Got a tattoo of the Astroland Rocket in honor of her first date in Coney Island
Sarah Schneider, who visited the Coney Island History Project in 2017, shares her story of getting a tattoo of the Astroland Rocket in honor of her first date in Coney Island.
Content type: Oral History Item
Memories of growing up in Coney Island in the 1980s and '90s and Faber's Fascination Arcade
Jeffrey L. Wilson is a Senior Software Analyst at PC Magazine, where he writes about video games, mobile apps, and other tech subjects. He shares memories of growing up in Coney Island, where his family moved to O'Dwyer Gardens from Flatbush in 1986...
Content type: Oral History Item
On growing up in Coney Island and founding the nonprofit Urban Neighborhood Services
Mathylde Frontus grew up in Coney Island as the eldest child of Haitian immigrant parents who instilled a love of learning and community service. In 2004, she founded Urban Neighborhood Services (UNS), a small multi-service agency on Mermaid Avenue...
Content type: Oral History Item
Coney Island singer/songwriter who wrote "A Coney Island Song"
A Coney Island resident for the past 16 years, Paul Sanchez is a singer/songwriter who can be found playing his guitar on the Boardwalk and in Coney venues such as Steeplechase Beer Garden. He plays his signature composition, "A Coney Island Song,"...
Content type: Oral History Item
Jamaican-born artist and Coney Island resident
Courtney King was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and has lived in Coney Island for the past seven years. An artist since childhood, he began working as a sign painter after training in commercial art and fine art. He spent 12 years working on an...
Content type: Oral History Item
Former teacher at Mark Twain Junior High School recalls his Coney Island memories
Jeffrey Eisenmesser, 73, grew up in Bensonhurst in the late 1940s and early '50s. He taught English Language Arts at Mark Twain I.S. 239 in Coney Island from 1992 to 2007. His earliest memories of Coney Island are going to Washington Baths pool ...
Content type: Oral History Item
A Brooklyn native's boyhood memories of Washington Baths and Steeplechase Park
Jan Brown grew up in Brooklyn where his family spent summers at Washington Baths in Coney Island. His parents, who had met at Washington Baths, played handball and his father was a professional model and bodybuilder. Brown describes the atmosphere...
Content type: Oral History Item
Daughter of Coney Island artist, banner painter and Cyclops creator Dan Casola
Patricia Casola shares memories of growing up in Coney Island in the 1950s and '60s as the daughter of artist Dan Casola (1902-1990). She recalls her father as a "tinkerer" and "a self-taught individual" who learned by doing. Among his clients were...
Content type: Oral History Item
Son of Coney Island artist, banner painter and Cyclops creator Dan Casola
Wesley Casola shares memories of growing up in Coney Island in the 1950s and '60s. The son of artist Dan Casola (1902-1990), he recalls his father building the Spook-A-Rama Cyclops in their yard and making figures for The World in Wax Musee. His...
Content type: Oral History Item
Girlhood memories of growing up on West 5th Street in Coney Island before being displaced by Warbasse
Sisters Gladys Sandman and Lucille daCosta, née Salvia, share girlhood memories of growing up on Coney Island's West 5th Street in the 1950s and the beginning of the '60s. Their grandparents were homeowners on West 5th and their mother and father ...
Content type: Oral History Item