Do you have a question for Mr. Coney Island? Email it to ask@coneyislandhistory.org.
Hello Gary,
One of your photos was taken on the Coney Island beach looking east. It was taken before 1911 because the large structure on the pier is the Dreamland Ballroom, which burned in 1911. The tower in the center is the top of Dreamland's Shoot-the-Chutes. Ward's boardwalk can be seen on the left, and behind the Stauch's sign is Petersen's, a bathhouse located behind Feltman's on Jones Walk. The beach is extremely narrow and was not expanded until the Boardwalk was built in 1923.
Hello Ann Marie,
"Voice-O-Graph" machines resembled phone booths and there were at least two dozen of them located in arcades all over Coney Island in the 1940s. The machines were manufactured by International Mutoscope. The company also made the Photomatic photo booths that printed black and white photos in a small metal frame. In the 1940s it would have cost 25 cents to record a record and a personalized label with your name on it was extra. You could sing a song or record a birthday message.
Your voice was recorded at 78 RPM, a technology that's hard to find today. The machines switched to 33 RPM in 1957 and some were still operating in Coney Island through the mid-1960s. Here is a picture of a record that was recorded at AmuseOMat arcade on Surf Avenue.
Would love to hear your recording!
Hello Andrea,
The rustic Villanova summer bungalow colony was located on West 37th Street between the Boardwalk and Surf Avenue. It opened around 1910 and was demolished in early 1970. Villanova Court was one of the dozens of popular resort colonies in the West End of Coney Island that flourished during the early-to-mid 20th century. Nearby were Sea Gate Villa and Jefferson Baths, two seasonal businesses that survived until the early 70s.
A 1950s advertisement for Villanova listed its amenities as: "an outdoor pavilion, television, hot and cold showers, steam room, handball court, washing machines, telephone service, and private entrances to the beach and Boardwalk."
Attached is a photograph of Villanova taken in the 1950s.
Hello EG,
Here are some photos of Washington Baths during its heyday in the 1930s.
It was located between the Boardwalk and Surf Avenue at West 21st Street. The Washington Baths Annex (also known as the "Pink Palace") was a block away at West 22nd Street.
Hello Patty,
Yes, that is the Wonder Wheel. The picture is looking north from the beach at Jones Walk next to Feltmans (the Feltmans powerhouse chimney is in the background.) Peterson's Bathhouse is on the right and Ward's Bathhouse is at left. The Wheel opened in 1920 so this photograph was taken when it was a new attraction.
Hello Phyllis,
The 75-foot finback whale washed up in 1954 and was hauled to the alley behind Nathan's and displayed at 50 cents a peek. The carnies who hauled the whale from the beach pumped preservatives into it but the chemicals only added to the horrific smell of decomposition. The attraction was not well received and the admission dropped to 25 cents before it went out of business. The whale display went up in flames in August and the smell of formaldehyde and smoldering blubber drove Nathan’s customers away in droves.
An insurance company paid to have the scorched whale towed away and dumped at sea but the stench remained for months after. This was not the first beached whale to be exhibited in Coney Island. Here is a picture of the 1930s "Moby Dick" that was displayed on the Boardwalk.
Hello Richard,
Here are some images to replace what was lost in the hurricane!
Hello Vicki,
The photo shooting gallery game was called "Shoot-A-Photo," and there were several locations in Coney Island. The most popular was a storefront in the Washington Baths building on the Boardwalk at West 21st Street. Attached is one of their photographs.
Hello Chuck,
Larry and Vinny's was an Icon to anyone who grew up in the West End of Coney Island during the 1950s-1960s. Here are some photos of Larry and Vinny's shortly before Anna retired at the age of 94. She operated the restaurant for 50 years and it was the last of the West End boardwalk establishments. Pictured are Anna and Robert (dough in hands); Andy "(The Bat") Adams striking a pose, Anna with her incredible pizza; The last days of the store in 1994, and again, shortly before the abandoned building burned to the ground in 2005.
Anna died in New Jersey at the age of 101. She is missed.
Hello Hunter,
She probably would have attended PS 80 on West 17th Street or PS 188 on Neptune Avenue near Sea Gate. There was no Junior High in the 1920s.