Coney Island has been featured in many novels, films, television shows, cartoons, and theatrical plays. This is linked to its iconic status as a vacation destination. Various slapstick comedies and films have been set at Coney Island or allude to it. There have also been several television documentaries about the area's history.
In popular culture
Coney Island
Coney Island | In popular culture
Yes, it is a vacation destination Yes, Coney Island has two amusement parks, Luna Park and Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, as well as several rides that are not incorporated into either amusement park. Yes, as there are many amusement parks. Yes, it has amusement park.
where is coney island in relation to manhattan
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The southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn.
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who were the earliest settlers in this region?
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Dutch
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is it a tourist place?
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Coney Island has been featured in many novels, films, television shows, cartoons, and theatrical plays. This is linked to its iconic status as a vacation destination. Various slapstick comedies and films have been set at Coney Island or allude to it. There have also been several television documentaries about the area's history.
Coney Island | In popular culture
The origin of Coney Island's name is disputed, but the area was originally part of the colonial town of Gravesend. By the mid-19th century it had become a seaside resort, and by the late 19th century, amusement parks had also been built at the location. The attractions reached a historical peak during the first half of the 20th century. However, they declined in popularity after World War II, and following years of neglect, several structures were torn down. Various redevelopment projects were proposed for Coney Island in the 1970s through the 2000s, though most of these were not carried out.
Coney Island | Introduction
Lambert Naegele (an immigrant from Germany who published German language newspapers), Reinhold Zeglin (also an immigrant from Germany), and Emile Amblard (originally from France) developed resort buildings and attractions on the island. The best preserved building from this era, however, is the Emile Amblard Guest House on the mainland.
Coney Island of the West | Introduction
Coney Island began as a resort destination in the early 1830s and gained popularity in the 1860s as advances in transportation reduced the time it took to get there from other parts of New York City. As visitors increased, attractions were added, including a tall observation tower, the Coney Island Elephant hotel, early roller coasters, carousels, and arc lights to enable nighttime swimming. Politician John Y. McKane controlled approval of much of the building for years until he was removed from office for election fraud. Just before 1900 CE, George C. Tilyou built Steeplechase Park, the first of the three major amusement parks of Coney Island.
Coney Island (1991 film) | Synopsis
In particular, the Riegelmann Boardwalk enabled the crowds to be dispersed away from Surf Avenue, the main west–east avenue in the area. Despite staff shortages during World War II, Coney Island retained its popularity and was frequented by military personnel.
Coney Island | Early 20th century
By the late 1870s, Coney Island's hotels had drawn people from many different social classes, and attractions were being built. When the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company electrified the steam railroads and connected Brooklyn to Manhattan via the Brooklyn Bridge at the beginning of the 20th century, Coney Island turned rapidly from a resort to an accessible location for day-trippers seeking to escape the summer heat in New York City's tenements. Charles I. D. Looff, a Danish woodcarver, built the first carousel and amusement ride at Coney Island in 1876, at Lucy Vandeveer's bath-house complex at West 6th Street and Surf Avenue.
Coney Island | 19th century
The first bridge to Coney Island was established in 1824, and this was followed five years later by the creation of the Coney Island House, a seaside resort. Due to Coney Island's proximity to Manhattan and other boroughs, and its simultaneous relative distance from the city of Brooklyn to provide the illusion of a proper vacation, it began attracting vacationers in the 1830s and 1840s, and numerous resorts were built. New railroad lines, built after the American Civil War, served Coney Island's restaurants, hotels, bathing pavilions, theaters, the waterfront, and other attractions. A series of fires in the resorts in the 1880s and 1890s opened up large tracts of land for the development of theme parks, the first of which was Sea Lion Park in 1895.
Riegelmann Boardwalk | Context
Coney Island is a neighborhood, visitor attraction, and former island in Brooklyn, New York. Coney Island may also refer to:
Coney Island (disambiguation) | Introduction
One of the entrepreneurs who took advantage of the increased visitor counts was Nathan Handwerker, who in 1916 started selling hot dogs at Coney Island for a nickel each, and eventually expanded his enterprise into the Nathan's Famous hot dog chain. Coney Island's development as an amusement area continued through the end of World War II. The opening of the Wonder Wheel in 1920; the Riegelmann Boardwalk in 1923; the Shore Theater in 1925; several roller coasters in the 1920s including the Tornado, Thunderbolt, and Coney Island Cyclone; and the Parachute Jump in 1941 contributed to the area's quality as an amusement destination.
Coney Island | Early 20th century
The Coney Island History Project offers guided tours of Coney Island. In 2019, the CIHP offered an immigrant Heritage Tour of Coney Island in English and Mandarin. The special walking tour was offered free of charge as part of Immigrant Heritage Week 2019.
Coney Island History Project | Guided tours
By the first decade of the 20th century, Coney Island was seen as a top getaway and "a symbol of Americans' increasing pride".
Coney Island | Amusement park era
During the summers of 1964 and 1965, there was a large decrease in the number of visitors to Coney Island because of the 1964/1965 World's Fair at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens. Crime increases, insufficient parking facilities, bad weather, and the post-World War II automotive boom were also cited as contributing factors in the visitor decrease. During the summer of 1964, concessionaires saw their lowest profits in a quarter-century. Ride operators reported that they had 30% to 90% fewer visitors in 1964 compared to the previous year. A small amusement park called Astroland was announced for the boardwalk in 1962, to open the following year.
Coney Island | Fred Trump era
All of these islands were part of the outer barrier on the southern shore of Long Island, and their land areas and boundaries changed frequently. Only the westernmost island was called Coney Island; it currently makes up part of Sea Gate. At the time, it was a 1.25-mile shifting sandspit with a detached island at its western end extending into Lower New York Bay. In a 1679–1680 journal, Jasper Danckaerts and Peter Sluyter noted that "Conijnen Eylandt" was fully separated from the rest of Brooklyn. The explorers observed that "Nobody lives upon it, but it is used in winter for keeping cattle, horses, oxen, hogs and others."
