Dreamland Plaza: New Pedestrian Plaza on West 12th Street, Coney Island. August 3, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita via flickr
Coney Island’s new pedestrian plaza on the Boardwalk end of West 12th Street was named “Dreamland Plaza” after Facebook fans voted it to the top of a trio of names offered by the Alliance of Coney Island. Dreamland Park, which was where the Aquarium is now, burned down in 1911 and there are no permanent mementos of the park in Coney Island. On Saturday, the plaza will host History Day, its inaugural special event, featuring free entertainment by organ grinders, musicians and magicians from 1pm. The event is sponsored by Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park and the Coney Island History Project, which are located on 12th Street. While the new plaza’s umbrellas have yet to arrive, we already see echoes of what it might look like in the future in this circa 1905 photo of Dreamland’s Cafe and Outdoor Vaudeville. Now if only they’d rebuild the Dreamland Tower!
Cafe and outdoor vaudeville, Dreamland, Coney Island, circa 1905
UPDATE August 9, 2013:
In response to comments from readers about speeding cars on 12th St and that the plaza looks “underwhelming,” we feel compelled to post photos from 2012 that show it is already an improvement. These photos are just a few of many that we took showing cars making dangerous U-Turns at the Boardwalk end of the street on weekends last season. Although the street is “No Standing,” the number of cars coming here looking for parking spaces was horrific. Since the plaza was built, the traffic has lessened but has not stopped completely. Closing the street on weekends except for local deliveries would be a good idea.
May 2012: Cars making dangerous U-turns on W 12th St where pedestrian plaza is now. Photo © Tricia Vita via flickr
As for the plaza itself, comparisons to Times Square by the mainstream media are off the mark. It provides much-needed additional seating for visitors, who we frequently see sitting on the curb or even on the sidewalk eating Nathan’s hot dogs! More seating as well as umbrellas are expected to be part of the plaza, which is only a few weeks old.
May 2012: Car Traffic on W 12th St where pedestrian plaza is now. Photo © Tricia Vita via flickr
Related posts on ATZ…
July 11, 2013: Photo of the Day: Solar Charging Station in Coney Island
May 24, 2013: Photo Album: B&B Carousell’s Showy Letters Go Up
May 20, 2013: FEMA To Fund $1.2M Repair of Coney Island Boardwalk Lighting
March 11, 2013: Luna Park’s Pinwheels Go Up on Coney Island Boardwalk
Amusing the Zillion 
Tell the 60 pct to stop all through triaffic from speeding down 12st before a car crashes through it
The street should be closed as it was in the past.
yes I agree the street, which is not a through street, should be closed on weekends except for local deliveries.
It’s rather underwhelming.
the plaza is brand-new and will have more amenities in the future. I posted a couple of photos to show what this spot looked like last summer! It’s already an improvement, though it has a ways to go
Hi Tricia –
Thanks for the photos. It’s heartening to post on a blog that reads and responds to comments. It’s one of the reasons your C.I. blog stands above the rest.
I recognize the dangers that existed before and see that the new plaza has helped. Perhaps I’m just frustrated that the city isn’t being more aggressive and allocating larger funding to projects in C.I. By this, I mean in comparison to Manhattan and those more affluent areas in DUMBO and the Heights.
Is this the place to post that it’s been 10 days since your last entry? ;-)
Hope all is well.
Yes! thanks for noticing. I had colliding deadlines in the real world, then exhaustion, then a little vacation from blogging.. Back soon!