Coney Island History Project

Happy Thanksgiving  from All of Us at the Coney Island History Project!
Content type: News Article
Twenty years ago today, Coney Island's original Thunderbolt roller coaster was demolished. "Giuliani Razed Roller Coaster, And the Law" wrote Dan Barry in the NY Times in 2003, when "a federal jury in Manhattan ruled that the city had no...
Content type: News Article
The Tornado -- Whirlwind Scenic Ride --Coney Island, NY. Postcard from the Coney Island History Project Collection. Listen online to the Coney Island History Project's new oral history with Michael Liff. He shares stories of growing up in Coney...
Content type: News Article
Happy International Podcast Day! Listen to the Coney Island History Project's new oral history podcast. The first episodes feature immigrant stories from our archive, including oral histories of restaurants and food stand owners and operators, ...
Content type: News Article
Charles Denson at the silenced Wonder Wheel, 2020, "a season like no other." For the first time in history, Coney Island has lost an entire season. As Labor Day weekend arrived and faded, amusements remained shuttered and people began wondering...
Content type: News Article
On August 16th, we'd ordinarily say Happy National Roller Coaster Day and propose celebrating with a ride on the Coney Island Cyclone.  Since New York's amusement park rides, including the Cyclone, have been closed this season by state executive...
Content type: News Article
Paul Boyton's Sea Lion Park in 1895. © Coney Island History Project Collection. One hundred and twenty-five years ago today, on July 4, 1895, Paul Boyton opened Coney Island's and North America's first enclosed amusement park, Sea Lion Park,...
Content type: News Article
New on our YouTube channel: Charles Denson's Mermaid Avenue in the 1950's brings together photos from the Coney Island History Project Collection and the voices of Michael "Looch" Goldstein and Stanley Fox. They grew up at opposite ends of Mermaid...
Content type: News Article
When the NY Pause order went into effect in mid-March, the Coney Island History Project suspended all in-person events and activities and focused on creating new online content, including videos, blogs, oral histories, and additions to our...
Content type: News Article
Richard Termini's earliest memories are of playing under the El on New Utrecht Avenue in Bensonhurst, where his family operated Termini's Bakery. Founded by his grandfather Giuseppe 'Joe' Termini in Manhattan in the early years of the 20th century,...
Content type: News Article