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Edna Patricia Hall

Marker is located on Northeast Corner of New Hampshire and Atlantic Avenues.

Historical Marker text:

1924 –
An Atlantic City native, Hall is a founding member and former Vice-President of the First Ward Civic Association, an original member and vice-president of the Inlet Public Private Association and a staunch supporter of the NAACP and 101 Women Plus. She started the first Tenants Association for the Shore Park Apartment Complex, was Treasurer of the Uptown Action Council and a member of the Uptown Coalition for Neighborhood Development. As a member of the Board of Directors of the City of Atlantic City Housing Corporation she participated in the development of the Brigantine Homes Apartment Complex. Hall has always fought for housing in the Northeast Inlet as well as the restoration of the Absecon Lighthouse. Her advocacy related to both issues helped to spark a resurgence of redevelopment and building of new homes, and the preservation of a valuable historic landmark. Hall is also a devoted member of St. Augustine's Episcopal Church.

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Additional information:

Edna Patricia Hall, a lifelong resident of Atlantic City's Inlet section, first saw her neighborhood decline when it was hit hard by the March 1962 storm. The suburban exodus and a declining economy across Atlantic City spelled more trouble for her area, as many homes fell into disrepair and the area ceased to be attractive to homebuyers. Hall decided to do something about it, founding the First Ward Civic Association. It fought for safe and affordable housing in the Inlet, and protested against what many viewed as the easiest solution of selling land to a casino for development. Despite making the Inlet attractive, this would have robbed the city of an important residential neighborhood. Hall instead advocated for better homes to be built in her neighborhood. She succeeded in this, even getting funding to do so from the casinos themselves, through the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA). Casino profits were used to fund a $300 million project in which 600 safe and attractive homes were built in the Atlantic City Inlet section.

Hall was president of the Atlantic City Congress of Community Organizations and an active member of the NAACP. She graduated from Atlantic City High School and held several jobs throughout the city before entering politics as the campaign manager for Eddie Byard and John Kelly. She served as Kelly's aide for four years after his election as City Council First Ward councilman. She retired from politics in 1992, but continued her community activism. Hall passed away in August 2013.

Her marker is located in the Inlet, the neighborhood she has fought to preserve.

  For more information, see these resources in the Atlantic City Free Public Library, Atlantic City Heritage Collections:
Local History Biography Files - Edna Hall
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