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
Fond memories of Coney Island
Joseph Svehlak recalls two generations of stories from Coney Island. His mother grew up in lower Manhattan as a first generation American born to European parents in the early 1910’s. On Sundays after church, her father would take her and her sister...
Content type: Oral History Item
Grew up a daredevil in New York City
Corinne describes visiting Coney Island in the 1940's as a girl with her family and even taking the train with other children to spend the day. She rode the Steeplechase horses and even the Parachute Jump, which she first tried out at the 1939...
Content type: Oral History Item
Lived in Coney Island from 1938 thru early 1950's
Harry spent his formative years in Coney Island and has many memories of the sights and sounds from his youth. Before being drafted into the military during the Korean War, he had various part-time jobs including a stint at Silver's Bathhouse...
Content type: Oral History Item
Lived on Mermaid Ave. between 35th and 36th Streets between 1945 and 1965
Robert Shapiro lived on Mermaid Avenue until his marriage in 1965. He and his wife both grew up in Coney Island and remember neighborhood restaurants, stores and social clubs. Local celebrities like Neil Diamond, Woody Guthrie and Louis Gossett, Jr...
Content type: Oral History Item
Son of Richard Carillo, Concession Owner
Nicholas Carrillo's father Richard emigrated from Italy and moved to Coney Island in the late 1940's. He introduced a bowling game and Skee Ball to Coney Island. He also used to repair the intricate Sodamat machine, brought to Coney...
Content type: Oral History Item
Ran penny arcades in Coney Island for over 20 years
Stanley relates a fifty-year history of penny arcades in Coney Island. He and his brother ran a few of them, including Playland, and knew the locations and owners of many others.
Content type: Oral History Item
Grew up in Coney Island in the 1940's
Ralph was born in Coney Island on July 19, 1934, twenty-two years to the day after his mother in the same house. He lovingly describes growing up in Coney Island in remarkable specifics, including stories of local individuals, their diversity, their...
Content type: Oral History Item
Cousin of Beth Allen, incubator baby
Terry Silverman's cousin, Beth Allen, was born 2 months premature in 1941. Desperate to save her and with few other options - hospitals of the day had no facilities for premature infants - Beth's parents placed her in the care of Dr....
Content type: Oral History Item
Beth Allen recounts her origins as an "incubator baby" in Dr. Martin Couney's sideshow
Beth Allen was born 3 months premature in 1941, weighing 1lb 10 oz. Desperate to save her and with few other options - hospitals of the day had no facilities for premature infants - her parents placed her in the care of Dr. Martin Couney, a neonatal...
Content type: Oral History Item