American Dream is so old…

How old is it?

Once upon a time called Xanadu, the American Dream complex is set to open, finally open, next month. Many times it looked doomed to sit as an incomplete relic and rust away. Jim Beckerman from NorthJersey.com put together a cool timeline of how things have changed since it was first just an idea through the years until completion. I was blown away to realize this place was first dreamed up in 1996, and I'm going to focus just on that.

1996. This took 23 years. Think about that. American Dream is so old, people who weren't even born yet are now college graduates.

So what was happening in NJ and the country when American Dream was just a gleam in New Jersey's imaginative eye?

American Dream is so old, Governor Christine Todd Whitman was in her third year of office.

American Dream is so old, the Blizzard of '96 had just happened.

American Dream is so old, Bill Clinton hadn't even been impeached yet and no one knew who Monica Lewinsky was.

American Dream is so old, the cost of a gallon of gas was $1.23.

American Dream is so old, we didn't even know the Beast From The East yet (the Toms River team didn't win the Little League World Series until 1998).

American Dream is so old, Jim McGreevey was straight.

American Dream is so old, The Garden State Arts Center had just become the PNC Bank Arts Center, and the Brendan Byrne Arena had just become the Continental Airlines Arena (then the Izod Arena then the Meadowlands Arena).

American Dream is so old, the cost of a postage stamp was $0.32 and the internet was something strange and new.

American Dream is so old, people who will be working there weren't even alive yet.

American Dream opens on October 25. They better have had enough time to get it right!

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