Coney Island | Amusing the Zillion

Posts Tagged ‘Coney Island’

Video of the Day: Annual Coney Island Talent Show

Posted in Events, video, tagged Alliance for Coney Island, Coney Island, Coney Island Talent Show, talent show, Thirsty Girl Productions on July 26, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The 4th Annual Coney Island Talent Show is tomorrow, July 27, from 3-8PM. It’s too late to register to perform, but spectating is free. The stage is on the Boardwalk between West 10th and West 12th Streets. Here’s what it looked like last year — once again the talent categories are Creative Kids, Song and Dance, and Circus Freaks and Sideshow Geeks! Produced by Jen Gapay of Thirsty Girl Productions and emceed by The World Famous *BOB*, the Coney Island Talent Show is sponsored by the Alliance for Coney Island.

Futuristic 3-D Portrait Studio Debuts in Coney Island

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged 3-D portrait, 3-D printing, Coney Island, Coney Island Scan-A-Rama, Fred Kahl, Kickstarter, photo studio on July 19, 2013| 2 Comments »

Photo Tent on Coney Island Beach, 1890s. Library of Congress

Ever since the 19th century, beachside and sidewalk photo studios have offered tourists a chance to memorialize their visit to Coney Island’s fabled shore. Now sideshow performer and tech genius Fred Kahl is turning the time-honored souvenir photo into a 21st century art form with his 3-D scanning portrait studio. After launching a Kickstarter project to raise $15,000 to fund the venture, Kahl opened the tiny studio in a former fortune teller’s booth at 1208 Surf Avenue next to the Coney Island Sideshow. The Coney Island Scan-A-Rama is open Saturdays from 12 noon till 7:00 PM.

Coney Island Scan-A-Rama, 3-D Portraits by Fred Kahl

“The vision is to create the world’s first affordable 3D printing portrait studio,” Kahl writes on his Kickstarter page. “As a backer, you will get your very own personal 3D action figure or family portrait!” Getting scanned takes only a minute, though one is required to stand very still on a slowly revolving platform as shown in this video. With Kahl’s custom hardware and workflow, printing the 3-D figurine can take 4-7 hours, depending on volume and complexity. Figurines of 2-3 people take longer, he says. Duplicates of the 3-D portraits will be featured in a populated scale model of 1914 Luna Park to be exhibited at Coney Island USA in 2014. Some of the 3-D towers and minarets can be glimpsed in the background of the photo below.

Coney Island Scan-A-Rama, 3-D Portraits by Fred Kahl

“Coney Island has always been the place where cutting edge technology is presented as entertainment. Inventions like the elevator, electric light bulb, hot dog and the rollercoaster found their first audiences here,” says Kahl. “I wanted to update the art of amusement park portraiture for the 21st century. In the past you would have had a caricature drawn, silhouette cut or a photo taken. Well, that technology has barely changed in 100 years… Until now!”

Here’s a time lapse video showing the printing process of the 3D portrait of burlesque performer Kat Mon Dieu at the Coney Island Scan-A-Rama…

The Kickstarter campaign has raised nearly one-third of the $15,000 goal with contributions ranging from $5 to $220, but Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing funding model. The full amount must be pledged by August 8 for the project to be funded. A pledge of $50 will get you a 3-D figurine of one of a dozen Coney Island celebrities. For $60, you’ll receive a 3-D custom portrait of yourself. A group of 2-3 people can get a 3-D portrait for a pledge of $100 or more. “I am also planning to add a new reward this week,” says Kahl. “A model of the Luna Park tower!”

Visit http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fredini/coney-island-scan-a-rama for more info and updates.

Update: Fred Kahl’s Scan-O-Rama 3D portrait studio will be open most Saturdays from 12-5pm through December 21, 2013 at Coney Island USA, 1208 Surf Avenue.

Coney Island Scan-A-Rama, 3-D Portraits by Fred Kahl

Astroland Rides Find Homes in Brooklyn, Costa Rica and Australia

Posted in amusement park, Amusement ride, tagged Astroland, Coney Island, water flume on July 17, 2013| 4 Comments »

Pirate Ship from Surf Avenue, Sept. 7, 2008. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo57 via flickr

Since the July 4th demolition of the Astrotower, the last remnant of Astroland in Luna Park, readers have been asking “What happened to the rest of Astroland’s rides?” and there has been speculation on the Coney Island message board.

Astroland’s rides were taken down and removed from the property by the Albert family at the end of 2008 and the majority were sold to other parks, both in the U.S and abroad. ATZ spoke with Mark Blumenthal, former operations manager of Astroland, who has overseen the sale of the rides. The biggest surprise for readers will be that Neptune’s Water Flume, which was widely assumed to have been scrapped after being disassembled, was sold to a park in South America.

Astroland’s last night, water flume ticket booth. September 7, 2008. Photo © me-myself-i/Tricia Vita via flickr

The only Astroland ride currently in Coney Island is the Barbieri bumper cars with their psychedelic artwork and rainbow-trimmed pavilion. The ride was refurbished by Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park and brought back home to Coney Island in 2012 with new cars added post-Sandy. You can catch a glimpse of the ride in the “I Love New York” TV commercial about New York’s beaches in which Wonder Wheel Park is featured.

Bumper Cars at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park, Coney Island. May 15, 2013. Via Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park flickr

Here’s a rundown of the Astroland rides new locations, courtesy of Mark Blumenthal. He now manages Adventurer’s Park in Brooklyn, where the Astroland Teacups and Circuit 2000 have found a new home.

Dante’s Inferno, the Tilt-A-Whirl and the Scrambler are still for sale, he says, along with the Bonanza Shooting Gallery, which was next to Gregory & Paul’s on Surf Avenue.

The Topspin relocated to Seaside Heights, New Jersey, where it survived Sandy and has since been sold to Deggeller Attractions, a traveling carnival.

The Enterprise at Casino Pier in Seaside Heights also survived Sandy but is not running this year due to damage to the pier.

The Pirate Ship and Breakdancer went to Costa Rica. The Kiddie Coaster is in Australia.

One of the Astroland stars from the Surf Avenue gate is in the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. The 8-foot by 7-and-a-half-foot lighted star will be on display with other space-age icons in the Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center after construction is completed.

UPDATE January 20, 2015:

Remember Astroland’s Scrambler? It’s back at home in Coney Island at Deno’s! The Scrambler will be located between the Wonder Wheel and the Barbieri Bumper Cars, which also hail from Astroland and were refurbished and returned in 2012.

Coney Island 2015: Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park Adds Scrambler, ‘Twist & Shout’ Drop Tower

UPDATE January 6, 2014:

BLAST OFF! Today the Coney Island History Project announced: “In late December our proposal for the return of the Astroland Rocket was approved by the City and we’re now planning an extensive exhibit about the rocket and space-themed Coney attractions of the past. Ownership of the historic Rocket will be transferred to the History Project and the Vourderis family will provide a permanent home for it in Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park.”