The Aftermath of the Dreamland Fire

On May 27, 1911, a huge fire illuminated the sky and sent fire companies from all over Brooklyn rushing to Coney Island. Dreamland Park was ablaze. Unlike Steeplechase Park or the Bowery which were rebuilt after being destroyed by fire, Dreamland would be no more. "The catastrophic fire happened in 1911 but its lingering aftermath still affects Coney Island land use policy a century later," said Charles Denson. "As soon as the ashes cooled, the city took over the site and has been claiming beachfront parcels ever since."

When the Coney Island History Project opens on Memorial Day Weekend, we'll commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Dreamland Fire with an exhibition of photos and a themed walking tour. Historic images of Dreamland before and after the fire will be juxtaposed with the site as it is today and how it developed over the last hundred years. The exhibit will be illuminated by oral history interviews with the 101-year-old son of the Coney Island police chief on duty that night and the granddaughter of the Coney Island fire chief who fought the blaze.

Charles Denson, History Project director and the author of Coney Island: Lost and Found, will lead a walking tour on Friday, May 27. To receive advance info on the tour, which will be by reservation, please sign up for our e-mail list.

Screenshot from "Seasons of the Cyclone" Photo © Charles Denson

"Seasons of the Cyclone" by History Project director Charles Denson is a close-up look at the Cyclone roller coaster that takes you inside the motor room and lets you walk the tracks. You can watch the video on Denson's new "Coneyologist" channel on YouTube. Also on view is "Secrets of the Universe," a six-minute short that premiered at last year's Coney Island Film Festival.

If you haven't visited the History Project's Facebook page yet, please drop by and "like" us. You can follow us year round on Facebook, twitter, flickr and our blog Ask Mr Coney Island.

Demolished: The Coney Island Bank Building

The year 2010 will be remembered as a year of transition for Coney Island. The year began on a high note with the opening of Zamperla's new Luna Park but ended on a sour note when four of the area’s few remaining historic buildings were denied landmark status and slated for demolition. The Coney Island Bank building and Shore Hotel were demolished by mid-December and Henderson’s Music Hall began its date with the wrecking ball soon after. A month earlier, the last of Coney’s old-time Boardwalk eateries were given eviction notices by Zamperla’s Central Amusement International, operators of the new Luna Park. In May, the Coney Island Arcade on West 12th Street and the Bowery was destroyed by fire. Not since the days of Robert Moses’s 1960s urban renewal projects has Coney Island experienced such radical transformation. 2010 will also be remembered for recording the hottest summer in New York’s history, with nearly every weekend bringing warm, clear, sunny weather. Coney Island has always been about the weather and the big question is whether the new businesses proposed for Coney’s Boardwalk will survive the inevitable rainy seasons ahead. We can only hope for the best.

The good news is that two historic buildings nominated for landmark status were approved. The Coney Island (Loews) Theater Building and the Childs Restaurant Building, headquarters of Coney Island USA, have been designated as landmarks.

CIHP Flickr photo of Jack & Marybeth Ward

Over the weekend, we were saddened to learn of the death of our friend Jack Ward, who died September 3 at the age of 66. Jack was an advisory board member of the Coney Island History Project and was also our Surf Avenue neighbor, having moved his law practice back to Coney Island in 2000. As the grandson of Coney pioneer William J. Ward, he managed Ward Realty, representing the last of the original land grant families owning property in Coney Island. In 2008, Jack and his wife, Mary Beth, accepted the Coney Island Hall of Fame Award for his grandfather at a ceremony at our exhibit center.

In a 2007 interview for the Coney Island History Project’s Oral History Archive, Jack Ward recounted his family’s long history in Coney Island. He begins with his great grandfather John Ward's purchase of beachfront property at 12th Street and Surf Avenue in 1879 and continues through his grandfather William J. Ward's participation in the development of the Half Moon Hotel and the Wonder Wheel. Jack’s grandfather, William J. Ward, was president of the Bank of Coney Island and a founding member of the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce. The Wards also built Coney's first boardwalk and operated Ward's Kiddie park for half a century. You can listen to the audio interview with CIHP Director Charles Denson here.