Friends since Mark Twain Junior High years
Steve Garone (pictured above on the right) and Dan Pisark met as students at Mark Twain Junior High School and continued on together through Lafayette High School. Steve grew up in Gravesend Houses and recalls being poor but very happy as a kid in...
Content type: Oral History Item
Bringing the 1960's back to Coney Island
Ron recalls going with both friends and family to Coney Island back in the 1960's. His family always took the same spot on the beach in front of the Wonder Wheel. He remembers amusement rides from that time in great detail, but waited until his...
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
Rode the Cyclone at 4 years old
Marion is 75 years old and tells the story of first coming to Coney Island with her grandfather and riding the Cyclone when she was four years old. She subsequently took her children to Steeplechase regularly and then five years ago, she rode the...
Content type: Oral History Item
New York Aquarium volunteer
Debra moved to Coney Island at the age of 7 and recalls some of her fondest memories, including the animal nursery, volunteering at the New York Aquarium, Bread and Puppet Theater and the B&B Carousell. She also compares Coney Island to other...
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
Helping his Dad run a dark ride called the House of Horrors
Joel Minesquero's father operated a spookhouse and performed in the sideshow in Coney Island. Joel takes us on a tour of his favorite spots and reminisces about his rides on the Parachute Jump and his efforts as an outside talker for his father...
Content type: Oral History Item
Worked at the RKO Tilyou Theater
John Landi worked as the house electrician for the RKO Tilyou Theater in the early 1960's when the Tilyou family still operated the theater. He was 19 years old when he started the job and stayed for two or three years. John describes his...
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
Son of Steeplechase Park's general manager, James Onorato
Michael Onorato is the son of James Onorato, who was the general manager of Steeplechase Park from 1928 to 1964 when it closed. Michael remembers the park in vivid detail and describes growing up there. He gives a start-to-finish account of going...
Content type: Oral History Item