Yesterday we were saddened to learn of the death of Rabbi Abraham Abraham, who died on May 18. He was the leader of the Ice Breakers Winter Ocean Swimmers of Brighton Beach, a group that broke away from the Polar Bear Club in the 1990s. "The Rabbi" was a Coney Island original and will be missed.
A graveside funeral will be held today, May 19, at 2 pm at Beth David Cemetery in Elmont, Queens
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.
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 new exhibition center will be open 1 to 6 pm on Saturday, April 16 and Sunday, April 17. Admission is free of charge. On Sunday, starting at 11 am with the 33-year-old family tradition of the "Blessing of the Rides," Deno's Wonder Wheel Park will host an opening day celebration. Hope to see you at the festivities!
You'll find the Coney Island History Project's new exhibition center under the Wonder Wheel's iconic entrance sign on Denos D. Vourderis Place (West 12th Street), just a few steps off the Boardwalk. Our regular exhibition season is from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day. Hours are 1 to 6 pm on Saturdays, Sunday and holidays. The exhibit center is open year-round by appointment for schools and groups. For additional info, 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.
John Rea, currently an advertising professional and adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts, began his career as a teenage sign painter in Coney Island. He also talks about working for his father in Peluso Machine and Iron Works Shop, which manufactured replacement parts for Coney's rides.
Michael Onorato is the son of James Onorato, who was the general manager of Steeplechase for 36 years. Michael remembers the park in vivid detail and describes growing up there, including a start-to-finish account of going on the Parachute Jump.
During the season and throughout the year, people are invited to record their Coney Island memories for our Oral History Archive. We hope you'll stop by or make an appontment to share your story. You may schedule an interview in advance by emailing info@coneyislandhistory.org.
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.
Since the Coney Island History Project's inception in 2004 with a portable recording booth on the Boardwalk, followed by the opening of the Coney Island Hall of Fame in 2005 and the inaugural season of our exhibition center under the Cyclone in 2007, we have proudly offered "Free Admission for One and All!" at our exhibits and events.
In 2011, the History Project will continue that tradition at a new exhibition center in the heart of Deno's Wonder Wheel Park.
We are grateful to the Vourderis family for inviting us to set up history exhibits in locations around their park, and to the Albert family for their ongoing support as the History Project continues its mission of recording oral histories with people who lived, worked, and played in Coney Island. Come visit us at the Wonder Wheel in 2011!
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.
Scott Fitlin's gruff exterior often overshadowed his incredibly sharp mind. He was Coney to the core, the third generation of a family that operated on the Bowery for nearly a century, and a wealth of information about Coney Island history. He never backed down from a fight and never compromised when it came to the sound and style of his Eldorado Skooter ride. DJ Scotty was decadent, caring, funny as hell, and in the end, a lost soul. Here is a short excerpt from a series of longer conversations recorded over the years between Scott and History Project director Charles Denson.
Selections from longer interviews will soon be posted in our oral history archive.
Over the weekend, we were saddened to learn of the death of our friend Jack Ward, who died September 3 at the age of 66. Jack was an advisory board member of the Coney Island History Project and was also our Surf Avenue neighbor, having moved his law practice back to Coney Island in 2000. As the grandson of Coney pioneer William J. Ward, he managed Ward Realty, representing the last of the original land grant families owning property in Coney Island. In 2008, Jack and his wife, Mary Beth, accepted the Coney Island Hall of Fame Award for his grandfather at a ceremony at our exhibit center.
In a 2007 interview for the Coney Island History Project’s Oral History Archive, Jack Ward recounted his family’s long history in Coney Island. He begins with his great grandfather John Ward's purchase of beachfront property at 12th Street and Surf Avenue in 1879 and continues through his grandfather William J. Ward's participation in the development of the Half Moon Hotel and the Wonder Wheel. Jack’s grandfather, William J. Ward, was president of the Bank of Coney Island and a founding member of the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce. The Wards also built Coney's first boardwalk and operated Ward's Kiddie park for half a century. You can listen to the audio interview with CIHP Director Charles Denson here.