Took the 13th Ave. trolley
Dave Galler grew up at 72nd Street and 12th Avenue in an area known as Dyker Beach, between Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, in the 1940's. He still remembers the details of the train and trolley routes he took to get to Coney Island. The...
Content type: Oral History Item
Depression-era resident and survivor of the 1932 fire
Goldie Durlester, daughter of a ladies' coat and suit pattern maker, was born in 1925. In the period prior to the start of the second World War, Durlester lived in a half-dozen or so locations around Coney Island and the West End. A survivor of...
Content type: Oral History Item
Remembers the Laughing Lady
Elizabeth remembers the Cyclone and the Laughing Lady.
Content type: Oral History Item
Lived in Luna Park Housing in the 1960's
Michele moved to Coney Island in 1961 when Luna Park Houses were first built. She had an aunt who lived in Sea Gate and often rode her bike over to hang out there on her favorite beach. It was quiet there and very different from the boisterous Luna...
Content type: Oral History Item
Former West End resident in the 1940's and 50's
In this interview Sylvia Perlmutter Kaye, a former resident of the West End, recalls her days in Coney Island sledding down Boardwalk ramps in winter, smoking with the Vargas Girls, scrounging for free tickets at Steeplechase and watching her uncle...
Content type: Oral History Item
Coney Island Cyclone coaster marathoner
Avid roller coaster rider Bill Galvin recounts the time he wore a dress to participate in a women's marathon on the Cyclone roller coaster in 1997.
Content type: Oral History Item
Visited Coney Island from Massachusetts as a boy
Joe Rysz remembers visiting Coney Island as he grew up in the 1950's when his family would come to visit their relatives who lived in Brooklyn. Being from a small town in Massachusetts, he was very impressed by New York City and remembers Coney...
Content type: Oral History Item
Longtime residents of Coney Island
Relatives Joan and Julie Curran reminisce about the glory days of Coney Island and comment on the Island's historical charm and legacy.
Content type: Oral History Item
Lived in Coney Island until age 11 and is back for the first time in 25 years
Susan, who now lives in Israel, lived in Coney Island from 1955 to 1966 and this is her first visit back in over 25 years. Her parents would save up to come to the amusement park area only once a year and Susan's favorite part was Steeplechase...
Content type: Oral History Item
Brooklyn College sociology professor
Jerry Krase, professor emeritus at Brooklyn College in sociology, explains how he had a brief brush with the law on the Coney Island Boardwalk in the 1960s.
Content type: Oral History Item