Coney Island | Early settlement
Coney Island has been featured in novels, films, television shows, cartoons, and theatrical plays.
Coney Island in popular culture | Introduction
One such location was Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, where a horse-drawn street car line brought pleasure seekers to the beach beginning in 1829. In 1875, a million passengers rode the Coney Island Railroad, and in 1876 two million reached Coney Island. Hotels and amusements were built to accommodate both the upper-classes and the working-class. The first carousel was installed in the 1870s, the first Switchback Railway in 1881. It wasn't till 1895 that the first permanent amusement park in North America opened: Sea Lion Park at Coney Island. This park was one of the first to charge admission for entrance to the park in addition to selling tickets for rides within the park.
Trolley park | Coney Island
Most of the vacationers were wealthy and went by carriage. Inventor Samuel Colt built an observation tower on the peninsula in 1845, but he abandoned the project soon after. In 1847, the middle class started going to Coney Island upon the introduction of a ferry line to Norton's Point—named after hotel owner Michael Norton—at the western portion of the peninsula. Gang activity started as well, with one 1870s writer noting that going to Coney Island could result in losing money and even lives. The Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad became the first railroad to reach Coney Island when it opened in 1864, and it was completed in 1867.
Coney Island | Resort development
The island has received human visitors for over 1,500 years. It is located in a region that was the first home to the Dakota people. Euro-American settlers colonized the area in the mid-19th century, with settlers going to the island during the Dakota War of 1862 in fear of battles in Carver County. The island was sought as a refuge because of its clear distant views, but the war resolved before reaching the county. The St. Paul and Sioux City Railroad purchased the land in 1866. They sold it to private buyers in 1874. The buyers eventually sold the island to Lambert Naegele in March 1884 for $5,200.
Coney Island of the West | History
At its highest it is above sea level. Coney Island was formerly an actual island, separated from greater Brooklyn by Coney Island Creek, and was the westernmost of the Outer Barrier islands. A large section of the creek was filled in the 1920s and 1930s, turning the island into a peninsula. The perimeter of Coney Island features manmade structures designed to maintain its current shape. The beaches are currently not a natural feature; the sand that is naturally supposed to replenish Coney Island is cut off by the jetty at Breezy Point, Queens. Sand has been redeposited on the beaches via beach nourishment since the construction of Riegelmann Boardwalk in 1922–1923, and is held in place by around two dozen groynes.
Coney Island | Geography
The construction of the boardwalk opened up the beach to the millions of people that visited Coney Island in its heyday, and it became known as the area's "Main Street," supplanting Surf Avenue in that role. A 1923 guidebook described the area as "the oldest, most densely crowded and most democratic" of all the amusement areas around New York City. The boardwalk increased international visitation to Coney Island. One French observer wrote of the boardwalk, shortly after its opening, "Families which cannot go to the rich watering places come in hordes on Sunday to enjoy the municipal beach. It is like the Promenade des Anglais at Nice turned over to the proletariat." Another writer cited the boardwalk's completion as "a contributing factor in the modernizing of the Coney Island section," saying that its construction had led to the development of apartment buildings on the Coney Island peninsula.
Riegelmann Boardwalk | Cultural significance
The first bridge to Coney Island was established in 1824, and this was followed five years later by the creation of the Coney Island House, a seaside resort. Coney Island soon developed as a resort destination in the mid-19th century, development of which was helped by the construction of railroads after the American Civil War. A series of fires in the resorts in the 1880s and 1890s opened up large tracts of land for the development of theme parks, of which several had been built by the first decade of the 20th century. Further redevelopment of Coney Island came with the opening of the New York City Subway to Stillwell Avenue in 1920 and the completion of the Riegelmann Boardwalk three years later.
Shore Theater | Context and construction
The development of amusement rides in Coney Island intensified in the 1890s with the opening of amusement parks. The first such park was Sea Lion Park, which operated from 1895 to 1902 and was the first amusement park to charge entry fees. Sea Lion Park's opening spurred the construction of George C. Tilyou's Steeplechase Park, which opened in 1897. The Coney Island "Funny Face" logo, which is still extant, dates to the early days of Steeplechase Park.
Coney Island | 19th century
Coney Island is a residential and commercial neighborhood and entertainment area on a peninsula in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to the north, and includes the subsections of Sea Gate to its west and Brighton Beach to its east. Coney Island was formerly the westernmost of the Outer Barrier islands on the southern shore of Long Island, but in the early 20th century it became a peninsula, connected to the rest of Long Island by land fill.
Coney Island | Introduction
He claimed that fewer amusement-seekers were going to Coney Island every year, because they preferred places where they could bathe outdoors, such as Jones Beach State Park on Long Island, rather than the "mechanical gadget" attractions of Coney Island. Moses also announced that the Steeplechase Pier would be closed for a year so it could be renovated. In 1953, Moses proposed that most of the peninsula be rezoned for various uses, claiming that it would be an "upgrade" over the various business and unrestricted zones that existed at the time. Steeplechase Park would be allowed to remain open, but much of the shorefront amusements and concessions would be replaced by residential developments.
Coney Island | Robert Moses era
In 1862 the island had a population of 124 people, with 45 children attending the local school. The island now has only one family of permanent inhabitants (traceable back to the 1750s) but has many other temporary residents, especially in the summer months. The island gained electricity in 1999 via an underground cable.
Coney Island, County Sligo | History
After many complaints from the public and from concession operators, the Estimate Board reinstated the area between West 22nd and West Eighth Streets as an amusement-only zone, with the zone extending inland from the shoreline. Moses's subsequent proposal to extend the Coney Island boardwalk east to Manhattan Beach was denied in 1955. A proposal to make the Quonset hut development into a permanent housing structure was also rejected.
