Coney Island

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
We're thrilled that the Coney Island History Project's Oral History Archive is featured in The New York Times virtual things to do "At Home" section! You can still enjoy Coney Island this season thanks to the Coney Island History Project. Listen...
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Today, June 7th, 2020, was to have been the Coney Island History Project and Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park's 9th Annual History Day celebration on the Boardwalk with performances by musicians and dancers paying tribute to Coney Island's...
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Today we thank business owners and their employees who are staying open so that we can stay at home and stay safe. Among the Coney Island History Project's online archive of oral history interviews are a pharmacist, a restaurant chef, and a...
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Throwback Thursday photo of the Rocky Road to Dublin, circa 1909, from the Coney Island History Project Collection. This scenic railway coaster ride, with its dramatic crenelated towers, was located on the current site of Brightwater Towers on...
Content type: News Article
Coney Island History Project Oral History Archive
Due to the COVID-19 emergency, the Coney Island History Project has postponed walking tours, group visits to our exhibition center, events at schools and senior centers, and in-person oral history interviews from March 14, 2020 until further...
Content type: News Article
Three years ago today, our friend Cesar Rafael, a Coney Island amusement operator since 1979, passed away. This oral history was recorded by Charles Denson for the Coney Island History Project in 2005. "My heart will always be in Coney Island," says...
Content type: News Article
Today in Coney Island History: On March 2, 1889, Congressional statute established a lighthouse at Norton's Point on the western end of Coney Island. 2011 photo by Charles Denson from the Coney Island History Project Collection. Charles Denson,...
Content type: News Article