Hello Candice,
The bizarre attraction you remember was the Kaufman family's Torture Chamber exhibit in the Lido Hotel on Surf Avenue at West 12th Street. A visit to the chamber was sure to cause nightmares!
Do you have a question for Mr. Coney Island? Email it to ask@coneyislandhistory.org.
Hello Candice,
The bizarre attraction you remember was the Kaufman family's Torture Chamber exhibit in the Lido Hotel on Surf Avenue at West 12th Street. A visit to the chamber was sure to cause nightmares!
Hello Felicia,
Believe it or not, you are not the first to ask this question. The "shorter tower" has become something of an urban legend. The reconstruction was carefully documented and no one, including the engineers, construction workers, Landmarks Preservation Commission, Parks Department, or EDC gave any indication that the tower was altered in any way that reduced its height. Compare the two images in the accompanying photo. The 1994 image matches the current image and number of levels.
There are many other myths surrounding the Jump and two are worth mentioning:
1. Despite the numerous stories of made-up mayhem concerning the jump, no one was ever killed or seriously injured while riding it. The ride did not close because of safety issues.
2. The most annoying myth is the one caused by sloppy research from the Landmarks Commision. Although the Parachute Jump closed for good in September 1964 and never operated again, the Landmarks designation report claims that the ride operated until 1968. The report erroneously claims that Coney amusement maven Norman Kaufman operated it after Steeplechase closed. Mr. Kaufman still gets a good laugh over this error. Make no mistake about this: the Landmarks Commission has the wrong date and the jump never operated after 1964. We can be grateful, however, that the tower gained landmark status and hope that someday the Parachute Jump will operate once again!
Hello Anne,
Most of your photos were taken prior to 1920 at Heney and McCotters Ocean Tide Baths, located at West 35th Street and Surf Avenue at the West End of Coney Island. Ocean Tide had a private boardwalk and was one of the bathhouse bungalow colonies that sprang up along the beach in the late 1890s. Next door was Jefferson Baths, Sea Gate Villa, and Carlton Court. Some of these businesses operated into the 1970s. They were summer bungalows, rented for the season, but also had lockers for beach-goers that could be rented on a daily basis.
The area around 35th Street was heavily Irish and had a number of great bars and restaurants. I'll post more info later. I'm including a 1918 photo of Ocean Tide.
Hope this helps.
Hello Scott,
Coney Island’s West End was home to many small candy factories that supplied the amusement zone. You’re probably thinking of Joffee’s Candy on Surf at West 28th, although there was another on Surf at 21st run by a man named George (can’t recall his last name). The shop on West 28th made candy canes, Jelly Apples and ribbon candies. The workers who put the plastic tubes on the ribbons were called “tubers” and the ones who bent the hooks on the canes were known as “hookers(!)”
The candy factory on West 21st made jelly apples, Twirl Pops, and the famous PANGO Pop (named for the flavors: Pineapple, Apple, Nectarine, Grape, and Orange: PANGO!) There was also Tom’s Candy on Mermaid Avenue behind the A&P. John Dorman operated Phillips Candy in the old Stillwell Terminal but moved to Staten Island after being evicted when the new facility was built. His business is still thriving on that other island.
Other factories were the one in the old Child’s Restaurant building on the Boardwalk, known for making “Peeps,” the iconic yellow Easter treats. And of course there was Bonomo’s on West 8th Street next to the Mangels factory. Bonomo is gone but building is still there with the beautiful candy-themed mosaics on the façade. Williams Candy, owned by Pete Agrapides, located next door to Nathans is the last old-fashioned candy shop and has a window full of sweet treats including jelly apples.
Hello Judy,
You were riding on the Stubbmann Carousel at West 6th Street and Surf Avenue. The adjoining hotel where your father was enjoying libations was called the Hotel Eleanor. The Stubbmann Carousel was manufactured one block away by Mangels and Illions. The Carousel building and hotel were demolished in the 1950s to make room for the aquarium. The Stubbman's and Feltman's Carousels were later combined into one and installed at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair in Queens. Here are photos of the Stubbman's Pavilion and the hotel to refresh your memory.
Hello Scott,
Here's a photo of Surf Lanes on Surf at 32nd Street taken shortly before it was demolished. It was formerly the Surf Theater and I remember it well because it was where I saw my first movie at the age of three. It became a bowling alley around '58 or '59. Also had a great bar! The yellow Art Deco building survived the urban renewal project that brought us the surrounding O'Dwdyer Gardens housing project but was torn down around 1980. The empty lot became an urban vegetable garden, and recently the site of a senior housing development.
Dear Donald,
Sunny Boy was the name! It came in little waxed-paper containers. The distributor was located on West 36th Street and Neptune Avenue.
Hello Jeanett,
That structure, with its nautical themed terra cotta, is the former Childs Restaurant Building, built in 1924. There were once over 90 Childs establishments in NYC. The building is an official NYC landmark and will someday be restored as a restaurant and catering hall by Taconic Investment Properties, the company that has a 99-year lease on the property.
Hello Preston,
There were several Romanian restaurants on Surf Avenue but the most popular was Carmen Sylva's, an older establishment known for its "steaks and chops" that remained open for business until the 1960s. Does this sound like their restaurant?
Hello Joseph,
The date of this photo is circa 1921-22 and the building in the background is Bushman Baths, located at West 15th and the Boardwalk (which is under construction in the photo, completed in 1923.) Bushman Baths burned in 1973. Note the spelling change in the name (they dropped the "c" somewhere along the way.)
Hope this helps!