This view shows the lagoon with the circus in place. Edwin E. Slosson wrote in “The Independent” magazine, “Now, line by line, as we watch in the twilight, as if lit by an unseen taper, as if drawn by the architect on the darkness by a pen of fire, the building slowly appears, until with a final flash it stands like a glorified ghost of itself in the night.” [July 21, 1904] (Photos courtesy the Library of Congress)
These two views are from the top of the shoot-the-chutes. The left postcard is the more accurate of the two, although the American flags were often added by the card’s artist. When it opened in 1903 Luna Park featured 250,000 lights and 100,000 of those were on the Electric tower.
The left photo shows the Dragon’s Gorge and the main gate is visible in the distance. The photo on the right is another view of Luna, this time closer to the entrance. The park at night was amazing. Russian writer Maxim Gorky said, “With the advent of night a fantastic city all of fire suddenly rises from the ocean into the sky. Thousands of ruddy sparks glimmer in the darkness, limning in fine sensitive outline on the black background of the sky, shapely towers of miraculous castles, palaces and temples. Golden gossamer threads tremble in the air. They intertwine in transparent, flaming patterns, which flutter and melt away in love with their own beauty mirrored in the waters. Fabulous beyond conceiving, ineffably beautiful, is this fiery scintillation.” [The Independent: August 8, 1907]
The Honeymoon Express ran from 1914 to 1927. It was a train ride with small railroad-style Pullman cars that circled the Shoot-the-Chutes lagoon.
The restaurant boxes along the promenade at night.
Luna Park at night was a wonderland that had no equals.