Coney Island | Robert Moses era
Coney Island has a rich history with long evidence of human occupation. Excavations carried out in 1962-63 indicated that there was a settlement on the island in Neolithic times which lasted into the Bronze Age. The island was connected to the mainland by a causeway or submerged ridge, which can be seen in summer when it is under less than two feet of water. It is known locally as Saint Patrick's Road, as the saint is said to have used the island as a place of retreat. This causeway was breached in the 19th century to allow the passage of barges from the Bann to the Blackwater.
Coney Island, Lough Neagh | History
Coney Island USA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit arts organization founded in 1980 that is dedicated to the cultural and economic revitalization of the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. Its headquarters building in the heart of Coney Island's amusement district houses a theater in which the organization presents "Sideshows by the Seashore", a showcase for performers with unusual talents that runs continuously during the warmer months, as well as the Coney Island Museum. It is also notable as the organizer of the annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade, the first of which took place in 1983. The Coney Island Museum features artifacts and memorabilia about the amusement park, beach and neighborhood's history and culture, as well as changing exhibits of art and culture.
Coney Island USA | Introduction
In 1824, the Gravesend and Coney Island Road and Bridge Company built the first bridge across Jamaica Ditch (by now known as Coney Island Creek), connecting the island with the mainland. The company also built a shell road across the island to the beaches. In 1829, the company also built the first hotel on the island: the Coney Island House, near present-day Sea Gate. Due to Coney Island's proximity to Manhattan and other boroughs, and its simultaneous relative distance from the city of Brooklyn to provide the illusion of a proper vacation, it began attracting vacationers in the 1830s and 1840s, assisted by carriage roads and steamship service that reduced travel time from a formerly half-day journey to two hours.
Coney Island | Resort development
Between about 1880 and World War II, Coney Island was the largest amusement area in the United States, attracting several million visitors per year. Its development as an amusement area was concurrent with the erection of urban amusement parks elsewhere in the United States, which changed amusement from a passive to an active concept. Of these amusement areas, Coney Island was the largest. At its height, it contained three competing major amusement parks—Luna Park, Dreamland, and Steeplechase Park—as well as many independent amusements. The area was also the center of new technological events, with electric lights, roller coasters, and baby incubators among the innovations at Coney Island in the 1900s.
Coney Island | Amusement park era
They have a common root, with the original restaurant having been established by Greek immigrant brothers Bill and Gus Keros in 1915. The brothers got into a business dispute soon thereafter, and in 1917 split their restaurant into the two establishments that exist today. Many European immigrants of the early twentieth century entered the United States through Ellis island. One of their first stops was often the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, along the South Shore beachfront, where hot dogs were very popular. The original restaurant name referred to the restaurant being an immigrant-owned establishment, serving Coney Island's food of choice.
Coney Island (restaurant) | Origins
In 1904, Dreamland was opened by William H. Reynolds. It featured historical reenactments, a dwarf village with 300 residents, and an infant incubator for premature babies, designed to show off this latest scientific development. Just seven years later, a devastating fire destroyed Dreamland and initiated the slow decline of Coney Island. The death of George C. Tilyou in the aftermath of World War I saw a reduced level of innovation in the new attractions at Coney Island, though the crowds only got bigger. During the Great Depression, many of the existing attractions, amusements and midway prizes were reduced in scale to save money.
Coney Island (1991 film) | Synopsis
Tourist attractions in the area include sandy beaches, a grand pavilion, a funfair named Coney Beach (modelled on Coney Island in New York), a museum and three golf courses.
Porthcawl | Local attractions
Rube [short for Reuben] and Mandy were stock characters in American popular culture. Along with Uncle Josh, they were country folk with little or no knowledge of city ways. In short, they were “hicks” whose encounters with city living were often a source of comedy. They show up, if only very occasionally, in early newspapers, going back to the 1880s and continued into the first decade of the twentieth century. This was a transitional moment in terms of head titles. The film lacks a head title, which was doubtlessly supplied by the exhibitor using a lantern slide.
Rube and Mandy at Coney Island | In popular culture
The museum is open seasonally. Coney Island USA was founded in 1980 by Costa Mantis, Jane Savitt-Tennen and Dick D. Zigun. Coney Island USA is funded, in part, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York Council for the Humanities, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, New York City Councilman Mark Treyger and its members.
Coney Island USA | Introduction
Patrons were hoisted in the air before being allowed to drop using guy-wired parachutes. The Parachute Jump was closed in the 1960s, but was officially preserved, having been listed on the NRHP in 1980 and made a city landmark in 1989.
Coney Island | Former rides
Tourism is an economic mainstay of the region with a wide range of largely outdoor attractions from trout fishing, flyfishing on Tongariro River or harling on Lake Taupo, tramping, Mountain biking centred on National Park, deer or pig hunting, horse riding to snowskiing/boarding on Mt Ruapehu. The Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre of New Zealand is located on the site of an old Italian tunneling construction camp. Started by mountaineer Graeme Dingle in the 1970s, this centre offers valuable outdoor training experience and skills to secondary school groups and others. Train and engineering enthusiasts will enjoy the Raurimu Spiral.
North Island Volcanic Plateau | Popular culture
Coney Island of the West is an island in Lake Waconia in the U.S. state of Minnesota that was developed into a summer resort with its heyday from the 1880s to the 1920s. It continued operating up to 1960. The island is part of Waconia Township just off the shore from the city of Waconia. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 for its local significance in the themes of commerce and entertainment/recreation. The island site, with its ruins of hotels, cottages, and parks, was nominated for being one of Minnesota's most popular early resorts, and an early expression of the trend of urban dwellers journeying to Minnesota's lakes and parks for recreation.
