Memories of growing up in Coney Island Houses in the 1950s and early '60s
Alan Kirschenbaum grew up in Coney Island Houses, where he was among the original tenants of Coney’s first superblock high-rise housing project. "Growing up in Coney Island Houses and in Coney Island was a really wonderful experience" he says. "And...
Content type: Oral History Item
Memories of working at the Tornado roller coaster and other Coney Island rides and games in the 1970s
Michael Liff recalls growing up in Coney Island across the street from the New York Aquarium and working in the amusement area as a teen in the 1970's. His first job was taking plush animals by handcart from the Surf Avenue warehouse of Harry ...
Content type: Oral History Item
Memories of working at Astroland's Neptune Diving Bells in the summer of 1964
Patrick Phillips recalls the summer of 1964, when he was a college student from Florida spending his summer working at Astroland's Neptune Diving Bells for his father's friend, Robert Coffey. He describes his job maintaining the complicated...
Content type: Oral History Item
The Neptune Diving Bells was an early addition to the Astroland amusement park. Each of the two diving bells, situated in a 50,000 gallon tank, could carry 15 passengers to a depth of 30 feet where fish and two 500 pound porpoises could be observed...
Content type: Collection Item
Collection type: Documentary photograph
Roller coaster aficionado
Bobby talks about being a young "urban explorer" in the 70's when Coney Island was "dirty and scary and rough" but still alluring. He remembers many of the attractions that no longer exist in Coney Island such as the bobsled...
Content type: Oral History Item