Visit the Coney Island History Project under the Wonder Wheel!
The Coney Island History Project's 2023 exhibition center season begins Memorial Day Weekend with a combination of free indoor and outdoor exhibits and walking tours. We're open Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 1-7 PM. Free Admission!
2023 Exhibition Center Season Hours
Open from May 27 - September 4, 2023 - Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays, 1pm-7pm
Also open May 29, 2023 - Memorial Day (Monday), 1pm-7pm
Also open June 19, 2023 - Juneteenth observed (Monday), 1pm-7pm
Also open July 4th, 2023 - (Tuesday), 1pm-7pm
Also open September 4, 2023 - Labor Day (Monday), 1pm-7pm
We also encourage you to browse the Coney Island History Project's website, which in addition to our Oral History Archive includes our podcast Coney Island Stories, the blog Ask Mr. Coney Island, selections from our Collection, and Coney News and Events. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube to learn about Coney Island's legendary and colorful past and the Coney Island community of today.
HISTORY
Since the Coney Island History Project's inception in 2004 with a portable recording booth on the Boardwalk, followed by the opening of the Coney Island Hall of Fame in 2005 and the inaugural season of our exhibition center under the Cyclone in 2007, we have proudly offered "Free Admission for One and All!" at our exhibits and special events.
In 2011, the History Project continued that tradition when we moved from the Cyclone to our new exhibition center in Deno's Wonder Wheel Park. We are grateful to the Vourderis family for inviting us to set up history exhibits in locations around their park, and to the Albert family for their ongoing support as the History Project continues its mission of recording oral histories with people who have lived, worked, and played in Coney Island.
The Coney Island History Project's exhibition center is located on West 12th Street at the entrance to Deno's Wonder Wheel Park, just a few steps off the Boardwalk. View historic artifacts, photographs, maps, ephemera and films of Coney Island's colorful past. The History Project is open weekends and holidays from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day from 1-7pm. Admission is free of charge.
Visitors are invited to take free souvenir photos with Coney Island's only original Steeplechase horse, from the legendary ride that gave Steeplechase Park its name, and the iconic Cyclops head from Deno's Wonder Wheel Park's Spook-A-Rama, Coney Island's oldest dark ride. Among the treasures on display at the Coney Island History Project’s exhibit center this season is Coney Island’s oldest surviving artifact from the dawn of the “World’s Playground.” The 1823 Toll House sign dates back to the days when the toll for a horse and rider to “the Island” was 5 cents! Today, the nearly two century old sign is often described as Coney Island's "first admission ticket."
Check the Coney Island History Project's Facebook page or follow us on twitter and Instagram for updates.
The Coney Island History Project was founded in 2004 by Carol Hill Albert and Jerome Albert in honor of Dewey Albert, creator of Astroland Park. Executive director Charles Denson is a Coney Island native, a noted historian, and the author of the award-winning book Coney Island: Lost and Found. The History Project is supported, in part, by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council and Councilman Mark Treyger; and Humanities New York with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities via the federal American Rescue Plan Act; and our members and contributors.