Coney Island of the West | Introduction
Giovanni da Verrazzano was the first European explorer to sight the island of Narrioch during his expeditions to the area in 1527 and 1529. He was subsequently followed by Henry Hudson. The Dutch established the colony of New Amsterdam in present-day Coney Island in the early 17th century. The Native American population in the area dwindled as the Dutch settlement grew and the entire southwest section of present-day Brooklyn was purchased in 1645 from the Native Americans in exchange for a gun, a blanket, and a kettle. In 1644, a colonist named Guysbert Op Dyck was given a patent for 88 acres of land in the town of Gravesend, on the southwestern shore of Brooklyn.
Coney Island | Early settlement
Some of Coney Island's iconic rides were designated as official city landmarks during the late 1980s. In 1988, the Cyclone roller coaster was made a New York City designated landmark. This was followed by the Parachute Jump and the Wonder Wheel in 1989. The neighborhood's high crime rate had reversed slightly by the 1990s. However, Coney Island's relative isolation from the rest of New York City, along with its ethnic diversity, deprived the area of significant political power, and to a greater extent money.
Coney Island | Bullard deal, Sportsplex, and KeySpan Park
Yosemite Park was developed as a tourist attraction in the late 1850s and early 1860s for an audience who wanted a national icon and place to symbolize exotic wonder of its region. Photography played an important role for the first time in the development of tourist attractions, making it possible to distribute hundreds of images showing various places of interest. New York City, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, all major US cities, attracted numerous tourists by the 1890s. New York's population grew from 300,000 in 1840 to 800,000 in 1850. Chicago experienced a dramatic increase from 4,000 residents in 1840 to 300,000 by 1870.
Tourism in the United States | 19th century
Grand Carousel, a classic carousel built in 1926 and originally located at Coney Island, is another International Street attraction. Also located here is the Kings Island Theater and a variety of restaurants and souvenir shops.
Kings Island | International Street
Nearby was the Elephantine Colossus, a seven-story building (including a brothel) in the shape of an elephant, which opened the following year. Until its demolition in 1896, the elephant was the first sight to greet immigrants arriving in New York, who would see it before they saw the Statue of Liberty. Next to be developed were horse-racing tracks, and by 1890, Coney Island had three tracks: Sheepshead Bay Race Track, Brighton Beach Race Course, and Gravesend Race Track. However, crime and corruption in Coney Island were prevalent. The main leader of this corruption was John Y. McKane, who ran prizefighting rings behind the elephant until he was arrested and sentenced in 1894.
Coney Island | 19th century
New York City received a ninth consecutive annual record of approximately 65.2 million tourists in 2018, counting not just overnight visitors but anyone visiting for the day from over 50 miles away, including commuters. Overall the city welcomed 37.9 million visitors who stayed overnight in 2018, of which 13.6 million were international. Major destinations include the Empire State Building, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island, Broadway theatre productions, Central Park, Times Square, Coney Island, the Financial District, museums, and sports stadiums. Other major visitor activities include luxury shopping along Fifth and Madison Avenues; entertainment events such as the Tribeca Film Festival; Randalls Island music festivals such as Governors Ball, Panorama and Electric Zoo; and free performances in Central Park at Summerstage and Delacorte Theater.
Tourism in New York City | Introduction
The island is now becoming a center for many painters and some musicians. There are also a few up and coming lyrical artists on the island, prominent among them include Alexander Joseph, otherwise known as "Bobbo youth" and ILYA Rosado a.k.a. "ILLA-G" who have developed a local islander fan base with their rap and reggae-style music.
Caye Caulker | The growth of tourism on the island
In June 2016, the Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island opened on the boardwalk to the west of MCU Park, hosting several live musical acts as well as other events. It was constructed at the location of the Childs Restaurant, which was originally constructed in 1923 and was renovated when the amphitheater was being constructed. The rooftop part of the restaurant reopened in July 2016.
Coney Island | Other attractions
Detroit's American Coney Island and Lafayette Coney Island have both been featured on episodes of Travel Channel shows "Man v. Food" and "Food Wars".
Coney Island (restaurant) | In popular culture
Eventually, the city government and the community reached an agreement mandating that the beach did not begin until south of Surf Avenue and that the territory would be marked by a city-owned boardwalk. In return, the city would demolish any structures built upon public streets to reclaim beach access. In 1915, the Sea Beach Line was upgraded to a subway line, followed by the other former excursion roads, and the opening of the Stillwell Avenue station in 1919 ushered in Coney Island's busiest era. On the busiest summer days, over a million people would travel to Coney Island. This created tensions between longtime New York City residents and more recent immigrants who liked to patronize Coney Island.
Coney Island | Early 20th century
Originally intended to serve as a tourist attraction, the elephant contained novelty stalls, a gallery, a grand hall, and a museum in what would be the elephant's left lung. The elephant's eyes contained telescopes and acted as an observatory for visitors. Its manager claimed to see, from the elephant's back, Yellowstone Park, Rio de Janeiro, and Paris. As Coney Island became more established as a center of tourism and leisure, the elephant began to serve as a brothel as well. When the elephant caught fire on September 27, 1896, it had not been used for several years.
Elephantine Colossus | Rooms and attractions
The original Native American inhabitants of the region, the Lenape, called this area "Narrioch". This name has been attributed the meaning of ""land without shadows"" or ""always in light"" describing how its south facing beaches always remained in sunlight. A second meaning attributed to "Narrioch" is ""point"" or ""corner of land"". The "island" was originally several smaller historical islands, each being given a name by Dutch settlers, with the westernmost sand spit or point being given named "Conyne Eylandt" in early-17th-century Dutch maps. There is no clear historical consensus on how the island got the name "Coney Island", in regular use in the first half of the 19th century with the advent of regular ferry service to the island, but several theories have been put forward.
