We're launching the season with a special walking tour in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Dreamland Fire on Friday, May 27, at 12:15 pm. This tour will be offered again on Sunday, May 29, at 12:15 pm. Led by Charles Denson, historian and director of the Coney Island History Project, the tours will also preview the History Project's exhibition on the Dreamland Fire Centennial, set to open on Saturday, May 28, at 12 noon.

NYU Grad School Group Toured Coney Island & History Project Exhibition

Throughout the season, walking tours will be led by Charles Denson or Coney Island History Project staff. Our tour guides are professionals who live, work or play in Coney Island and have a long association with the History Project. Our tours are based on Charles Denson's award-winning book Coney Island: Lost and Found, the oral history interviews in our archive and other primary sources. For the walking tour schedule and additional information, please visit the online reservation website.

If you have a question not addressed in the FAQs on the tour reservation site or to arrange a group tour, please e-mail events@coneyislandhistory.org.

The Aftermath of the Dreamland Fire

On May 27, 1911, a huge fire illuminated the sky and sent fire companies from all over Brooklyn rushing to Coney Island. Dreamland Park was ablaze. Unlike Steeplechase Park or the Bowery which were rebuilt after being destroyed by fire, Dreamland would be no more. "The catastrophic fire happened in 1911 but its lingering aftermath still affects Coney Island land use policy a century later," said Charles Denson. "As soon as the ashes cooled, the city took over the site and has been claiming beachfront parcels ever since."

When the Coney Island History Project opens on Memorial Day Weekend, we'll commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Dreamland Fire with an exhibition of photos and a themed walking tour. Historic images of Dreamland before and after the fire will be juxtaposed with the site as it is today and how it developed over the last hundred years. The exhibit will be illuminated by oral history interviews with the 101-year-old son of the Coney Island police chief on duty that night and the granddaughter of the Coney Island fire chief who fought the blaze.

Charles Denson, History Project director and the author of Coney Island: Lost and Found, will lead a walking tour on Friday, May 27. To receive advance info on the tour, which will be by reservation, please sign up for our e-mail list.

Screenshot from "Seasons of the Cyclone" Photo © Charles Denson

"Seasons of the Cyclone" by History Project director Charles Denson is a close-up look at the Cyclone roller coaster that takes you inside the motor room and lets you walk the tracks. You can watch the video on Denson's new "Coneyologist" channel on YouTube. Also on view is "Secrets of the Universe," a six-minute short that premiered at last year's Coney Island Film Festival.

If you haven't visited the History Project's Facebook page yet, please drop by and "like" us. You can follow us year round on Facebook, twitter, flickr and our blog Ask Mr Coney Island.

Demolished: The Coney Island Bank Building

The year 2010 will be remembered as a year of transition for Coney Island. The year began on a high note with the opening of Zamperla's new Luna Park but ended on a sour note when four of the area’s few remaining historic buildings were denied landmark status and slated for demolition. The Coney Island Bank building and Shore Hotel were demolished by mid-December and Henderson’s Music Hall began its date with the wrecking ball soon after. A month earlier, the last of Coney’s old-time Boardwalk eateries were given eviction notices by Zamperla’s Central Amusement International, operators of the new Luna Park. In May, the Coney Island Arcade on West 12th Street and the Bowery was destroyed by fire. Not since the days of Robert Moses’s 1960s urban renewal projects has Coney Island experienced such radical transformation. 2010 will also be remembered for recording the hottest summer in New York’s history, with nearly every weekend bringing warm, clear, sunny weather. Coney Island has always been about the weather and the big question is whether the new businesses proposed for Coney’s Boardwalk will survive the inevitable rainy seasons ahead. We can only hope for the best.

The good news is that two historic buildings nominated for landmark status were approved. The Coney Island (Loews) Theater Building and the Childs Restaurant Building, headquarters of Coney Island USA, have been designated as landmarks.