Coney Island History Day

WHAT'S NEW

[POSTPONED] August 11: History Day Celebrates Coney Island's Immigrant Heritage!

[POSTPONED] We're sorry, due to the rainy forecast on Saturday, August 11, and on Sunday, we are postponing our 8th annual History Day event for this weekend. We plan to reschedule it with the same programming for a date in September or October and hope you will join us then. Sign up for our e-news (link at bottom of page) or follow us on social media for updates!...

read more

Exhibit Center

Current Exhibit

Tours

Oral History

Collections

Ask Mr. Coney

Home

Featured Oral History Interviews

see all interviews

Stephen Gaffney

Artist and educator who restored the old signs and painted new ones for Paul's Daughter

Paul Sanchez

Coney Island singer/songwriter who wrote "A Coney Island Song"

April Leong

Founder and principal of Coney Island's Liberation Diploma Plus High School

Patricia Casola

Daughter of Coney Island artist, banner painter and Cyclops creator Dan Casola

Grace Lo

Homeowner and community activist in Coney Island's West End for almost 30 years

Anthony Martire

A family tradition of raising and racing homing pigeons in Coney Island

Explore Our Collection

see entire collection
Drop the Dip
Study Collection
Atlantis Bar 10-23-1995
Feinstein Collection
Deborah Moody House
Photography collection
Album of Coney Island: Page 05
Study Collection
Jimmy Prince
Wonder Wheel Hub
Photography collection
Slide
Study Collection
Page 47: Foot of Henderson's Walk and Beach
Document Collection

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.

explore the hall of fame

Featured Video

Coney Island Creek: A Kayak Tour

  Coney Island Creek is the last remnant of a vast and vibrant salt marsh estuary that once covered nearly 3,000 acres between the sand dunes of Coney Island and the glacial plain of what is now Southern Brooklyn. The waterway became Coney Island’s earliest attraction as the island’s...
posted Jan 12th, 2018
see more

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...
read full answer
ask a question read all answers

Walking Tours
Coney Island Tours 

"A fascinating, accurate, unexpurgated look at the World's Playground"

Eventbrite - Coney Island History Project Walking Tour - September-October 2014

Take a stroll through Coney Island's amusement district--past, present and future--with the Coney Island History Project. Our unique walking tours are based on History Project Director Charles Denson's award-winning book "Coney Island: Lost and Found," the interviews from CIHP's Oral History Archive, and other primary sources.

Walking tours are led by History Project staff including historian Charles Denson or poet/teaching artist Amanda Deutch, who have over 100 years of family history in Coney Island! All tours begin with a private visit to the History Project's exhibition center under the Wonder Wheel's iconic entrance sign on Denos D. Vourderis Place (West 12th Street), just a few steps off the Boardwalk. The 1-1/2 hour tour includes a talk on the exhibits and objects on display.

learn more