Coney Island | Name
Coney Island contains three rides with landmark status. One is a New York City designated landmark, another is listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and a third is both a city landmark and a NRHP-listed landmark. The Wonder Wheel, opened in 1920, is a steel Ferris wheel with both stationary cars and rocking cars that slide along a track. It holds 144 riders, stands tall, weighs over , and is located at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park. The Wonder Wheel was made a city landmark in 1989. The B&B Carousell (as spelled by the frame's builder, William F.
Coney Island | Current rides
The first permanent enclosed entertainment area, regulated by a single company, was founded in Coney Island in 1895: Sea Lion Park at Coney Island in Brooklyn. This park was one of the first to charge admission to get into the park in addition to sell tickets for rides within the park. In 1897, Sea Lion Park was joined by Steeplechase Park, the first of three major amusement parks that would open in the Coney Island area. George Tilyou designed the park to provide thrills and entertainment. The combination of the nearby population center of New York City and the ease of access to the area made Coney Island the embodiment of the American amusement park.
Amusement park | Modern amusement parks
George C. Tilyou, who operated various amusements in Coney Island and later consolidated them into his Steeplechase Park, built boardwalks in his resorts at both Coney Island and Rockaway Beach. Numerous privately owned piers also jutted into the water at West 5th, West 8th, and West 17th Streets. Public beach accessibility was considered almost nonexistent; in 1904, it was estimated that there would be of public beachfront on Coney Island for each of the 3.7 million residents of New York City. In 1912, the West End Improvement League of Coney Island noted that only one street, West 23rd Street, had direct public access to the beach from Surf Avenue, the southernmost west–east artery on what was then an island.
Riegelmann Boardwalk | Context
The History Project’s exhibition center is located next to Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park. The center occupies a former arcade booth, presenting educational exhibitions, events, and performances; displaying historic artifacts and documentary material from Coney Island's history. The collection holds many artifacts of Coney Island, including an authentic Steeplechase horse, part of Steeplechase Park.
Coney Island History Project | Exhibition center
The area was revitalized with the opening of MCU Park in 2001 and several amusement rides starting in the 2010s. Coney Island had around 32,000 residents as of the 2010 United States Census. The neighborhood is ethnically diverse, and the neighborhood's poverty rate of 27% is slightly higher than that of the city as a whole.
Coney Island | Introduction
There is little evidence for each origin theory, and there are conflicts between the pieces of evidence that do exist. The most popular idea is the translation of the Dutch word for "rabbit" into to the English word "coney", but that has its detractors and counter explanations. In 1816 politician and US Founding Father Egbert Benson presented a treatise on New York place names and said it was ""Conyn's Island"", after Dutch surname, and noted ""there are already symptoms of the beginning of a tradition that it once abounded in Rabbits"". Other historians claim that rabbits were introduced to the island only after it was settled.
Coney Island | Name
In 2010/11, overall visitors to Bruny Island increased 4% to 74,600. The island is primarily a day-trip destination with only 21,800 visitors staying on the island overnight. There are a growing number of tourism businesses on the island including a cheese factory, oyster farm, vineyard, smokehouse, lighthouse, museum, art gallery, two eco-cruises along with various accommodation properties and cafes.
Bruny Island | Tourism
At 122 feet tall, the Coney Island Elephant was approximately twice the size of Lucy the Elephant, which had pre-dated it by four years; with the exception of the designs of their respective howdahs and the numbers and relative sizes of the windows, externally it was a nearly exact scaled-up copy of Lucy. Its legs were 18 feet in diameter, with the front legs serving as a cigar store while the back legs held the entrance, a circular stairway. Construction was reported to have cost $65,000. Built two years before the Statue of Liberty, it was said to be the first artificial structure visible to immigrants arriving to the United States.
Elephantine Colossus | Size
Coney Island is a 1991 documentary film that traces the history of Coney Island, the westernmost part of the barrier islands of Long Island, New York. The film covers the island's 1609 discovery by Henry Hudson, its 1870s incarnation as a respectable beach destination for city-dwellers and showcase of the new developments ushered in by the machine age, the early 20th century, when amusement parks and innovative attractions attracted hundreds of thousands of people each day, and the gradual demise of the amusements. The film is narrated by Philip Bosco. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and broadcast nationally on PBS as part of the "American Experience" program in February 1991.
Coney Island (1991 film) | Introduction
Mangels) is Coney Island's last traditional carousel, near the old entrance to Luna Park. The carousel was built circa 1906–1909 with a traditional roll-operated fairground organ. It was relocated multiple times, most recently to Luna Park's Steeplechase Plaza in 2013, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
Coney Island | Current rides
In 1897, it was joined by Steeplechase Park, the first of three major amusement parks that would open in the area. George Tilyou designed the park to provide thrills and sweep away the restraints of the Victorian crowds. The combination of the nearby population center of New York City and the ease of access to the area made Coney Island the embodiment of the American amusement park. In addition there was Luna Park (opened in 1903) and Dreamland (opened in 1904). Coney Island was a huge success, and by 1910 attendance on a Sunday could reach a million people.
Trolley park | Coney Island
Until the subway came to Coney Island in 1920 most visitors would have arrived (and departed) by ferry.
Goodbye, My Coney Island Baby | Introduction
EnterTRAINment Junction features a scale model of the historic Coney Island (Cincinnati, Ohio). This display is a recreation of Coney Island as it was seen in the late 1960s. This includes a working model of the famous Shooting Star roller coaster, a 4' tall Ferris Wheel, and several other rides and attractions that would have been found at Coney Island at the time. Due to space limitations some creative license was used in the layout of the model, however all of the models in the display are accurate to the period.
EnterTRAINment Junction | Coney Island
Coney Island is also a popular place for jet skiing and camping. However, this has contributed to the beaches being polluted by litter such as discarded cans, instant noodle packets and bottles.
