Atlantic City Life Saving Station

Local archives indicate that the first government boathouse in the area was constructed in 1849 at Connecticut and Pacific Avenues. Although it contained a boat, it was dependent upon volunteers for manning. In 1871, a regular crew was established for the four winter months. Seven years later in 1878 following an act of Congress mandating an improved federal maritime lifesaving system, the station was moved to the base of the Absecon Lighthouse and called a "Life Boat Station."

In 1884, a larger station was built at the base of the lighthouse and completed in December of that year. The manning of this station extended to ten months of the year in 1894. The Atlantic City Atlas of 1908 shows a Life Saving Service Station at Pacific Avenue and the beach. Since this building was only three blocks from the station at the lighthouse, it was probably a boathouse. In 1908 a boathouse was built at 416 Carson Avenue in historic Gardner's Basin, which served the Station until the present facility was established in 1941

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