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Posts Tagged ‘Coney Island History Project’

Target the Coney Island Arcade Cat Is On Twitter!

Posted in Animals, Coney Island, tagged amusement rides, cats on twitter, Coney Island Arcade, Coney Island History Project, Cyclone, OPening Day, Target the Cat, Wonder Wheel on March 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Target the Coney Island Arcade Cat on Opening Day 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Coney Island’s 40 rides and diverse attractions start up again for the 2010 season in just one day! Since we work in Coney, it’s been so hectic getting ready for opening day that we haven’t had a minute to blog. Not so with Target the Coney Island Arcade Cat…

Our favorite cat has started microblogging as ConeyICat via twitter! But he has quite a ways to go before he catches up with Sockington, a Massachusetts cat with 1.5 million followers! Please follow Target if you are on twitter. His latest tweet:

Coney Island Arcade & Games open on Sunday too! http://bit.ly/bXBgAA We need players to have winners--That means YOU!
— ConeyIslandArcadeCat (@ConeyICat) March 27, 2010

Target the Coney Island Arcade Cat Has Something to Say... Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Also opening on Sunday…Coney Island’s Cyclone Roller Coaster, Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park (22 rides), McCullough’s Kiddie Park (a dozen rides), 12th St. Amusements (Polar Express and 4 other rides) and the Eldorado Bumper Cars.

The annual Blessing of the Rides is set for 11:00 am at Deno’s Wonder Wheel. Then at 12 noon, Borough President Marty Markowitz will break a bottle of homemade egg cream on the Cyclone’s first car as the Hungry March Band toot their horns in celebration. The first 100 people to arrive to the party will ride the Cyclone for free. The Coney Island History Project on Surf under the Cyclone will host an Open House from 12-3 pm. Free admission to one and all!

For more info on what’s open in Coney Island and a listing of upcoming events, sign up for the Coney Island Fun Guide newsletter or follow them on twitter.

See you tomorrow, March 28th at 12 noon?

Manny Cohen of Coney Island Arcade with his World-Famous Cat Target. © 2010 Manny Cohen. All rights reserved

Photo Album: Coney Island Shines at IAAPA Attractions Expo 2009 in Vegas

Posted in amusement industry, News, tagged Charles Denson, Coney Island, Coney Island Development Corporation, Coney Island History Project, IAAPA, IAAPA Hall of Fame, Luna Park, Thompson & Dundy on November 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Coney Island was in the spotlight at the November 16-20 IAAPA (The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) Expo 2009 in Las Vegas. Among the 1000-plus exhibitors at the world’s largest conference and trade show for the attractions industry was the Coney Island Development Corporation, whose RFP for a 10-year lease with the City of New York for a “Coney Island Amusement Operator” was the talk of the show floor. (Read our take on “The Contenders from A to Z.”) At the show’s Kickoff Event on Nov. 17, Fred Thompson and Skip Dundy, the creators of Coney Island’s legendary Luna Park (1903-1946), were posthumously inducted into the IAAPA Hall of Fame.

Accepting the IAAPA Hall of Fame Award on behalf of Coney Island’s amusement pioneers were historian Charles Denson, Executive Director of the Coney Island History Project, and Carol Hill Albert, co-founder of the Coney Island History Project and operator of Coney Island’s Cyclone roller coaster. “We’d like to see Coney Island rebuilt with the same sense of creativity and wonder that Thompson and Dundy showed 100 years ago,” said Denson, who accepted the award on behalf of Elmer “Skip” Dundy. According to Dundy’s obituary in the New York Times, “Mr. Thompson supplied the inventive faculty for the concern, and Mr. Dundy attended to the no less complicated matter of obtaining three-quarters of a million required to start the enterprise. When the gates were thrust open to the public, the partners had just $11 between them.”

“I’m thrilled for the Coney Island History Project to be accepting this award on behalf of Fred Thompson,” said Carol Hill Albert, who founded the History Project with her husband Jerome Albert in honor of Dewey Albert, creator of Astroland Park. “Coney Island’s fabulous history was always an answer to ‘Can You Top This’ and Fred Thompson placed the bar so high that even today amusement parks all over the world are reaping its benefit.” The award, which is considered the industry’s highest honor, was presented by Tim O’Brien, VP Communications for Ripley Entertainment Inc. and chairman of the IAAPA Hall of Fame and Archives Committee. Additional info about the IAAPA Hall of Fame and Thompson & Dundy’s work is available on the IAAPA and Coney Island History Project websites.

Nate Bliss and Lynn Kelly of the Coney Island Development Corporation and Laura Kirschbaum from NYCEDC drummed up interest in “Coney Island’s Next Act” at their booth at the trade show. The CIDC was a first time exhibitor at the IAAPA Attractions Expo 2008 in Orlando. This year, the CIDC went to Vegas as a Silver Sponsor (banner signage in lobbies, enhanced Show Guide listing and more) to showcase the City of New York’s RFP for a “Coney Island Amusement Operator.” “We’re looking for the new Luna Park developers, if you will,” said Lynn Kelly, president of the CIDC, at a special information session for prospective bidders. “This is a unique moment in time for Coney Island, to bring it back to life in a 21st century way. We’re thrilled to be here again and to have something substantive to offer this industry.”

Coney Islanders in Vegas: Dennis Vourderis of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park (center) visits Manny Cohen and Stan Fox of Coney Island Arcade USA in their booth. For Coney Island’s amusement operators, attending the IAAPA conference and trade show for the attractions industry is an annual ritual. Coney Island Arcade manufactures and sells coin op amusement games. Cohen also operates an arcade on the Bowery at 12th Street in the heart of Brooklyn’s world-famous amusement area. “Business was better than I expected. There was a lot of activity and interest,” said Fox, whose family owned arcades in Coney Island since the 1940s.