Coney Island, Singapore | Activities and facilities
At some later point the defences were thoroughly razed. In the 17th and 18th centuries the island was only sporadically occupied. In the 1890s, Coney Island was bought by James Alfred Caulfield (1830-1913), 7th Viscount Charlemont, supposedly for £150. He lived in Drumcairne, just outside Stewartstown, and bought the island building a summer house in 1895. The Viscount's remains are entombed in the tower on the island. In 1946 the island was given to the National Trust by Fred Storey.
Coney Island, Lough Neagh | History
Until the 1950s, most tourists to the island, except during the annual carnival and pony penning, were sportsmen, there to fish or hunt waterfowl. Publicity generated by the Misty franchise, and the easy access to the beach and recreational facilities on Assateague Island, brought many tourists to Chincoteague who were uninterested in shooting the wildlife except with cameras. Combined with the continued decline of the seafood industry, the economy of Chincoteague gradually shifted from being based on harvesting its waters to tourism. Many souvenir shops and other tourist enterprises were built along Maddox Boulevard, especially in the years after 1962.
History of Chincoteague, Virginia | Tourist destination (1962–present)
Looff personally hand-carved the designs into the carousel. Looff subsequently commissioned another carousel at Feltman's Ocean Pavilion in 1880. Another early attraction was the Seaside Aquarium, which operated from 1877 to 1887 and included aquatic exhibits, aviaries, zoo attractions, and various sideshows. The earliest rides, including Looff's first carousel and the Seaside Aquarium, were located at the Centennial Observatory's site. The first sideshows and fireworks displays came to Coney Island in 1883, and combined with constant musical performances, brought increased excitement to the area. The very first roller coaster at Coney Island was the Switchback Railway, a gravity coaster installed by LaMarcus Adna Thompson at West 10th Street in 1884.
Coney Island | 19th century
The 19th century also saw the heavily Irish New York Tammany Hall political machine controlling development of the island, and they may have gotten the name from the island in County Sligo rather than any tale of a rabbit population.
Coney Island | Name
Many visitors investigate their genealogy at historic immigration sites such as Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Other tourist destinations include the Empire State Building, for 41 years the world's tallest building after its construction in 1931, Radio City Music Hall, home of The Rockettes, a variety of Broadway shows, the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, housed on a World War II aircraft carrier, and city landmarks such as Central Park, one of the finest examples of landscape architecture in the world. New York City has encouraged tourist shopping by eliminating its sales tax on clothing and footwear. In the past, the World Trade Center was an important tourist destination before the September 11 attacks, which devastated the city and its tourist industry.
Tourism in New York City | Industry
To the east is the Parachute Jump, a defunct parachute tower ride, which is both a city landmark and a National Register of Historic Places listing. The B&B Carousell, directly beside the Parachute Jump, is the last operating carousel in Coney Island and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Coney Island Cyclone, a wooden roller coaster built in 1927 at West 10th Street, is the only operating coaster on Coney Island from the 20th century, and is both a city and national landmark. Set inland from the boardwalk is the Wonder Wheel (built 1920), a -tall eccentric Ferris wheel that is also a recognized city landmark.
Riegelmann Boardwalk | Attractions
Coney Island became less popular in the 1940s and 1950s as new trends in travel and entertainment made other areas more attractive. Many Coney Island businesses closed in this period, and Childs closed the Boardwalk location in 1952. The building itself was then purchased by the Ricci family for use as a candy factory. At that time it was just one of several candy factories in the area, and one of the products made over the years in the old Childs building were the Peeps line of marshmallow candies. Candy making was still going on within the building at the beginning of the 21st century, but the activity had apparently ceased by 2008, when the building began to be used as a roller skating rink.
Childs Restaurants (Riegelmann Boardwalk location) | Operation
As World War II ended, the new ubiquity of the personal automobile allowed families to easily vacation at less crowded beaches in the Greater New York area. In 1946, Luna Park closed. Steeplechase Park limped along until closing in 1964.
Coney Island (1991 film) | Synopsis
Their Childs Restaurant in Coney Island, New York (1923), employs colorfully glazed terracotta tiles in a fanciful resort style combining elements of the Spanish Colonial revival with numerous maritime allusions that refer to its seaside location". The Davidson County Courthouse of 1936 by Hirons and Dennison (with involvement of Nashville local architect Emmons H. Woolwine) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Frederic Charles Hirons | Biography
While Waconia already had several hotels such as the North Star, Lake House, and the Sherman House, the Coney Island Hotel and its resort became the most popular of all of Waconia's hotels and contributed to the town's status as a favorite summer resort. Lambert Naegele developed the island and named it "Coney Island of the West". The origin of this name is unclear. Some claim it is named after the Coney Island entertainment center on the East Coast. Others think that it comes from the large numbers of "coneys", or rabbits that lived on the island. Finally, one group claims "Coney" is just a shortened version of "Waconia".
Coney Island of the West | History
The main industry on the island prior to tourism was fishing. The island sits in the middle of natural migration routes for fish, and feeding grounds for conch and lobster. During World War II, fishermen living on the island also collected debris from torpedoed ships in the Caribbean that came floating ashore. The most lucrative were bales of rubber. The fishing industry is thought to support about 80 families on the island.
Caye Caulker | Economy
In 1889 Naegele sold the hotel complex to Reinhold Zeglin, whose family had taken possession of it at the end of the summer season in August 1888.
Coney Island of the West | History
Starin, a former United States Congressman and descendant of the Huguenots, purchased five islands off of Davenport Neck in 1879 which he transformed into one of the earliest and most extravagant amusement areas in the country - Starin's Glen Island Resort. Starin owned the largest fleet of steamboats in Manhattan and utilized his fleet to carry thousands of New Yorkers to the park each year. Features of the park included beaches and bathing pavilions, gardens, German beer garden, Grand Cafe, Chinese pagoda, bridle paths, a miniature steam train, natural history museum, aviary, and a zoo of exotic animals which included lions, elephants and trained seals.
