Hello David,
As you can see from this card, Charles Smith's Gold Dollar hotel was located at Surf Avenue and West 16th Street. The hotel had a telephone so was probably in business around the turn of the last century.
Do you have a question for Mr. Coney Island? Email it to ask@coneyislandhistory.org.
Hello David,
As you can see from this card, Charles Smith's Gold Dollar hotel was located at Surf Avenue and West 16th Street. The hotel had a telephone so was probably in business around the turn of the last century.
Hello Willie,
The Pinto Brothers ran an amusement factory on West 8th Street in Coney Island, specializing in kiddie rides. Silvio Pinto also operated the Cyclone Roller Coaster for a number of years before selling it to the Parks Department. All of the brothers have passed on but here is a picture of them. Silvio is in the center.
Hello Nancy,
The Bolivian Indian Village exhibit was located on Tilyou Walk at the Ocean, at what would now be West 16th Street. Indigenous natives were common attractions at Coney Island at the end of the nineteenth century, and the humane treatment of the odd visitors became a cause for reformers who monitored the shows for abuses. American Indians, Philippine tribesmen, and Eskimos were were among those displayed in re-creations of their native habitats.
The Bolivian exhibit came to a sad end on August 24th, 1893 when a freak wave during a storm wiped out the entire village as the natives slept in their beachfront huts. The extent of injuries to the indians is unknown and the show did not reopen.
Hello Barbara,
Your grandparents' restaurant was located on the north side of Surf Avenue between 15th and 16th Street directly opposite Steeplechase Park. It is circled in the photo I've provided. If you compare this 1920s image to the one you have from the 1890s you'll see that it's the same building, slightly altered on the ground level. Hope this helps.
Hello Reg,
According to this story in the San Francisco Call, Farman made a flight in his "heavier-than-air flying machine" on July 31, 1908. This is the only photograph I've ever seen.
Hello Tony,
The Gyro Globe operated on West 12th Street near the Wonder Wheel for two decades, closing in the early 60s. The Kyrimes family operated the Gyro, as well as the adjacent Virginia Reel and Hurricane rides.
The Gyro had a simple circular bench seat in a globe that revolved within an armature, turning and tilting in all directions. A real nausea-inducer!
Hello Viola,
You are most likely describing the Astroland Skyride which opened in 1964 and ran from Surf Avenue to the Boardwalk.
The ride closed in the mid-seventies, but not because of an accident. It just wasn't exciting enough for most thrill-riders.
Hello Paul.
M. & C. was owned by Bob Myers who had his headquarters on West 12th Street underneath Ward's Kiddie Park. Myers operated a concession, granted by the Parks Department, that rented beach chairs, umbrellas, and the rolling chairs on the Boardwalk. The business operated in Coney from the 1930s through the 1970s at various locations under the boardwalk, from Sea Gate to Manhattan Beach.
Every spring, Myers would load up his 1932 Ford truck with his beach equipment and distribute it to the under-the-Boardwalk tin shacks where it was rented to the beach-going public during the summer. The rolling chairs could also be rented in the winter. They were stationary and lined up in front of the Ward's building, occupied by sun-worshipers who used them year-round.
You have a valuable piece of Coney Island history!
Hello Dennis,
Both P.S. 80 buildings were demolished around 1980 and were replaced with two-story attached homes built by Astella Development of Mermaid Avenue.
Carvel operated first on Surf Avenue at West 21st Street through the 1960s, and then moved east to Stillwell Avenue and then to Surf Avenue in the Popper Building before closing several years ago.
Carolina was in business through the 1980s before being sold to a new owner who ran it into the ground. A chinese buffet now operates in the old building. The family that ran Carolina now operates the popular Fiorentino Restaurant on Avenue U at McDonald Avenue.
The Chevy dealership closed years ago. Their warehouse near Surf Avenue survived until the 1980s and then was demolished.
Most of the small businesses on Mermaid were replaced by Astella housing with retail on the ground floor. Only a few shops remain from the old days, the most famous is the butcher shop Major Meats at West 15th Street. Jimmy Prince has been at Major's since 1949 and has transformed the store's windows into a Coney Island exhibit.
Hello AB,
The barn was built in the late 1890s and served multiple purposes over the years: First as a Fire Department Pumping station and later a Sanitation Department salt storage facility. It was demolished about 30 years ago.