Coney Island
What is the historical significance of Coney Island?
What was the role of amusement parks in Coney Island’s golden age?
What led to the decline of Coney Island after World War II?
What are some of the notable landmarks at Coney Island?
Coney Island, amusement and residential area in the southern part of the borough of Brooklyn, New York, U.S., facing the Atlantic Ocean. Formerly an island, it was known to Dutch settlers as Konijn Eiland (“Rabbit Island”), which was presumably Anglicized as Coney Island. It became part of Long Island after Coney Island Creek silted up to form a sandbar (about 5 miles [8 km] long and 0.25–1 mile [0.4–1.6 km] wide) between Gravesend Bay (north), Sheepshead Bay (east), and Lower Bay (south).
Coney Island developed into one of the United States’ best-known amusement areas at the turn of the 20th century. The amusement industry declined after World War II, but a partial revival beginning in the early 21st century helped to revitalize the neighborhood. Coney Island remains one of New York City’s most distinctive public spaces, known for its beach and boardwalk, amusement parks, historic rides such as the Cyclone roller coaster and the Wonder Wheel (a Ferris wheel), and the New York Aquarium.
Early history and development
Before European settlement, the area was inhabited by Indigenous peoples, including Lenape communities that occupied much of present-day New York City and its surrounding area. During the colonial era Coney Island remained sparsely populated. By the early 19th century, however, as ferry and carriage access improved, it became home to several competing hotels that catered to wealthy New York City families drawn to its secluded seaside setting. By the late 19th century railways and steamships brought increasing numbers of visitors, and Coney Island developed into three adjacent resort districts catering to different classes: Manhattan Beach for wealthy socialites, Brighton Beach for the upper middle class, and West Brighton for working- and middle-class visitors.
The golden age
From the 1890s through the early 1900s, Coney Island’s development was closely tied to three amusement parks: Steeplechase Park, Luna Park, and Dreamland. Their precursor was Sea Lion Park, opened in the mid-1890s by Paul Boyton. Sea Lion Park is widely regarded as the first enclosed, admission-charging amusement park in the United States.
The earliest of the three major parks was Steeplechase Park, opened by George C. Tilyou in 1897 on the beach between West 16th and West 19th streets. Inspired by Sea Lion Park and by the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, it featured a roller coaster in which patrons straddled horse-shaped carts in imitation of a horse race. Although the original ride no longer survives, a modern attraction inspired by it still operates in Coney Island.
Luna Park, built by Frederic Thompson and Elmer (“Skip”) Dundy, opened in 1903 on the site of Sea Lion Park. Its imaginative architecture, including glowing minarets and towers lit with electric lights, quickly drew large crowds and influenced the design of amusement parks throughout the United States. Its rides included A Trip to the Moon and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which simulated journeys through outer space and beneath the ocean, respectively.
The third park, Dreamland, opened in 1904 under developer William H. Reynolds and attempted to outdo Luna Park through even more grandiose architecture. It also featured roller coasters and a replica of Venice complete with canals and gondolas. However, Dreamland was destroyed by a fire in 1911 and was never rebuilt.
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Another significant milestone in Coney Island’s development was the completion of the Riegelmann Boardwalk (originally called the Coney Island Boardwalk) in 1923. Running along the Atlantic beachfront, it improved access to the beach and helped accommodate growing numbers of visitors. It would ultimately become one of Coney Island’s most recognizable features.
Luna Park, like Dreamland before it, was damaged by fire in August 1944, leading to its closure. Although the area was in general decline by this point, the relocation of the New York Aquarium from Castle Clinton to Coney Island in 1957 brought visitors and revenue to the neighborhood, and some rides continued to operate independently. Steeplechase Park was the longest-lived of the three parks, operating until 1964.
Decline
Coney Island remained popular during the Great Depression as the “Nickel Empire,” a place where people of modest means could enjoy themselves. New development largely ceased after the stock market crash of 1929, however, and after World War II the area entered a prolonged period of decline driven by economic and demographic shifts as well as government policy.
New York City’s powerful parks commissioner Robert Moses was not enthusiastic about Coney Island’s amusement culture, considering it boisterous and preferring quieter recreational environments. By the late 1940s he was pushing to make Coney Island an increasingly residential area dominated by housing projects. After the closure of Steeplechase Park in 1964, the Tilyou family sold the site in 1965 to Fred Trump, who intended to use the land for residential development. When he was unable to secure the necessary zoning approvals, the city acquired the property the following year. Despite these changes, Astroland, a space-age–themed amusement park that had opened in 1962, helped sustain Coney Island’s amusement industry for decades until its closure in 2008.
Revival and contemporary Coney Island
Various redevelopment proposals circulated during the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s without significant results. Amid the area’s broader economic decline, the Cyclone roller coaster narrowly escaped demolition in the late 1970s thanks to preservation efforts by the public.
Meaningful revitalization began with the opening of a minor-league baseball stadium in 2001 on the former Steeplechase Park site. The stadium, now known as Maimonides Park, marked the return of professional baseball to Brooklyn for the first time since the Dodgers left for Los Angeles after the 1957 season. It is home to the Brooklyn Cyclones, a New York Mets affiliate.
A new Luna Park, operated by Central Amusement International and unconnected to the original, opened in 2010 and has since expanded with modern steel coasters alongside the historic Cyclone. New residential development has continued in the area, and the New York Aquarium has expanded with contemporary exhibits. Although Coney Island’s amusement parks have long been surpassed in size and modernity by larger parks elsewhere in the United States, Coney Island remains a culturally distinct public space frequented by millions of New York City residents and visitors annually.
Rides and landmarks
Coney Island is home to several historic rides and structures that have survived from the early 20th century.
The Cyclone
The Cyclone, a wooden roller coaster constructed in 1927 by Harry C. Baker and Vernon Keenan, is located at the corner of Surf Avenue and West 10th Street. It remains one of Coney Island’s most recognizable attractions and gave its name to the Brooklyn Cyclones minor-league baseball team. It was designated a New York City landmark in 1988 and listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places in 1991.
Deno’s Wonder Wheel
The Wonder Wheel, invented by Charles Hermann and built in 1920 by the Eccentric Ferris Wheel Company, stands 150 feet (46 meters) tall and weighs 200 tons. It features 24 cars, 16 of which swing on a serpentine track while 8 remain stationary. In 1983 Denos D. Vourderis purchased the wheel and made it the centerpiece of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, which his family continues to operate. More than 35 million rides have been given since its construction, and it was designated a New York City landmark in 1989.
The Parachute Jump
The Parachute Jump, often called the “Eiffel Tower of Brooklyn,” was originally erected for the 1939–40 New York World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, Queens, where it was sponsored by the Life Savers Candy Company. Created by U.S. Navy Comdr. James H. Strong, the 262-foot (80-meter) steel tower carried riders in parachute seats to the top before dropping them in a controlled descent. After the fair it was moved to Steeplechase Park in 1941. It ceased operation in 1964 and was designated a New York City landmark in 1989. Although it has not functioned as a ride in decades, the structure was restored and fitted with more than 8,000 LED lights in 2013.
Nathan’s Famous
Nathan’s Famous, an iconic hot dog restaurant, was founded by Nathan Handwerker in 1916. Handwerker had worked for Charles Feltman, whose Surf Avenue business helped popularize the sale of sausages served in buns. After opening a competing stand a few blocks away, Handwerker built Nathan’s into Coney Island’s best-known hot dog restaurant, a distinction it retains today.