History of New Rochelle, New York | Beginning tourism
Visitors to Coney Island like to frequent the local pub, spot the faerie ring and Napoleonic star shaped forts, visit Carty’s strand (the secluded beach to the rear of the island) for a swim or walk around the island to spot rabbits or the schoolhouse and other famine structures which remain.
Coney Island, County Sligo | Activities
One possible etymology is from a Native American tribe, the Konoh or Konoi (the "Bear Band"), who once inhabited the island. A second theory suggests that it was distortion of the name of Henry Hudson's second mate on the Halve Maen, John Colman, who was slain by natives on the 1609 expedition. A third posits that late 18th century Irish captain Peter O'Connor named it after Coney Island in County Sligo, Ireland. Yet other theories suggest a Dutch etymology: one theory holds that the name had come from Conyn, the surname of a family of Dutch settlers who lived there, and another suggests that it came from the Dutch word for rabbit, "konijn", derived from a purported large population of wild rabbits on the island".
Coney Island | Name
In the 1950s, Old San Juan was restored by the Puerto Rican government in order to attract American visitors interested in the history of the island.
Tourism in the Caribbean | Cultural impacts
As American cities developed, new institutions to accommodate and care for the insane, disabled and criminal were constructed. The Hartford, Connecticut American School for the Deaf opened in 1817, Ossining, New York state prison (now known as Sing Sing) in 1825, the Connecticut State Penitentiary at Wethersfield in 1827, Mount Auburn Cemetery in 1831, the Perkins School for the Blind in 1832, and the Worcester State Hospital in 1833. These institutions attracted the curiosity of American and foreign visitors. The English writer and actress Fanny Kemble was an admirer of the American prison system who was also concerned that nature was being destroyed in favor of new developments.
Tourism in the United States | 19th century
Tourists were scarce for months, and it took two years for the numbers to fully rebound with fewer international, but more domestic visitors, due in part to an emphasis on "patriotic tourism". The World Trade Center site itself became an important place to visit, and visits to the World Trade Center have increased, especially with openings of new buildings on the site in recent years.
Tourism in New York City | Industry
The film was shot on location at Coney Island, and prominently features many contemporary rides and attractions as venues for the slapstick action. These include The Witching Waves and Shoot-the-Chutes. "Coney Island" was filmed before Keaton had fully established his screen persona. Because of this, he employs a wide range of facial expressions, including mugging and laughing, differing drastically from his subsequent unsmiling, but still eloquent, expression. Arbuckle breaks the fourth wall in one scene where, about to change his clothes, he directly looks at the camera and gestures for it to raise its view above his waist; the camera obligingly does so.
Coney Island (1917 film) | Production notes
This accident was the second in a chain of nine high-profile incidents from 1994 onwards that led to repeated negative publicity for the park, in turn causing the number of visitors to drop sharply by 1998.
Coney Beach Pleasure Park | Commercial peak
There are also stories of faeries, mermaids and spirits on Coney Island, and visitors can try to find the elusive St. Patricks wishing chair, St. Patricks well, the remains of a washed up whale and some fairy forts. In the last century the merchant ship "Arethusa" used to sail between Sligo and New York City. The captain of the ship, observing many rabbits on the New York island, apparently then named Coney Island, New York, after his own Coney Island in Sligo Bay.
Coney Island, County Sligo | Folklore
In 2012, City Lore curated the outdoor exhibit, "Your Guide to the Lower East Side". In 1988, City Lore presented oral histories of Coney Island on the boardwalk. In 1991, folklorist Steve Zeitlin suggested to Dick Zigun at Coney Island USA that, rather than trying performance art, they should bring a traditional old time sideshow, which Zeitlin had brought to the Smithsonian’s Folklife Festival a few years earlier, to Coney. The sideshow has run continuously to this day. In 2017, City Lore presented the exhibit "Boardwalk Renaissance: How the Arts Saved Coney Island." In 2014, City Lore opened its own storefront gallery at 56 E.
City Lore | Urban Culture Exhibitions
Coney Island is an abandoned island located in Massachusetts Bay in Salem, Massachusetts. It has light growth, with a small salt marsh.
Coney Island (Massachusetts) | Introduction
Coney Island has two amusement parks, Luna Park and Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, as well as several rides that are not incorporated into either amusement park. These are owned and managed by several different companies and operate independently of each other. Coney Island also has several other visitor attractions such as skeeball and ball tossing, as well as a sideshow, that contains shooting, throwing, and tossing skills. The area hosts renowned events as well. Coney Island's amusement area is one of a few in the United States that is not mostly owned by any one entity.
Coney Island | Amusement parks and attractions
He shared regularly scheduled steamships and rail transport with fare-paying passengers. On the Red Sea, he played cards and danced with other passengers. Like other tourists, he visited the white elephants of Siam, the Giza pyramid complex in Egypt, tourist sites in India, and museums in Europe. Along the way, he exceeded his original budget, shopping regardless, and sent letters back home. President James A. Garfield died four days before they arrived back in the United States, and Kalākaua paid a courtesy call to newly inaugurated President Chester A. Arthur at the White House in Washington, D.C. There were no public or private appearances for the King in New York, only a day at Coney Island.
Kalākaua's 1881 world tour | Introduction
The ride's first drop was reduced by in 1939, and it continued to be extremely popular. A midget would originally zap disembarking riders with an electric paddle, a practice which ended during the 1950s.
