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Video of the Day: Live Entertainment for the Hole Family

Posted in history, video, tagged Cha Cha's of Coney Island, Cha-Cha's, Charles Denson, The Dam Family, The Darnd Family, The Hole Family on July 25, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Cha Cha’s, “Home of Wild Women and Wise Guys” and “Live Entertainment for the Hole Family” is gone from the new Coney Island, but the video “Coney Island Poker Face” lives on! Shot in September 2010 by historian Charles Denson, the video features Cha Cha’s regular Frankie Oil dancing to Lady Gaga’s hit while his pal Johnny Corona cheers him on.

Try typing “Live Entertainment for the Hole family” and Google will ask — Did you mean: “Live entertainment for the whole family”?

Nope, we meant “Hole Family.” The charmingly idiosyncratic spelling on the sign is visible in Denson’s slow pan of the Boardwalk bar and cafe, which also takes in the floral wreath for Cha Cha’s longtime manager John Thomas, who had just died, and the lettering of the doomed Shoot the Freak next door. Was “The Hole Family” a painter’s typo? An inside joke like the sign’s enigmatic “Don’t Sleep”? It definitely caught people’s attention and became a conversation piece.

“HA HA HA! Classic.”— A Guy Walks into 365 Bars

Who is this “Hole Family” you speak of? –PJ Coleman via flickr

“Where else but Brooklyn would you see a sign that offered ‘Live Entertainment For The Hole family.’ Who’s the Hole family? Courtney Love and Frances Bean Cobain?” — MemoriesofBrooklyn.blogspot.com

ATZ uncovered clues to the identity of “the Hole Family” a few years ago, but amid the upheaval over Cha Cha’s Boardwalk bar losing its lease in 2011 and the move to Surf Avenue sans the original sign, we never had a chance to write about it. Cha Cha’s officially closed after SuperStorm Sandy.

Coney Island, The Whole Darnd Family. circa 1910. Bain News Service

“The Hole Family” is related to the Whole Darnd family, who are pictured visiting Coney Island with their monkeys in this vintage photo, which also happens to be part of the mosaic at the top of this blog. The Darnd family is a polite takeoff on the title of Edwin S Porter’s silent screen hit “The Whole Dam Family and the Family Dog” (1905).

According to one of the many comic postcards and lithos featuring the Dam family– Mr. I.B. Dam, Miss U.B Dam and their relatives — they were the most popular and widely known family in the United States on account of their unfortunate last name. “Too much notoriety” was rumored to have killed the Dam Family. The curious thing is that at 2:36, the animated letters spell out The Hole Dam Family before the last letter, the “W,” finally tumbles into place.

Half-Pipe Debuts at Coney Island Skateboard Clothing Shop

Posted in amusement park, News, video, tagged Coney Island, entertainment retail, Retail, skateboard, skateboarding, Thor Equities, Wampum on June 20, 2013| 5 Comments »

A half-pipe skateboard ramp popped up over the weekend in Wampum’s Coney Island pop-up shop. It really turned our head! The ramp brought to mind the Minnesota State Fair, where we saw local skateboarders perform in Lair Skatepark’s X-Zone. Located in Thor Equities “Retail Ride of A Lifetime” Building, which has neither arcades nor amusements, the indoor half-pipe at least brings something unique to Coney Island. It could be year-round “entertainment retail” if the skate shop, which is leasing the space for the summer, decides to stick around.

During the rezoning hoopla in 2008, the City proposed the creation of “entertainment retail” in the part of the former 60-acre amusement area designated “Coney East,” yet struggled to come up with viable examples. At a Municipal Art Society panel, Brooklyn Director of City Planning Purnima Kapur replied to a question from the moderator by mentioning Dave & Busters and ESPN Zone, laser tag and virtual reality. Yawn. An indoor ramp where you could see skateboarders do tricks where you also try out and buy boards would be cool.

Wampum Skate Shop in Coney Island. June 1, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Wampum, which bills itself as a “lifestyle clothing brand and skate shop” and has locations in Bridgehampton and Nolita, opened the 2,500 square foot shop on Coney Island’s Stillwell Avenue for the summer season. When we interviewed Wampum co-owner Lennon Ficalora in April, he talked about putting in a ramp. For now, employees are using it for demos to draw people inside the cavernous store. Will local skateboarders be able to give it a go? They’re looking into the logistics of having the public sign waivers, Wampum’s skateboarding sales clerk said.

Update: This Wampum location closed for the season after Labor Day Weekend. Throughout the summer, the half-pipe was used by store employees for demos and as a stage for a rock band. It did not open to the general public.

T shirts, caps and boards for sale at Wampum Coney Island on Opening Weekend. May 27, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

It’s Loo-ney: Bathroom-Themed Water Race Game Comes to Coney Island

Posted in Amusement Game, video, tagged Bob's Space Racers, Coney Island, Jones Walk, Luna Park, Stinky Feet, water race game on May 28, 2013| 1 Comment »

Luna Park’s Stinky Feet Water Race Game, Jones Walk. Coney Island. May 27, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

People walking along Surf Avenue near Luna Park are apt to do a double-take when they pass Jones Walk. Six toilet seats have been bolted into the pavement in front of the first concession booth! Insert joke about Coney Island’s new, very public restrooms here. The row of open-air loos could easily be mistaken for the real thing but the toilet lids don’t open. The new fixtures are part of Stinky Feet, a multi-target water-race game with guns that are replicas of bathtub faucets and seats that look like toilets. The game opened on Jones Walk over Memorial Day Weekend. Here’s a video that we made of the water race in action:

Manufactured by Whac-A-Mole creator Bob’s Space Racers, Stinky Feet has been a big hit at amusement parks since it debuted three years ago. The game is one of several family-friendly new games installed by Luna Park on the east side of Jones Walk, where last year’s attractions were destroyed by flood waters from Superstorm Sandy.