IAAPA estimates that 24,000 people, including approximately 14,700 buyers, from 108 nations participated in the IAAPA Attractions Expo 2009 in Las Vegas. Attendees from Coney Island included Steve Vourderis and sons, of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park, and Cyclone roller coaster staff and crew members, who enrolled in IAAPA’s educational programs and ride safety seminars. On IAAPA Museum Day, Charles Denson of the Coney Island History Project attended the seminar “Museums, Arts and Culture, and Economic Development” presented by Jack Rouse and Stephen Sheppard. On November 20, it was goodbye Vegas, see you on Palm Sunday (opening day of the season) in Coney Island and next November at the IAAPA Attractions Expo 2010 in Orlando! A big thank you to Charles Denson for sharing his IAAPA photo album.

Coney Island Dreamland Bell Travels to Brooklyn Borough Hall for Exhibition

Posted in Artifacts, history, tagged Brooklyn, Brooklyn Borough Hall, Coney Island, Coney Island History Project, David Grider, Dreamland Bell, Gene Ritter, James Gregory on October 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Souvenir Photo: Nick and Niko Ring the Dreamland Pier Bell at the Coney Island History Project, Sept 13, 2009. Photo by Tricia Vita/Coney Island History Project via flickr

Souvenir Photo: Nick and Niko Ring the Dreamland Pier Bell at the Coney Island History Project, Sept 13, 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita/Coney Island History Project via flickr

If you missed the chance to ring the century old Dreamland Pier Bell at the Coney Island History Project last month, you’ll have a chance to ring it at Brooklyn Borough Hall beginning next week (Oct 6). Gene Ritter, the Coney Island diver who discovered the Bell and raised it from the ocean floor on September 3 is bringing the Bell to Brooklyn Borough Hall for a public exhibition at the invitation of Borough President Marty Markowitz.

Ritter told ATZ the Bell ~~is expected to travel~~ traveled from Coney Island to Borough Hall today (Oct 2) to be ready for a celebratory bell ringing on Tuesday that will kick off a two to four week public exhibition. “I think we will have the Bell on display in the main hall at first,” said Ritter. “Then we will move it to the tourism and visitors center. I was told once we get there we could pick the best spot for the Bell.”

Diver Gene Ritter with Photos of Dreamland Bell. Photo by Tricia Vita/Coney Island History Project via flickr

Diver and Bell Discoverer Gene Ritter with Historic Photos of the Bell. Photo © Tricia Vita/Coney Island History Project via flickr

During the Bell’s display at the Coney Island History Project, visitors were invited to “Be a Part of History…Ring the Bell!” Ritter’s future plans for exhibiting the Bell are still tentative. He is in discussion with the New York Aquarium in Coney Island and Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Casino as possible off season venues. One thing for sure, Ritter says the Bell will return to Coney Island to ring in the opening day of the season at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park on Palm Sunday 2010. He would also like to bring the Bell back to the Coney Island History Project’s seasonal exhibition center, which is open from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

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

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

The 1885 bronze bell once welcomed steamship passengers arriving at the New Iron Pier to visit Coney Island’s original Dreamland Park, which was on the site of the New York Aquarium. The historic bell survived the Dreamland fire of 1911 and was discovered underwater after a 20-year quest by Coney Island diver Gene Ritter. On display with the Bell are period images from historian Charles Denson’s archive including a photo of the Bell at the end of the Iron Pier and a vintage ad for “The Only All Water Route” to Coney Island. Rates were 35 cents round trip!

The Bell was cast by James Gregory in 1885. Photo by Tricia Vita/Coney Island History Project via flickr

Information about “James Gregory,” the bell maker whose name is inscribed on the Bell, has come to light thanks to the research of architect David Grider. The Brooklyn resident and history buff has experience with the hanging and mounting of Bells having managed bell projects for Trinity Church at St. Paul’s Chapel (the Lord Mayor’s bell, a memorial to 9/11) and Trinity Church (a new 12-bell Change Ring assembly in the steeple of the church). He has volunteered to help design the final home for the Dreamland Bell and in the meantime is cobbling together an essay on Coney Island’s historic bell:

I’ve attached the excerpt I found last night about the Mechanics’ Bell, a sort of complicated story of a bell that was apparently cast in 1831 and erected in various locations around the city. The last page has the info about the foundry:

“… so a new bell was cast from the metal of the old one by James Gregory of Cannon Street, the brass founder, who had been in that location since about 1850, being the successor of William Buckley, the bell founder.”

I was struck by the similarity of its bell mount to the one seen in that picture of the new iron pier, and wow, what an amazing find the Dreamland Bell is: not only a link to America’s premier amusement destination, but also, indirectly, a sort of lost beacon for New York’s vanished ship-building industry – it would not surprise me if the Dreamland Bell was cast from the very same mold that Gregory would have used to make the Mechanic’s Bell.

Gregory looks to have been in business at least 40 years. I particularly like the 1896 Ad from American Yacht; seems he also ran the Eckford Iron Works. Most of the area (Cannon Street, etc.) was plowed under for Baruch Houses and other urban renewal projects, not unlike big chunks of Coney…

After a celebratory welcome of the dive team and the Bell on October 6, Tuesday, at 11 am, the free exhibition is scheduled to run through October 23, 2009. Hours are 9 am -6 pm, Monday- Friday. Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn.

An 1896 ad from American Yacht for Eckford Iron Works on Cannon Street lists James Gregory, Brass Founder and Finisher, as one of the proprietors. Coney Island History Project via flickr