Wonder Gallery CIHP Season Extended

WHAT'S NEW

Exhibit Season Extended Thru October 11

Summer is not over! We're happy to announce an extended season for the Wonder Gallery and the Coney Island History Project. Our free exhibits will be open Saturdays and Sundays from 1-7 PM through October 11th.

View this season's special exhibits curated by Charles Denson and Amanda Deutch in our Wonder Gallery, a collaboration with Parachute Literary Arts.

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Featured Oral History Interviews

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Zohra Saed

Poet and writer from Afghanistan who grew up in Southern Brooklyn

Ida Rosenblum Gambrell

Memories of Coney Island in the 1920s and '30s

Theresa Veldez

Bungalows and fires in the West End in the 1960s

Ahmed Hussain

Memories of a boyhood helping out in his family's store in Coney Island and learning to play pinball

Boan Lin (Master Lin)

Tai chi master who was born in China shares memories of practicing and teaching his art in Brooklyn

Alonzo Kittrels

Memories of bus trips to Coney Island with the Good Will Family Club from the 1940's through 1961

Explore Our Collection

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Shooting the Rapids Coaster
Asleep on the beach
Boardwalk Corn Stand
Childs Restaurant on the Boardwalk
Romantic Ride
The Funny Place
Kaufman's Photo Studio
Surf Avenue Apartment House, 17th Street

Hall of Fame

Inventors, performers, impresarios, and community leaders - these are among the many pioneers and visionaries whose creativity and ingenuity helped shape and define Coney Island over the past century. Each year, the Coney Island Hall of Fame pays tribute to a selected group of honorees. Their contributions are highlighted in an exhibit of colorful banners accompanied by illustrated text panels detailing their fascinating lives.

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Featured Video

Memories of Coney Island's Mermaid Avenue in the 1950s

New on our YouTube channel: Charles Denson's Mermaid Avenue in the 1950's brings together photos from the Coney Island History Project Collection and the voices of Michael "Looch" Goldstein and Stanley Fox. They grew up at opposite ends of Mermaid Avenue and recorded their memories of the...
posted Jun 25th, 2020
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Ask Mr. Coney Island
Dear Mr. Coney Island...
I've been doing a search to find images, pictures and films/video and audio showing the incredible Classic Three Rotating Ring Carousel that I remembered, as a young boy, that was housed in the huge indoor Steeplechase Park. As a young boy in the 1950's I had been amazed at the mechanical complexity of such an amazing machine with its 'Three Counter Rotating Ride Rings', Beautifully Hand Carved and Lovingly Painted Motion and Still Horses, and the Powerful music that came from the Huge Mechanical Full Orchestra and Organ/Calliope. I was born and raised in Brooklyn and Coney Island was a regular venue for our family entertainment. I'm hoping you'll be the one to help restore this childhood amazement to me! Regards, namaste
- David

Hello David,

That would be the El Dorado Carousel, now located at Toshimaen Amusement Park in Tokyo. This magnificent machine was carved by Hugo Hasse of Leipzig Germany in 1902. In 1910 it was moved to Coney Island and installed in a building Surf Avenue at West Fifth Street. The carousel survived the 1911 Dreamland Fire, blistered but intact. George Tilyou brought the El Dorado to...
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