ATLANTIC CITY-The plan re-open the 84-year-old Claridge Hotel here with a “Boardwalk Empire”-style theme moved ahead with the Garden State Discovery Museum's announcement it will open a second-story showplace for exhibits from the 1920s era that will bring history to life for children.

Clearwater, FL-based TJM Properties closed on purchase of the Claridge earlier this year and plans to reopen it within the year. The hotel was previously attached to a casino that was closed after failing revenues; it was previously owned by Caesars Entertainment.

Bally's casino is next door to the Claridge, and accessible via a second-floor entrance.

The “Boardwalk Empire”-theme is a nod to the popularity of the HBO show by that name, spun around the real-life character of one-time Atlantic City mogul Nucky Johnson. The hotel is to get a themed restaurant and bar.

The Discovery Museum of Cherry Hill said it will open its second location in the Claridge Hotel at Park Place by next May.

The museum will have its own boardwalk, with mock-ups of 1920s businesses and attractions: a penny arcade, an ice cream shop, a vintage toy shop and taffy pulling. Children will be able to learn about the Miss America pageant, take a ride in a hot air balloon and slide down the trunk of a replica of the Jersey Shore's famous Lucy the Elephant.

"The Garden State Discovery Museum has been celebrating imagination through hands-on fun for 20 years now in South Jersey,” the museum's director Kelly Lyons said. “We truly love the idea of capturing the nostalgia of times gone past and bringing our special kind of whimsy and magic into this good old fashioned fun world.”

Instant Insights /

Children's Discovery Museum to Open at Claridge Hotel

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