Happy Holidays from the Coney Island History Project! As 2023 comes to a close, we're grateful for our friends and supporters.
Highlights from this year include:
• Opening our exhibition center season with a special exhibit about the past, present, and future of the 100-year-old Riegelmann Boardwalk
• Presenting outdoor exhibits at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park, including an installation of history panels in front of the Astroland Moon Rocket and history banners adjacent to the Wheel and below the Phoenix Roller Coaster
• Celebrating Coney Island’s 200th anniversary by displaying and honoring Coney Island’s oldest surviving artifact, the 200-year-old Coney Island Toll House sign that dates to 1823 and is the centerpiece of our collection
• Recording new oral histories for our multilingual online archive, which now has over 460 interviews with people who have lived or worked in Coney Island and nearby neighborhoods of Southern Brooklyn or have a special connection to these places
• Publishing Salvation by the Sea: Immigrants, Coney Island, and The Fresh Air Cure, by Charles Denson. A book about the Coney Island "Seaside Homes" built by charities during the late 1800s and early 1900s to provide a summer respite for immigrant mothers and their children
• Producing a special event featuring master paper cutter Ming Liang Lu recalling the tradition of Coney Island's silhouette cutters of the past. In the plaza in front of the History Project, visitors were invited to have their portrait cut free of charge and view portraits as they were being created
• Connecting with the community by offering free events such as our Coney Island History Show and Tell reminiscence event via Zoom and our Immigrant Heritage Walking Tour of Coney Island as part of Immigrant Heritage Week
Your donation or membership today will help support our 501(c)(3) nonprofit's free exhibits, oral history archive, and community programming as we enter our 20th year.
We’re counting the days until we meet again in Coney Island for the 2024 season!
Charles Denson, Executive Director
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