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Posts Tagged ‘Coney Island History Project’

Grimaldi’s Rings in Coney Island Comeback with Dreamland Bell

Posted in Artifacts, Food & Drink, history, tagged Coney Island, Coney Island History Project, Dreamland Bell, Gene Ritter, Grimaldi's, restaurant, Superstorm Sandy on May 13, 2013| 3 Comments »

1885 Bell from Iron Pier at Dreamland Park on Display at Grimaldi’s Coney Island. Mary 12, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita via flickr

Grimaldi’s in Coney Island, which renovated and reopened on April 30 after being flooded by Superstorm Sandy, is now offering a slice of Coney Island history along with their pizza pies. The “Dreamland Bell” that survived the Dreamland Fire of 1911 was put on display yesterday at the pizza restaurant, where it is a powerful symbol of Coney’s comeback from Sandy. The Bell can be seen through the open storefront by pedestrians walking on the north side of Surf Avenue. It is expected to be on display at the popular pizza restaurant for ~~two to three weeks~~ the summer, store owner Joe Silvestri told ATZ. (Fall Update: The Bell is there through September 27, 2013 and will return in April 2014.)

The 1885 bronze bell cast by James Gregory once welcomed steamship passengers arriving at the New Iron Pier to visit Coney Island’s Dreamland Park, which was on the site of the New York Aquarium. After a 20 year quest, Coney Island diver Gene Ritter found the Bell twenty-five feet underwater, about one hundred yards offshore. On September 3, 2009, nearly a century after the fire that destroyed Dreamland and the Pier, the bell was raised from the ocean floor and a day later was put on exhibit at the Coney Island History Project.

Vintage Ad: Iron Steamboat Co. The Only All Water Route to Coney Island. Photo by Tricia Vita via Coney Island History Project flickr

Vintage Ad: Iron Steamboat Co. “The Only All Water Route” to Coney Island. Photo © Tricia Vita via Coney Island History Project flickr

“The reason we’re doing it now at Grimaldi’s is because of the devastation of Sandy,” Ritter told ATZ. “We’re trying to help them out.” The fact that the restaurant is decorated with poster-size photos of Coney Island’s historic Dreamland Park and Luna Park “makes it a natural,” Ritter added. Later this week, Charles Denson of the Coney Island History Project will install a plaque with the history of the Dreamland Bell and archival photos.

When the Dreamland Bell made its debut at the History Project on Labor Day Weekend in 2009, joy and optimism about the future of Coney Island was reflected in the faces of many friends and acquaintances who made a special trip to see the Bell and ring it. The discovery of the Bell symbolized and presaged the rebirth of Coney Island because it marked the return of something that was thought to have been irrevocably destroyed. No one expected the return of an artifact lost nearly one hundred years ago in a fire, and certainly not such an important artifact as the Dreamland Bell. It’s fitting that the Bell has been brought back to ring in Coney Island’s comeback from the destruction of Sandy.

Grimaldi’s, 1215 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11224

Gene Ritter with Russell of Grimaldi’s in front of photo of Dreamland Tower at Grimaldi’s Surf Avenue restaurant. May 12, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita

Spook-A-Rama Revival: Vintage Cyclops Meets New Dragon

Posted in amusement park, Amusement ride, Artifacts, tagged Coney Island, Coney Island History Project, Cyclops, dark ride, folk art, Spook-A-Rama on March 29, 2013| 4 Comments »

Spook-A-Rama Cyclops on Display at Coney Island History Project, March 24, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita

Spook-A-Rama’s vintage Cyclops head is on view at the Coney Island History Project on Sunday along with other artifacts that survived Sandy. The iconic eye is still operational. The eye slyly moves back and forth in the manner of a Kathakali dancer. Meanwhile, the dark ride in Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park was carefully rebuilt after flood damage from Sandy and has a fabulous new animatronic dragon atop its roof as seen in this video by Jay Singer.

Spook-A-Rama’s Pretzel cars and track are back and some vintage props were combined with new stunts in a way that remains true to the spirit of Coney’s last classic dark ride. The Cyclops was one of the original figures atop the 1950s ride but it was retired decades ago. The head resurfaced a couple of years ago to be inducted into the Coney Island Hall of Fame and was later put on display in front of Spook-A-Rama. The most recent resident of the dark ride’s roof was a giant skeleton. In the photo below, taken in Wonder Wheel Park just a few weeks after Sandy, you can see Sandy’s high water mark on the Cyclops teeth. The marks are still visible today.

Spook-A-Rama’s Cyclops Survived the Super Storm. Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park. Coney Island. November 17, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita via flickr

Photo of the Day: Lettering Saved from Demolished Arcade

Posted in Artifacts, Photo of the Day, Photography, tagged arcade, Charles Denson, Coney Island History Project, demolition, Playland, signage on February 14, 2013| 3 Comments »

Remaining Playland Letters Saved by the Coney Island History Project. February 14, 2013. Photo © Coney Island History Project

The demolition of Coney Island’s Playland Arcade got underway in October, but was interrupted by Sandy. The job was finished today. It’s gone!

Charles Denson of the Coney Island History Project managed to save the remaining letters on the facade– L, N and D– and several of the whimsical yet deteriorating murals. “Our previous efforts at preservation were hampered by trespassers, vandals, black mold, the untimely death of Playland’s caretaker, Andy Badalamenti, as well as Superstorm Sandy,” according to a photo album on the History Project’s Facebook page. The artifacts will be exhibited this season.

An arcade existed in the Playland building from the 1930s until 1981, operated by four sets of brothers over a fifty year period. In 1981 the arcade machines were auctioned and the business closed, leaving Playland vacant for the past thirty years.