Several attractions in the People’s Playground have burned to the ground over the last century. Coney Island History Project director Charles Denson — whose museum on West 12th Street between Bowery Street and the Boardwalk has an extensive collection of photos and films about these torched amusem*nts — gave us a brief rundown on the amusem*nt area’s fiery history.
• 1896: The Elephant Hotel. It has been long suspected that the hotel and reputed brothel, which was actually shaped like a giant pachyderm, caught fire after someone forgot to put out his cigar.
“It was really dramatic, because flames were shooting out of the elephant’s eyes,” Denson said.
• 1907: Steeplechase Park. No one knows what started the fire that erased 35 acres of this iconic amusem*nt area. But the next day, owner George C. Tilyou put out a sign reading: “Admission to the burning ruins: Ten cents.”
•1911: Dreamland. The morning before opening day, workers were sealing a leak in the Hellgate water ride with tar when several of the light bulbs above them popped. Sparks fell onto the hot pitch and started a blaze that consumed the Hellgate, Dreamland’s towers, the animal arena — and most of the animals.
“A flaming lion ran down Surf Avenue and climbed the Ben-Hur ride,” Denson said. “Police had to shoot it down.”
Some historians say that low water pressure in nearby fire hydrants prevented firefighters from putting out the blaze fast enough — and allowed the conflagration to spread.
• 1932: Boardwalk and Surf Avenue. This fire, considered the worst in Coney Island’s history, consumed 100 feet of the Boardwalk and destroyed apartment buildings and bathhouses along Surf Avenue between W. 21st and W.24th streets. The fire was so extensive that it burned a house on Neptune Avenue and scorched several nearby subway cars. More than 1,000 people were left homeless, and thousands more were left naked and dripping on the beach after abandoning their clothes as they ran out of the burning bathhouses. The cause? Kids playing with matches, Denson said.
• 1944: Luna Park. The fire that destroyed most of the first Luna Park may have been caused by a cigarette thrown into a trash can, Denson said. Flames quickly spread across the straw roofs covering several rides, then reached the park’s tower, which began spewing embers. Another fire wiped out what was left of the park a few weeks later.
• 1963: Ravenhall bathhouses. Denson remembers this one from his childhood. A mid-winter electrical fire in one of the arcade consumed the Ravenhall — a place our columnists Lou Powsner and Carmine Santa Maria have fond memories of.
• 2010: Coney Island Arcade. Denson blames roofers illegally using propane torches for the fire that gutted Manny Cohen’s funhouse on W. 12th Street in 2010. “They put down some roofing and just left. Meanwhile the crawl space was smoldering. Then it just took off,” Denson said.
Reach reporter Will Bredderman at (718) 260–4507 or e-mail him at wbredderman@cnglocal.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/WillBredderman
Coney Island became a major resort destination after the Civil War as excursion railroads and the Coney Island & Brooklyn Railroad streetcar line reached the area in the 1860s and 1870s, followed by the Iron Steamboat Company ferry to Manhattan in 1881. The 150-suite Cable Hotel was built nearby in 1875.
Additionally, during the turn of the 20th century, Coney Island reflected the social changes of America with the interaction among sexes, less rigid social rules, as well as an opportunity to go out and have a good time to escape the difficult work life.
Call it “The Nickel Empire,” call it “The Poor Man's Paradise.” By any name, Coney Island was America's playground. The fun began in 1884 when George Tilyou, who had grown up here selling bottles of genuine Coney Island sand, opened a roller coaster.
Sea Lion Park opened in 1895 and was Coney Island's first amusem*nt area to charge entry fees; this, in turn, spurred the construction of George C. Tilyou's Steeplechase Park in 1897, the neighborhood's first major amusem*nt park.
Coney Island, amusem*nt and residential area in the southern part of the borough of Brooklyn, New York, U.S., fronting the Atlantic Ocean. Formerly an island, it was known to Dutch settlers as Konijn Eiland (“Rabbit Island”), which was presumably Anglicized as Coney Island.
With a sandy beach, wooden boardwalk, and dozens of attractions and rides, locals and tourists love to spend a day here for some fun in the sun. Coney Island is famous for being an amusem*nt resort – along the beach, you'll find 2 theme parks still thriving today: Luna Park and Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusem*nt Park.
The 1920s was a prosperous period for Coney Island. In 1920 the subway was extended all the way out, making the trip even faster and cheaper than before. Up to one million visitors a day would come to enjoy the beaches and the amusem*nt parks with higher and faster rides.
In Michigan, “Coney Island” doesn't mean an amusem*nt park, but one of an estimated 500 diners in the Metro Detroit area alone that serve Greek food and “Coney dogs” -- hot dogs smothered in chili or ground beef, plus mustard and onions. There are plenty more elsewhere in Michigan, across the Midwest, and beyond.
The Dutch settled Manhattan in 1624 and inhabited Coney Island soon afterward. Since the Dutch word for rabbit was "konijn" and the island had a large population of wild rabbits, many have supposed this fact to have led to the name.
The Louisiana park may be the most famous abandoned park in the country. Opened in 2000 and originally known as Jazzland, the Six Flags company scooped up the independent park and rebranded it Six Flags New Orleans in 2002.
Until old Coney was desegregated in the 1950s, it was for whites only. Two years before the Supreme Court ordered schools integrated, Marian and Donald Spencer wanted to take their sons to swim, ride the rides and enjoy what was advertised on the radio.
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and Music & Event Management, Inc.(MEMI) have announced the acquisition of all assets of Coney Island Inc. to create a new, $118 million entertainment campus. MEMI owns and operates some of Cincinnati's most popular music venues, including the Andrew J.
Coney Island is a neighborhood in New York City, New York with a population of 27,945. Coney Island is in Kings County. Living in Coney Island offers residents a dense urban feel and most residents rent their homes. In Coney Island there are a lot of bars, restaurants, coffee shops, and parks.
"Coney Islands", as they are known, are a unique type of American restaurant. The first Coney Island restaurant was opened in Jackson, Michigan, in 1914 by a Macedonian immigrant named George Todoroff.
In the early 1920's the Boardwalk was constructed and the beach expanded through filling. Many structures along the beach were torn down, and other formerly beach-front properties now found themselves several hundred feet inland.
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