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Answer Guy / LBJ visits Downbeach
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A weekly feature that answers reader questions about the people, events, history and news in southern New Jersey.
Q: When President Lyndon B. Johnson came to Atlantic City for the 1964 Democratic National Convention, he had a hotel room but stayed at a beach house in Margate. I was told it was former Baltimore Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom's house but have also heard it was Carroll's brother, or maybe even the house of former Philadelphia Eagle Bert Bell. Can you straighten that out?
Bill Kelly
Answer Guy: There was a lot of ink spilled by The Atlantic City Press in reporting every detail of one of the largest events ever held in the resort, but there was little word about just where Johnson and his family were staying while he was in town for just two nights during the revelry.
That is certainly understandable - security was tight after his predecessor, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated less than a year earlier - but there were two references.
"Johnson went Downbeach to the Rosenbloom Mansion, the home Mrs. Johnson and their two daughters had been staying at since they arrived in the city," The Press reported Aug. 28, 1964.
Any confusion as to which Rosenbloom house had the honor is cleared up in an earlier reference: "(The Johnsons) proceeded to the white stucco seaside mansion with a view of the Atlantic."
The house on Pembroke Avenue still exists in an altered form, Margate assistant tax assessor Mary Becker said. The house was sold by the Rosenbloom estate in July 2001 and was substantially renovated and remodeled soon afterward.
Johnson and most of his family left after his acceptance speech, but The Press did find one juicy rumor about one who supposedly stayed behind.
"Reliable sources," an Aug. 30 story states, "(say) that Lucy Baines Johnson stayed on at the Pageant Motor Inn. ... She's still in the resort for one purpose, the story goes. If it's true, she'll occupy her father's box at the Convention Hall - to see the Beatles, of course!"
Got a question?
If you have a question you would like the Answer Guy to tackle, call 609-569-7489, or mail your question to The Press Answer Guy, The Press of Atlantic City, 11 Devins Lane, Pleasantville, NJ 08232. Questions can be faxed to 609-272-7224. E-mail:
Posted in Atlantic on Sunday, October 25, 2009 12:00 am
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