Do you have a question for Mr. Coney Island? Email it to ask@coneyislandhistory.org.
Hello Susan,
The facility was the Children's Aid Society. It was located in Coney Island from the 1870s until 1924. There were four other similar organizations. Mothers and their children, mostly from poor neighborhoods, were invited to stay in beachside bungalows or the Surf Avenue hospital to learn about child-rearing, health care, and good hygiene.
Men were not allowed to stay but could visit on weekends. Here is a picture of the facility.
Hello Chef Henry,
Carlton Court was located on West 35th Street between Surf Avenue and the Boardwalk. The resort was owned and operated by Agnes Stephenson and then sold in the 1930s to Herman Berman and Joe Feld of B&F Bungalows. They also operated the adjacent Sea Gate (Villa) Casino on West 36th. Carlton operated from around 1910 until 1966 when the property was sold to Max Berman who demolished the bungalows in 1972.
The furnished bungalows were rented for the whole season, the most expensive being the two story boardwalk structures that offered a view of the ocean. There was a central path that led to a "pavilion" by the Boardwalk that had handball courts and tables and chairs where people gathered to play cards or Mah-Jong. Sometimes B&F hired bands to play at the pavilion dances. Carlton tenants were mostly repeat seasonal customers who considered themselves one big Coney Island family!
Hello John,
The photograph was taken between West 8th Street and West 5th on the public beach at the former site of Dreamland. The turreted building on the right is the Sagamore Hotel, on the corner of West 8th and Surf Avenue. The coaster is the Giant Racer, and the two towers behind it belong to Luna's Aquadrome entrance at West 10th Street. The tent-like structure behind the tent in foreground houses the Dreamland Circus Sideshow and the billboard just behind the tent was located above the L.A. Thompson Scenic Railway. Nice photo!
Hello Gary,
One of your photos was taken on the Coney Island beach looking east. It was taken before 1911 because the large structure on the pier is the Dreamland Ballroom, which burned in 1911. The tower in the center is the top of Dreamland's Shoot-the-Chutes. Ward's boardwalk can be seen on the left, and behind the Stauch's sign is Petersen's, a bathhouse located behind Feltman's on Jones Walk. The beach is extremely narrow and was not expanded until the Boardwalk was built in 1923.
Hello Ann Marie,
"Voice-O-Graph" machines resembled phone booths and there were at least two dozen of them located in arcades all over Coney Island in the 1940s. The machines were manufactured by International Mutoscope. The company also made the Photomatic photo booths that printed black and white photos in a small metal frame. In the 1940s it would have cost 25 cents to record a record and a personalized label with your name on it was extra. You could sing a song or record a birthday message.
Your voice was recorded at 78 RPM, a technology that's hard to find today. The machines switched to 33 RPM in 1957 and some were still operating in Coney Island through the mid-1960s. Here is a picture of a record that was recorded at AmuseOMat arcade on Surf Avenue.
Would love to hear your recording!
Hello Andrea,
The rustic Villanova summer bungalow colony was located on West 37th Street between the Boardwalk and Surf Avenue. It opened around 1910 and was demolished in early 1970. Villanova Court was one of the dozens of popular resort colonies in the West End of Coney Island that flourished during the early-to-mid 20th century. Nearby were Sea Gate Villa and Jefferson Baths, two seasonal businesses that survived until the early 70s.
A 1950s advertisement for Villanova listed its amenities as: "an outdoor pavilion, television, hot and cold showers, steam room, handball court, washing machines, telephone service, and private entrances to the beach and Boardwalk."
Attached is a photograph of Villanova taken in the 1950s.
Hello EG,
Here are some photos of Washington Baths during its heyday in the 1930s.
It was located between the Boardwalk and Surf Avenue at West 21st Street. The Washington Baths Annex (also known as the "Pink Palace") was a block away at West 22nd Street.
Hello Patty,
Yes, that is the Wonder Wheel. The picture is looking north from the beach at Jones Walk next to Feltmans (the Feltmans powerhouse chimney is in the background.) Peterson's Bathhouse is on the right and Ward's Bathhouse is at left. The Wheel opened in 1920 so this photograph was taken when it was a new attraction.
Hello Phyllis,
The 75-foot finback whale washed up in 1954 and was hauled to the alley behind Nathan's and displayed at 50 cents a peek. The carnies who hauled the whale from the beach pumped preservatives into it but the chemicals only added to the horrific smell of decomposition. The attraction was not well received and the admission dropped to 25 cents before it went out of business. The whale display went up in flames in August and the smell of formaldehyde and smoldering blubber drove Nathan’s customers away in droves.
An insurance company paid to have the scorched whale towed away and dumped at sea but the stench remained for months after. This was not the first beached whale to be exhibited in Coney Island. Here is a picture of the 1930s "Moby Dick" that was displayed on the Boardwalk.
Hello Richard,
Here are some images to replace what was lost in the hurricane!