotels along a bustling boardwalk. It doubled down on its hedonistic appeal in the Prohibition era, turning a blind eye to bootleggers and becoming a hub for illegal drinking and gambling.