Window to Coney Island. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr
ATZ spotted these classic images of the Astroland Rocket atop Gregory & Paul’s roof and the Cyclone roller coaster in a shop window on Sixth Avenue at 12th in Greenwich Village. As we framed our shot, a couple walked by and the man sang out “Astroland!” We sang back: “Coney Island opens for the season on March 28th!” The gallery owner says he sells five or six of the canvas prints per month. The original photos are by Erin Clark.
Related posts on ATZ...
January 2, 2010: Photo Album: Coney Island Boardwalk, New Year’s Day 2010
December 20, 2009: Coney Island Photo of the Day: First Snow on the Cyclone
June 26, 2009: Happy Birthday to Coney Island’s Cyclone Roller Coaster!
June 2, 2009: Coney Island is Alive and Kicking in 2009 Photo of the Day: Dusk on the Boardwalk
Amusing the Zillion 
I was wondering if I’d get a reason to mention this. A while back I happened to see something of an “art house” flick called “My Winnipeg.” I don’t remember much of the plot but it had qualities that probably fit the stoic Canadian psyche better than the American one (though it got good reviews – http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/movies/13winn.html ). “Je suis Canadien,” to clarify.
Anyway, the film deals with remembrances of the Winnipeg of the main character’s childhood. One of those memories was of a beloved amusement park that had long since disappeared. The grainy, deteriorated footage of the park had a view of what looked exactly like Deno’s Wonder Wheel. I checked to see if the Wonder Wheel was something other than a one-off item but I didn’t find anything suggesting that. But after looking at the short scene (only a few seconds at most) a few times I noticed that parts of Astroland could be seen in the foreground. The director used footage of Coney Island to represent a long missed childhood pleasure. I laughed when I realized what had been done. Much of the film is like that with far more outrageous and hiliarious “memories” of things and events in old and lost (and never was) Winnipeg.
What could have been a better choice to represent such a fond yet sad childhood memory than Coney Island?
What a quirky movie, I will look for it! The review in the Times certainly piqued my curiosity with the list of curious claims like “Is it true that the city fathers used to sponsor an annual treasure hunt in which first prize was a one-way ticket out of town?”
Thanks again for letting us post your lovely photos of the Grill House kitties in the Coney Island Cat rescue story. We have been getting queries about those cats!