Memories of working at Astroland's Neptune Diving Bells in the summer of 1964
Patrick Phillips recalls the summer of 1964, when he was a college student from Florida spending his summer working at Astroland's Neptune Diving Bells for his father's friend, Robert Coffey. He describes his job maintaining the complicated...
Content type: Oral History Item
Mechanical display creator who redid the tricks for Astroland's Dante's Inferno dark ride in the 1990s
Brooklynite Lou Nasti, the owner of Mechanical Displays in Flatbush, refers to himself as an "artistic mechanical engineer." He has designed, manufactured and installed one-of-a-kind, custom animated characters and displays both locally and around...
Content type: Oral History Item
Coney Island singer/songwriter who wrote "A Coney Island Song"
A Coney Island resident for the past 16 years, Paul Sanchez is a singer/songwriter who can be found playing his guitar on the Boardwalk and in Coney venues such as Steeplechase Beer Garden. He plays his signature composition, "A Coney Island Song,"...
Content type: Oral History Item
Community activist and president of the Carey Gardens Tenants Association
Shirley Aikens has called Coney Island her home for nearly 40 years and is very active in the community. She is president of the Carey Gardens Tenants Association and a member of Community Board 13 and the NYPD's 60th Precinct Community Council....
Content type: Oral History Item
Astroland seeks to buy Tilyou's
Newspaper clipping in the Coney Island History Project exhibit "The 50th Anniversary of Fred Trump's Demolition of the Steeplechase Pavilion."
Content type: Collection Item
Collection type: Newspaper
Coney Island got a much needed reprieve Saturday after its Dreamland amusement park re-opened just in time for the holiday weekend. NY1's Amanda Farinacci filed the following report.
Coney Island is back, well, at least it looked that way Saturday...
Content type: Collection Item
Collection type: Television
Early spring view of the Boardwalk near Stillwell Avenue, looking east towards Astroland and the Brightwater Towers. Shaw's (later Ruby's) Bar, Playland (later the Boardwalk home of Coney Island, USA), Cook's Baths and a Kentucky Fried Chicken store...
Content type: Collection Item
Collection type: Documentary photograph
Bringing the 1960's back to Coney Island
Ron recalls going with both friends and family to Coney Island back in the 1960's. His family always took the same spot on the beach in front of the Wonder Wheel. He remembers amusement rides from that time in great detail, but waited until his...
Content type: Oral History Item
Model Maker and Music Producer
Roy grew up in Coney Island and, among many other ventures, makes exquisitely detailed scale models of rides like the Himalaya, at which he also worked when he was a child. He tried to get a job at Astroland when he was too young but, eventually,...
Content type: Oral History Item
Roller coaster aficionado
Bobby talks about being a young "urban explorer" in the 70's when Coney Island was "dirty and scary and rough" but still alluring. He remembers many of the attractions that no longer exist in Coney Island such as the bobsled...
Content type: Oral History Item