About Heart of Coney Island

Years ago, I came across a spectacular nighttime photograph of a place called Dreamland. Why wasn't this fairy tale image in any history textbook? Curiosity got the best of me. Just like that, Alice went down the rabbit hole.
What awaited was a fascinating world that few people know once existed in New York City. Wild entrepreneurs joined forces with mechanical engineers to invent the roller coaster, the modern carousel, and rides deemed so thrilling but dangerous that they are now preserved only as schematics in patent filings. Millionaire gamblers rubbed shoulders with politicians and Broadway stars. A determined young German immigrant - ridiculed by the medical establishment for his idea of using 'incubators' to save prematurely-born babies - resorted to funding his live-saving facility by operating it as a freak show at an amusement park. Upper class families went looking for resorts or a thrill. Working class singles dressed up and escaped the austerity of tenement life for a day. All of these stories coalesced in a unique place called Coney Island.
This site shares the most interesting aspects of my years of in-depth historical research, and makes available an extensive collection of rare documents and photographs that I have assembled over that time. This website is the equivalent of a 300-page, 100,000-word book on the history of Coney Island, and it continues to grow. I am publishing all of this online, for free, to share with others my passion for America's and New York City's rich history. Hopefully it will inspire you to pursue and share with others your passion, whatever it might be.
Enjoy your trip to Coney Island. You can now say you know a thing or two about it, without having to go down the rabbit hole like I did... unless you'd like to. Thank you for all of the messages. See you on the boardwalk!
What awaited was a fascinating world that few people know once existed in New York City. Wild entrepreneurs joined forces with mechanical engineers to invent the roller coaster, the modern carousel, and rides deemed so thrilling but dangerous that they are now preserved only as schematics in patent filings. Millionaire gamblers rubbed shoulders with politicians and Broadway stars. A determined young German immigrant - ridiculed by the medical establishment for his idea of using 'incubators' to save prematurely-born babies - resorted to funding his live-saving facility by operating it as a freak show at an amusement park. Upper class families went looking for resorts or a thrill. Working class singles dressed up and escaped the austerity of tenement life for a day. All of these stories coalesced in a unique place called Coney Island.
This site shares the most interesting aspects of my years of in-depth historical research, and makes available an extensive collection of rare documents and photographs that I have assembled over that time. This website is the equivalent of a 300-page, 100,000-word book on the history of Coney Island, and it continues to grow. I am publishing all of this online, for free, to share with others my passion for America's and New York City's rich history. Hopefully it will inspire you to pursue and share with others your passion, whatever it might be.
Enjoy your trip to Coney Island. You can now say you know a thing or two about it, without having to go down the rabbit hole like I did... unless you'd like to. Thank you for all of the messages. See you on the boardwalk!
Interested in learning more? Check out these sites:
Jeffrey Stanton's Research: www.westland.net/coneyisland Charles Denson's History Project: www.coneyislandhistory.org Coney Island USA: www.coneyisland.com |
Recommended books:
Coney Island: Lost and Found, by Charles Denson (2004) The Lost Tribe of Coney Island, by Claire Prentice (2014) Sodom by the Sea, by Oliver Pilat (1941) Good Old Coney Island, by Edo McCullough (1957) Coney Island: The People's Playground, by Michael Immerso (2002) |
Heart of Coney Island actively purchases Coney Island memorabilia. Please feel free to contact me for more information.
The primary focus is on memorabilia dating to between 1850 and 1920, including advertisements, posters, scrapbooks, menus, diaries and letters, full-size carousel figures, objects and artifacts, blueprints, ride drawings, and original photographs.
The primary focus is on memorabilia dating to between 1850 and 1920, including advertisements, posters, scrapbooks, menus, diaries and letters, full-size carousel figures, objects and artifacts, blueprints, ride drawings, and original photographs.