Coney Island: America's playground
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people visit historic Coney Island, long a summer destination for millions of working class New Yorkers for generations. New York City's world-famous recreational area has been called "America's Playground" and "Sodom by the Sea." In its Golden hey day it was the symbol of America at play and continues to a be a draw each summer.
It's truly didn't start to flourish till sea bathing became popular in the 1800s. Soon after the Civil War, hotels and restaurants sprung up. By the 1860s it was already billed as the best beach on the East coast and was attracting 25,000 to 30,000 visitors each summer weekend. The first roller coaster ever built in the U.S. was the LaMarcus Thompson's Switchback Gravity Railway in the resort area in 1884. When workers started to get half days off on Saturdays in the 1880s the increased leisure time for Americans was a boon for the area.
This aerial view shows sunbathers and swimmers at Coney Island in Brooklyn on Independence Day, July 4, 1961. In the background, behind the Boardwalk, is the Steeplechase parachute ride at the amusement park.
Coney Island
As places like Coney Island became more popular for men and women to swim together, there was more pressure on men to put on a bathing suit. And what they ended up putting on was a one-piece that was like trunks and an undershirt together all in one piece. Women at this time still tended to be dressed up in a body-covering clothes.
A bathing suit-clad woman and a swimming instructor are pictured on a beach in New York City in 1898.
Coney Island
A panoramic photo of Coney Island, 1910.
Coney Island
Two passengers on the Parachute Jump ride see throngs of people on the boardwalk and beach at the Coney Island Amusement Park in Brooklyn, July 1, 1957. The Atlantic Ocean is also visible as they ride to the top of the tower.
The development of amusements parks led to a booming midway in Coney Island.
Coney Island
Luna Park, the second of the three major amusement parks, opened on May 16, 1903. It was lit by nearly 250,000 lights and included attractions such as a ride to the moon and "Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea."
Coney Island, in Luna Park, circa 1910-1915
Coney Island
The third major amusement park, Dreamland, opened in 1904 signaling Coney Island's heyday. It had a strong voyeuristic theme with a wild animal arena, midget city and one show with infant incubators (some preemies' lives were actually saved). The park went bankrupt, was sold in 1910, then destroyed in a fire in 1911.
Coney Island, a free show, circa 1910-1915
Coney Island
A view from the Steeplechase Pier shows part of the crowded beach at Coney Island August 28, 1948. In the background beyond the boardwalk is the ferris wheel, center, and the Cyclone roller coaster at right.
Coney Island
The Blowhole Theater, of which the main aim was to blow women's skirts, was like many other attractions meant to let visitors make fun of themselves and each other.
His Scottish costume gives Dr. Loe Wollman the full effect of the floor blower as Freddie, tramp clown, turns it on in the fun house at Steeplechase Park in Coney Island on June 22, 1960.
Coney Island
Winter sunbathing draws a crowd to the boardwalk in Coney Island on February 27, 1952.
The chairs are rented by the hour. Some of the well-covered sunbathers, like the man in the foreground, also rent reflectors to increase the warmth of the winter sun rays.
Coney Island
Mona Pivar's figure takes on a new twist only slightly related to the shape in front of the the "funny" mirror at Coney Island on July 1, 1958.
The resort area experienced a decline in the 50s and 60s with other entertainment competing for people's leisure time and problems with street gangs. Luna Park had closed in 1946 and Steeplechase Park shutdown in 1964. Astroland, Deno's Wonder Wheel, The Cyclone and smaller amusements remained along the boardwalk.
Coney Island
A summer romance on the beach at Coney Island, July 27, 1961.
Coney Island
The eyes of his audience are upon him as Robert F. Kennedy, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from New York, campaigns at famed Coney Island, September 13, 1964.
The allure of the crowds drew politicians of all stripes to Coney Island over the years.
Astroland
Jackqueline and Barry Norman, foreground, of England, join members of the American Coaster Enthusiasts for a ride on the Cyclone roller coaster at Astroland Park in Coney Island, August 30, 1992.
Astroland
The entrance to Astroland Park is seen from the boardwalk at night at Coney Island, September 7, 2008.
Astroland closed in 2008 and new versions of Dreamland and Luna Park opened in subsequent years while in the background politicians, developers and the community debated ad battled the resort area's future.
Hot Dog Eating Contest
Joey Chestnut ( C) wins the 98th annual 2014 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island on July 4, 2014 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
Chesnut won his eighth straight Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest with 61 hot dogs.
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Beachgoers cram the Coney Island, July 4, 2002.
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Kendra Zimmerman sits by billboards at Coney Island, September 9, 2007.
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People in bathing suits run into the ocean during the annual Coney Island Polar Bear Club New Year's Day swim on January 1, 2016 in Brooklyn.
The Coney Island Polar Bear Club claims to be the oldest winter bathing organization in the U.S. and attracts hundreds to the beach for the annual swim in the Atlantic Ocean.
Coney Island
People gather on opening day of the new Luna Park amusement area at Coney Island on the first day of the Memorial Day weekend May 29, 2010 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
In 2010, a new Luna Park amusement park opened on the former grounds of the famed Astroland as part of the revitalization plans for Coney Island.
Coney Island
Only his face exposed to the sun, Brian Suarez, 9, stays cool by staying under the sand on the beach at Coney Island, August 2, 2006.
Coney Island
People walk on the beach at Coney Island in front of the famed Wonder Wheel, May 27, 2013.
It was the first weekend that city beaches re-opened to the public following devastatingly destructive Superstorm Sandy with warm weather drawing flocks of crowds on Memorial Day.
Coney Island
Kids fly through the air on a ride July 2, 2010 in.
The Coney Island amusement area includes 50 or more separate rides and attractions these days.
Coney Island
Revelers march during the 2013 Mermaid Parade at Coney Island on June 22, 2013 in Brooklyn.
Coney Island was hard hit by Superstorm Sandy but parade organizers, whose offices were flooded, were able to raise $100,000 on Kickstarter to fund the parade.
The Mermaid Parade began in 1983 and features participants dressed as mermaids and other sea creatures while paying homage to the former tradition of the Coney Island Mardi Gras, which ran annually in the early fall from 1903-1954.
Coney Island
The well-known hot dog eatery celebrates its 100th birthday on the Coney Island boardwalk May 28, 2016. The beachfront hot dog stand opened in 1916 and held its first hot-dog eating contest that same year.
Thousands gather at Coney Island to witness the Nathan's Famous July 4th Hot Dog Eating Contest, July 4, 2009.
Coney Island
Don, left, and Angela Boerem, of Queens, take a stroll on the Coney Island boardwalk, July 3, 2015.