Founder of the Sea Gate Historical Society
Pete Spanakos first became familiar with Coney Island in the 1950's when he worked cleaning the beaches. In 1967, he moved into an historic home in Sea Gate built by Chrysler Building architect William Van Alen. Spanakos has a Golden Glove...
Content type: Oral History Item
Family owned the Shamrock Irish House and Eldorado Arcade
Sheila and her family owned and operated the largest arcade in Coney Island, the Eldorado. Her father, his two brothers and three sisters opened The Shamrock Irish House, a restaurant/cabaret/open-air bar, in the early 1940's, and her family...
Content type: Oral History Item
Volunteer at Amethyst Women's Project
Priscilla has lived in Coney Island since the late 1990's. She loves her 17th floor apartment that overlooks the ocean and considers Coney Island her home. Priscilla describes the good work Amethyst does for the community and talks about her...
Content type: Oral History Item
Coney Island concessionaire
Arthur Melnick grew up in Coney Island in the middle of the last century. Here, he recounts his experiences working concession stands in the amusement district during the 1960s, a difficult period for Coney Island. He speaks specifically about rides...
Content type: Oral History Item
Architectural preservationist
Melissa is passionate about Coney Island because of the stories her mother would tell her about the times she visited Coney as a young woman. Melissa recalls two details in particular, accounts of visiting the Sodamat and various Coney Island...
Content type: Oral History Item
Future elephant rider for the circus
Six year-old Sydney and her mother Stephanie Cozby visited the History Project before they went to the circus to celebrate her friends' birthdays. Among her favorite things in Coney Island are watching fireworks from the beach at night, eating...
Content type: Oral History Item
Born and raised in Coney and lived there for 18 years
Sam Berkley's 62-year-old father, Larry Berkley, grew up in Coney Island. He describes such things as working the balloon game and the umbrella and beach chair rentals, the three public pools that used to exist and the carefree times as a child...
Content type: Oral History Item
103 year old former Coney Island strongman and boxer
At 103 years old, Joe Rollino is a former Coney Island strongman, Olympic athlete and professional boxer. A vegetarian all his life who never smoked or drank, he was a member of the Coney Island Iceberg cold water swim club for 50 years. He tells...
Content type: Oral History Item
Oldest market in Coney Island
The sounds of a typical day at Major Markets on Mermaid Avenue in Coney Island. Founded in the 1930's, Major Markets is a throwback to the days when the entire length of Mermaid Avenue, from Stillwell Avenue to Sea Gate, was a bustling retail...
Content type: Oral History Item
His father sold frozen seafood to Nathan's
David grew up in Sheepshead Bay and shares two particular memories of Coney Island. He remembers his father, an early importer of frozen seafood, being the first person to sell frozen seafood to Nathan Handwerker of Nathan's Famous. David...
Content type: Oral History Item