Coney Island: Where the Twentieth Century Began

In early September 1609 explorer Henry Hudson sighted a barren island five miles south of Manhattan spotted with sand dunes and stretching five miles along the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. Little did he know that less than three hundred years later the island would become a haven for the hard working laborer and his family hoping to spend a day of leisure outside of the hustle and bustle of the modern world. By 1904 the island was home to three technologically advanced amusement parks that attracted millions of Americans, many of whom saved up for a year just to spend a day with their family in a place that showcased the reforming of society and the new technological breakthroughs.

By the 1880s part of Coney Island had become a sinful place. The island attracted gamblers, prostitutes, con men, and other common criminals. The island lacked a police force making it a dangerous place. It was not uncommon for a pedestrian to be beaten up for his wallet and wristwatch. Bar and restaurant owners often ripped off customers. Eventually a police force was established and a lot of the bad on Coney Island was driven off the island.

Around the same time that one end of the island was overridden with a sorty group of people, the other end was a popular destination for the higher class rich people. Three luxury hotels were built to cater to the needs of anyone who could afford to stay there. The hotels featured exquisite cuisine and famous performers such as John Phillip Sousa and Admiral Neuendorf's Naval Band. The hotels popularity continued to grow as salt water bathing became popular. They built bathing pavilions along the beaches and the rich just could not get enough. On weekends when visitors would arrive by the trainload the hotels had to set up cots in the hotels corridors to accommodate the vast number of visitors.

The rich patronizing the hotels wanted a race track for the area. Each Sunday there were many unofficial horse races on the island and in 1879 William Engeman formed the Brighton Beach Racing Association and in just six weeks built Coney Island's first racetrack. After that other tracks were built on the island. The races became an essential part to the development of the island because the races attracted people form all walks of life.

As part of the island began to become a popular destination for the rich, many millionaires built homes along the Northern shore of Coney island. Along with their homes they built docks for their yachts and stables for their horses. They patronized three great restaurants that they had built there.

Although many of forms of the entertainment industry blanketed Coney Island, the island was most known for its amusement parks. The island's pioneer park, Sea Lion Park, was created by Captain Paul Boyton. Captain Boyton had gained fame by pulling off many aquatic feats such as long distance swims and survival in water tight suits during harsh storms on the ocean. He had traveled the world showing off his skills but in 1895 bought sixteen acres of land on Coney and created Sea Lion Park. It was the first outdoor amusement park in the world. The park featured a broad lagoon, old-mill water ride, and Shoot the Chutes ride among many other attractions. The captain himself had his own show there in which he recreated some of his feats and showed off forty sea lions which were trained to juggle and compete in water races. Sea Lion Park was home to what many considered the scariest ride on Coney Island. It was called the Flip Flop Railroad. On it two passengers would descend a large lift hill in a small car and go upside down in a twenty-five foot loop. Many preferred to just watch the few daredevils who dared ride it. In 1899 a large ballroom was added on to the park which helped to increase its popularity. Unfortunately, partly because of the park's lack of new attractions which prevented repeat customers the park began to go bankrupt. In the summer of 1902 seventy days out of the ninety two day season were rainy. This added to the park's financial woes and Captain Boyton was forced to lease his land for twenty five years to Thompson and Dundy from Steeplechase Park.

The next theme park to open on Coney Island was Steeplechase Park. It was founded by George Cornelius Taylor. In 1893 he had traveled to the world's Columbian Exposition for his honeymoon. While he was there he tried to buy the ferris wheel on the spot but it had already been sold. Since he couldn't have that ferris wheel he purchased a different one, outfitted it with electric lights and brought it to Coney Island. He was able to sell enough concession space to pay for the wheel. The ferris wheel became a hit and George Taylor began constructing various other attractions scattered among the island. Eventually he realized that like Sea Lion Park it is more profitable to build rides together. In his park he built simulated horse races, Venetian canals, scenic railroad, a ballroom among other attractions. He created several things to amuse audiences at the expense of unwary guests. He also created different attractions that would cause men and women to come in contact with eachother. In July of 1907 someone threw a lighted cigarette into a waste receptacle in cave of the winds triggering a large fire that destroyed most of the park. The fire's losses totaled $1,404,000.

A bigger and better Steeplechase park was built and stayed open until 1964. The only remaining attraction from the park is the parachute tower.

The next park to open on Coney Island was Luna Park. It was created by Thompson and Dundy who became famous for their cyclorama show "A Trip to the Moon". They took advantage of Captain Boyton's misfortune and leased the land where Sea Lion Park was for twenty-five years. The park opened on May 16, 1903. The park featured "A Trip to the Moon" ride, Naval battles recreations, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea submarine ride, Shoot the Chutes ride, and several other attractions. In 1944 the park burned. Damages exceeded a half a million dollars and thirty-five people were injured. The remaining parts of the park were opened for the remaining four weeks of the season but were then sold. In 1946 the remaining part of the park burned and the area was made into a parking lot and low cost housing development.

The other early amusement park on Coney Island was dreamland. It was created by several New York political figures. They were hoping to outdo both Steeplechase and Luna Park. Many of their attractions were copied from the other parks. The park featured many live performances and different cultural rides. The park never became the success that its politician creators had hoped it would be. Many of its visitors were not educated enough to understand the cultural aspects of the park. In May of 1911 a fire broke out in Hell gates. Water pressure ran low and the fire began to spread. The entire park was destroyed and never rebuilt.

Today Coney Island is mostly developed. It is still home to a few amusement parks but it will likely never again hold the same meeting that it did to Americans at the turn of the century.