Coney Island Ruins


In the early part of this century Coney Island was bigger than Disneyland. A million visitors came a day during the summer of 1920. Between 1897 and 1904 three amusement parks opened: Steeplechase Park, Luna Park and Dreamland.

Steeplechase Park had as its main attraction the Steeplechase Race, a ride where visitors rode on mechanical horses on iron rails. Clowns with electric rods or paddles met them at the end of the ride for the amusement of those who already suffered. Luna Park features a Trip to the Moon, a theater show where one went on a trip into outer space (it's hard to imagine this before movies and special effects). Plus Luna's Infant Incubators, where you could see premature babies. And Dreamland had such attractions as Leap-Frog Railway, the Fall of Pompeii and the Fighting Flames.

Dreamland Park was destroyed by fire in 1911. Luna Park also burned to the ground in 1944. Jones Beach opened in 1929 and with the automobile and the opening of new parkways the crowds went elsewhere. Urban renewal in the 50's and 60's made Coney Island a more residential community and Steeplechase Park and the Parachute Jump finally closed in 1964.

Today, Coney Island still draws hundreds of thousands of people to its beach on hot summer days. The Wonder Wheel, built in 1920, the Cyclone roller coaster, built in 1927, and the B&B Carousel still operate, while the Parachute Jump and the Thunderbolt roller coaster stand abandoned. A small amusement park opened on the site of Steeplechase Park in the 70's but eventually closed, leaving many of the rides to slowly decay.

I've been collecting the stories people have sent. Here are a few:

"I remember Steeplechase Park when I was a young kid and enjoyed and loved that park. Still to this day I tell stories about Steeplechase to my young cousins in Brooklyn. I tell them they missed one of the great wonders. I remember having a round ticket and the ride attendant man use to punch out each hole with a paper circle puncher, for each ride. It was a nice place at one time. I miss it. I am forty six years old and watched steeplechase come down, it was a very sad day in my heart."

"I work as a train conductor at the Stillwell Avenue Station and get to look at the remaining community everyday. Although there is obvious decline, there is still a charm and beauty to Coney Island like nowhere else."