What is the significance of coney island

The Gilded Age saw the rise of a tawdry district known as West Brighton, developed under the corrupt guidance of John McKane, a developer who schemed to be named Commissioner of the Common Lands, giving him control over all construction. Starting in , the Iron Steamboat Company brought West Brighton visitors to the new Iron Pier, its narrow walk packed with seedy hotels, saloons, and music halls.

The hind legs had spiral staircases up to the 31 rooms in the torso, and the front legs contained a cigar store and diorama. The hotel, like much of Coney Island, had a short life, and burned down in after being abandoned. Neither were fans of McKane, and George would be the only person to testify against the corrupt developer in his first trial, leading to the loss of the Surf House and exile of both Tilyous from Coney Island until McKane was finally sentenced to six years in Sing Sing in That pony-playing reputation ended in when government regulations curtailed gambling at the races, taking much of the fun out of the sport.

The Steeplechase ride at Steeplechase Park. Steeplechase—The Funny Place, as it was advertised—was not the first amusement park at Coney Island, though. That distinction goes to Sea Lion Park, which Paul Boyton, a famed swimmer who had crossed the English Channel in an inflatable suit, opened in as a walled amusement area with a single ticket for entry.

The aquatic-themed park featured the Shoot-the-Chutes, a toboggan that raced down ramps into a lagoon; performing sea lions; and a ride called Cages of Wild Wolves; as well as Boynton himself, posing in the inflatable suit.

Inspired, Tilyou opened Steeplechase Park two years later, with more elaborate and physical rides. Strangely, there was a booth where visitors could rent clown suits and mingle with the park employees who were garbed in animal costumes. The most popular ride was the namesake Steeplechase, in which visitors rode four mechanical, life-size horses on a track circling the glassed Pavilion of Fun.

The audience, comprised of previous riders, all laughed uproariously at what they themselves had just experienced. During this period, fires were not uncommon at Coney Island, thanks to flimsy park construction and ocean winds, and when one burned much of Steeplechase Park, the enterprising Tilyou offered admission to the smoldering ruins for 10 cents, quickly earning enough to rebuild. A modern park, Astroland, opened in and it closed in A few other rides still operate during the summer or on weekends.

On a single day in , the post office at Coney Island postmarked over , post cards. Luna Park. Amusement Parks in America. New York 1. Rockefeller Center.

New York 2. My second primary source is a photo from displaying men grilling up hotdogs by the dozens, as well as other amusement park foods. I really like this photo because not only is it showing how busy the food stands were at Coney Island in the early 20 th century, but it also shows that the typical park food we think of now date back many decades ago. Therefore, this picture will serve as a nice visual piece in my guidebook entry.

This source is also another photograph, because I truly believe a picture is worth a thousand words. In this photo from , we can see a mother and her babies sitting on the beach and many people in the background.

Even though this photo is on Coney Island Beach and not the actual amusement park, it still displays how crowed the area was with people enjoying themselves by the ocean. Therefore, not only was the amusement park and boardwalk very popular, but the beach was as well, even before the opening of Dreamland Park. This book primarily focuses on Coney Island because the author grew up in the neighborhood. Therefore, this source will give me a personalized understanding of how the area came to be.

He has included many historical, as well as recent photos, and explores Coney Island from its first inhabitants to the amusement park of his present time. This book will be a useful feature for my guidebook entry because the author chose to wrote about Coney Island in the sense that it is part of the American experience. This source is a website that is written by history professor, Dr.

John Parascandola. The historical information will serve as very important facts for the start of the guidebook entry, because one has to understand the historical roots of an area before understanding its thriving time period.

To enter the park, for example, visitors had to walk through the Barrel of Fun, a rolling barrel that tossed them around and into each other. Even more daring for the time was the Blowhole Theater, located at the end of the Steeplechase ride. The spectacular Luna Park opened on May 16, There were elephant and camel rides, a two-hundred foot tower with lights that changed color, and replicas of many cultures including Japan, Ireland, and Italy.

Luna Park, which relied upon carefully constructed illusion and manipulation of its audience, tended to attract a slightly more affluent crowd than the more physically-based Steeplechase. The park opened in , and was designed to be a grander, even more sophisticated version of Luna Park.

As magnificent as the park was, however, it was not a financial success. Dreamland soon went bankrupt and was sold at auction in It never had another chance to succeed as a fire in largely destroyed the park. Surf Avenue and Steeplechase at Night Early 20th century. Coney was at its peak during the years that the three major amusement parks dominated the scene. It was the major tourist destination in America.

Crowds routinely topped , In contrast, Disney World has never reached this figure. As John Kasson has argued, Coney in this period reflected major changes in American society, with the emergence of a new mass culture, one in opposition to the more genteel standards in taste and comportment of the Victorian era.

The activities available at Coney, such as bathing, dancing, vaudeville and circus acts, mechanical rides, and exotic attractions all catered to this new cultural mood. It was becoming a symbol of fun and frolic, and also of major changes in American manners and morals.