First History Day Event of the 2009 Season

Charles Denson, CIHP Executive Director and author of Coney Island: Lost and Found, and Jimmy Prince, CIHP's newly appointed "distinguished historian," unfurl the Memory Booth Banner on April 5th. Mr. Prince, who retired after 60 years at Mermaid Avenue's beloved Major Market, will work this season at the History Project's exhibition center, sharing his Coney Island memories with visitors. Visit the Coney Island History Project on flickr to see photos from our April 5, 2009 Open House celebrating Coney Island's and the Cyclone's Opening Day of the Season

Easter Sunday is historically one of Coney Island's biggest days of the season. By popular request, the History Project's public exhibition center under the Cyclone will be open on Sunday, April 12, from 12-5 pm for the season's first History Day Event.

During our History Day event, the first of which was held in 2005, the public is invited to record their personal memories and share their photographs and other memorabilia. Selected interviews and visual material are accessible at our online archive. Charles Denson and Amanda Deutch will be doing interviews from 12-5pm on April 12 in our professional recording studio.

Historic artifacts, photographs, maps, ephemera, films of Coney Island's colorful past and selections from the upcoming "Coney Island Icons" exhibition will also be on view. Admission is free of charge.

Interviews are also conducted year round by appointment in person or by telephone. People who would like to be interviewed can sign up online.This summer we will be conducting both in-person and recorded interviews, using our Video Interview Booth, in our exhibition center under the Cyclone roller coaster. In-person interviews are by appointment only. Recorded interviews using the Video Booth may be given any time during the exhibition center's hours of operation.

The CIHP exhibition center will open for the 2009 season on Memorial Day Weekend with a new exhibition "Coney Island Icons". Located on Surf Avenue just east of West 10th Street, the center is open free of charge on weekends from Memorial Day through Labor Day. For additional info, contact the History Project at info@coneyislandhistory.org or 718-266-0012.