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Photos of Book Event at Coney Island
Below are the pictures I promised in my last post of my brother Louis and myself at the book reading and signing for our book “A Coney Island Reader: Through Dizzying Gates of Illusion” at Coney...
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Bathing Beauties at Coney Island
I have posted here another batch of Coney Island postcards from my collection. Colorful and amusing cards featuring bathing beauties in their “daring and modern” swimsuits were quite popular in the...
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The Elephant Hotel in Coney Island
A remarkable sight that greeted visitors to Coney Island in the nineteenth century was the landmark Elephantine Colossus, or Elephant Hotel, which opened in 1885. The seven-story tall structure was...
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O. Henry’s “The Greater Coney”
The American short story writer O. Henry (William Sydney Porter) was one of many famous writers to use Coney Island as a backdrop in their work. His story “The Greater Coney” (1911) tells of a laborer...
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The Death of Topsy
Topsy was an elephant who came to a tragic end. She was a circus elephant who had attacked abusive handlers on more than one occasion, killing one of them. Topsy was one of the elephants involved in...
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A Trip to the Moon
A Trip to the Moon, designed by Frederic Thompson – an architect by trade — and Elmer Dundy, was one of the most popular rides at the 1901 Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. The ride used...
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Old Coney Island Photographs
I thought followers of this blog might enjoy seeing some old original Coney Island photographs (not postcards). The ones I have posted are all beach scenes from the 1890s. Love those bathing...
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Lilliputia, or “Midget City”
One of the popular attractions at the Dreamland amusement park in Coney Island was Lilliputia, better known as Midget City, which was part of the park when it opened in 1904. Lilliputia was an...
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It’s Time for More Postcards
Below are three more colorful Coney Island postcards for your enjoyment. This is a set of “A Greeting from Coney Island” cards from 1909 depicting happy couples enjoying themselves at Coney. I just...
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Early History of Coney
Coney Island was originally inhabited by the Canarsie Indians, the same tribe from which the Dutch bought Manhattan. Although the Dutch drove off the Indians, they never really settled on the Island....
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