At age 103, Coney Island resident shares her memories and secrets to a long and happy life
Born in 1920, Jeanette Bigelson grew up at 62 Cannon Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan when it was a neighborhood of working-class immigrants. She shares memories of her mother's homemade challah and noodles; friendly neighbors who kept...
Content type: Oral History Item
Sharon Tera's family operated Ethel's Restaurant on the Boardwalk in the 1940s and '50s
Born in 1947, Sharon Tera lived in Coney Island for the first 14 years of her life. Her parents, Ethel and Ise Tera, owned Ethel's Restaurant on the Boardwalk at West 19th Street. "Between my mother being Jewish and my father Japanese, we had a...
Content type: Oral History Item
Retired Coney Island arcade operator recalls his family's 30-plus years in the business
Stan Fox's family operated arcades in Coney Island from 1949 through 1981, including Playland Arcade. Born in 1944, Stan recalls his earliest memories of living in a railroad flat on Mermaid Avenue, watching the trolley cars go by, and playing in...
Content type: Oral History Item
Memories of growing up in the 1940s and '50s in a tight-knit Jewish community in Coney Island
Susan Meyer (a.k.a Dalbir Khalsa) grew up on Sea Breeze Avenue across from Seaside Park, in what she describes as a tight-knit Jewish community of East European origins. She recalls going to Washington Baths and Steeplechase Park every summer with...
Content type: Oral History Item
Former teacher at Mark Twain Junior High School recalls his Coney Island memories
Jeffrey Eisenmesser, 73, grew up in Bensonhurst in the late 1940s and early '50s. He taught English Language Arts at Mark Twain I.S. 239 in Coney Island from 1992 to 2007. His earliest memories of Coney Island are going to Washington Baths pool ...
Content type: Oral History Item
A Brooklyn native's boyhood memories of Washington Baths and Steeplechase Park
Jan Brown grew up in Brooklyn where his family spent summers at Washington Baths in Coney Island. His parents, who had met at Washington Baths, played handball and his father was a professional model and bodybuilder. Brown describes the atmosphere...
Content type: Oral History Item
Juilliard trained musician whose family owned Washington Baths
José Beth Smolensky, born in 1927, describes growing up working for the Washington Baths, her family's Coney Island business. Her father, Harry Smolensky had high standards for cleanliness and kept the baths open for a longer season than most....
Content type: Oral History Item
87-year-old remembers the Nickel Empire
Joseph Albanese returns to Coney Island after seventy years to talk about his memories of growing up there. He used to steam at the Washington Baths with his family, eat at Nathan's, and go on all the rides (including the train to get there)...
Content type: Oral History Item
Locker Boy at Oriole Baths who hung out at Washington Baths with his friends
Marty Reich spent his teenage years as a locker boy at Oriole Baths on 16th Street and the beach, handing out towels and soap. He went to Oriole Baths with his family, but hung out at Washington Baths with his friends. His uncle, a champion...
Content type: Oral History Item
Page 10-11 of Chamber of Commerce book: Mother, May I Go Out and Swim?
Description of the beachside, bathing and bath house culture on Coney Island. Specific attention is placed on Washington Baths, one of Coney Island's most popular bath houses....
Content type: Collection Item
Collection type: Book