Coney Island Cyclone | Early history
In the late-19th century, the south shore region of Lake Erie became a popular vacation destination for the emerging middle-class in the United States. The Lake's islands, such as Kelleys Island and South Bass Island, were gaining a reputation for their freshwater bathing resorts. The Cedar Point peninsula, named for its abundance of cedar trees, was originally known for its fishing. Local fishermen leased land and built living quarters there. Sandusky, which featured an important shipping harbor and two railroads, transformed into a major economic center over the next three decades. Railroad and steamship travel supported an emerging tourism industry, and rapid development of the area began.
Cedar Point | History
In the early days visitors were mostly richer British families. Key for the development of the sector in the Victorian Era was the introduction of ferry connections with steamships between Liverpool and the Isle of Man, the Isle of Man Railway, and the Victoria Pier in Douglas. Later in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the island was the destination for working-class families, mainly from the north of England and from Ireland. In 1964 tourism, which was already in decline, "was still responsible for 75 per cent of the gross value of the production of the major forms of industry: moreover, 21 per cent of the working population found employment in some branch of the tourist industry".
Tourism in the Isle of Man | History
At the time, Coney Island was seeing fewer visitors year-over-year. Crime increases, insufficient parking facilities, bad weather, and the post-World War II automotive boom were cited as contributing factors in the decrease of visitors to Coney Island. The start of the 1964 New York World's Fair, also in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, was another factor. Ironically, prior to the World's Fair, Steeplechase Park was seeing record high patronage; the highest single-day visitor count, over 18,000 customers, was recorded in 1961. Nevertheless, it also faced problems of its own: a severe assault of an employee in 1961 forced the closure of the Insanitorium, while Marie Tilyou was opposed to her nephew Frank II's proposal to bring rides from the Century 21 Exposition to the park.
Steeplechase Park | Demise
In 1855, entrepreneur James Mason Hutchings, artist Thomas Ayres and two others were the first to tour the area. Hutchings and Ayres were responsible for much of the earliest publicity about Yosemite, writing articles and special magazine issues about the Valley. Ayres' style in art was highly detailed with exaggerated angularity. His works and written accounts were distributed nationally, and an art exhibition of his drawings was held in New York City. Hutchings' publicity efforts between 1855 and 1860 led to an increase in tourism to Yosemite. Wawona was an Indian encampment in what is now the southwestern part of the park.
Yosemite National Park | Early tourists
In 1937, New York City parks commissioner Robert Moses published a report about the possible redevelopment of Coney Island, which would have entailed the addition of parking lots and reconstruction of part of the boardwalk. The city purchased a strip of land along the shoreline, which would allow the boardwalk to be moved inland. At this point, Coney Island was so crowded on summer weekends that, according to Moses, a coffin would provide more space per person. Though ride construction was delayed due to material shortages caused by the onset of World War II, two new rides were constructed in 1946 at the end of the war.
Coney Island | Robert Moses era
Mining and dredging took place on and near the island during several periods between 1912 and 1950, greatly reducing the island's size and contributing to its horseshoe shape. The island was sold to the Town of Tonawanda in 1953, who used it to aid nearby construction projects. It was transferred to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in 1989.
Strawberry Island (New York) | Cultural history
The city continued to pursue litigation over the site occupied by Norman Kaufman, but for over a decade, was unsuccessful. It had no plan for the proposed state park, and in 1975 the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development nearly withdrew a proposed grant of $2 million to fund the proposed park. The city ultimately accepted the grant, though different city agencies still disagreed over whether to return the funds. Kaufman continued to operate the site until the end of summer 1980. The following June, the city paid Kaufman a million dollars for the rides, effectively evicting him, even though the amusements were estimated to be worth much less.
Coney Island | Late-1970s attempts at restoration
Coney Island Avenue frontage is dominated by mixed-use housing: pre-war apartment buildings, small shops, including many antique shops, and service businesses. The B68 bus line runs along Coney Island Avenue, connecting the Prospect Park area and Downtown Brooklyn to the famous oceanfront attractions of Coney Island and Brighton Beach. An area surrounding about of Coney Island Avenue is home to a sizable population of Pakistani Americans, and is informally called "Little Pakistan".
Coney Island Avenue | Introduction
Places of natural beauty such as beaches, tropical island resorts, national parks, mountains, deserts and forests, are examples of traditional tourist attractions which people may visit. Cultural tourist attractions can include historical places, monuments, ancient temples, zoos, aquaria, museums and art galleries, botanical gardens, buildings and structures (such as forts, castles, libraries, former prisons, skyscrapers, bridges), theme parks and carnivals, living history museums, public art (sculptures, statues, murals), signs, ethnic enclave communities, historic trains and cultural events. Factory tours, industrial heritage, creative art and crafts workshops are the object of cultural niches like industrial tourism and creative tourism. Many tourist attractions are also landmarks.
Tourist attraction | Types
Coney Island is a small water park located on the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio, approximately east of the downtown area in Anderson Township. The park sits directly adjacent to Riverbend Music Center and Belterra Park. Beginning in 1870, the original owner called the area Parker's Grove, which was later renamed Ohio Grove, The Coney Island of the West after the Ohio Grove Corporation purchased the park in 1886. The name was shortened to Coney Island the following season. Growth over the years spawned dozens of rides and attractions which led to its popularity as an amusement destination.
Coney Island (Cincinnati, Ohio) | Introduction
When Kings Island first opened in 1972, a section of the park was dedicated to its predecessor, Coney Island. The area was constructed to resemble the former park's carnival-style layout and featured many of its flat rides which were relocated, including Monster, Scrambler, and Dodgem. One of the flagship attractions during the park's inaugural year, The Racer, was located in this section. In addition to rides, some of Coney Island's famous Ginkgo trees were transplanted, lining the middle of the walkway. Originally called Coney Island, the area was later renamed Old Coney in 1980 and again to its present name Coney Mall in 1986.
Kings Island | Coney Mall