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Sunday Matinee: Princess Rajah’s Chair Dance (1904)

Posted in film, video, tagged Arabian Chair Dance, Coney Island, Princess Rajah, Rose Ferran, Vaudeville on December 8, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Princess Rajah was a $1000-per-week headliner on the Keith Vaudeville Circuit in the early 1900s who got her start as a cooch dancer in Coney Island in the 1890s. Her Arabian Chair Dance, seen in this 1904 film, as well as her Cleopatra Dance, were described in rave reviews as entirely unlike anything shown on the stage. The dance was filmed by the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company on May 23, 1904, at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. Princess Rajah was a featured act in the “Mysterious Asia” concession on the Pike.

“In her Chair dance, the Princess amazes by her strength, particularly her strength of jaw. Taking between her teeth a substantial looking chair, she swirls and swings through a dance that would be intricate and difficult enough were her head entirely free,” according to a 1915 review in the Boston Daily Globe. “Never does her hand touch the chair, and the feats she performs with it are almost incredible.”

Princess Rajah

In 1909, Broadway impresario William Hammerstein “discovered” the Cleopatra Dancer at Huber’s Museum on 14th Street. “I had the greatest surprise of my career when I discovered that a genuine artist was being hidden away in a dime museum,” he told the New York Times. “In fact I am at a loss for words to describe this Cleopatra dance. She does not depend upon the undraped figure to reveal her art but uses a peculiar kind of Oriental costume that is a marvel in itself. She uses real snakes, too.”

Two weeks later the Princess, whose real name was Rose Ferran, made her vaudeville debut as the star attraction at Hammerstein’s Victoria Theater on 42nd Street. Heavyweight champ Jack Johnson was also on the bill and was reported to have leaped onto the stage and sucked the venom from her veins when a snake bit her. It sounds like an inspired bit of press agentry but in later descriptions of the Cleopatra Dance, Princess Rajah is said to clutch the snake to her bosom and allow it to bite her when she comes upon a statue of her dead lover Marc Anthony. Then follows a death fall down a flight of stairs that is a thriller, according to reviews. Alas, the Cleopatra dance is not preserved on film.

Princess Rajah greets visitors at Akoun’s Beautiful Orient and Streets of Cairo at the Jamestown Exposition in 1907. Photo via Norfolk Public Library

Photo Album: Signs of the Times in Post-Sandy Coney Island

Posted in News, Photo Album, Photography, tagged Chase Bank, Coney Island, Nathan's, Wonder Wheel on December 7, 2012| 2 Comments »

Ruby Jacobs Walk at Coney Island Boardwalk. December 5, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita via flickr

On Wednesday in Coney Island, we saw waves of sand on the newly sculpted beach adjacent to Ruby Jacobs Walk. Waves of workers in Parks Department jumpsuits walked by after getting off the job around sunset. On the Boardwalk, a holiday banner at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park announced the news that rides on the Wonder Wheel will be free on Coney Island’s opening day — March 24, 2013. That’s only 107 days away!

Holiday Banner at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park, Coney Island Boardwalk. December 5, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita via flickr

At the original Nathan’s Famous at Surf and Stillwell, a banner says “After 100 Years, No Hurricane Will Get Us Down!” and directs visitors to Nathan’s Bay Ridge location while they are rebuilding. A generator was chugging away on the Bowery side of the store. Nathan’s Boardwalk location, which was expanded last summer and is open seasonally, also had its electrical system knocked out by the storm.

Coney Island Post-Sandy: The original Nathan’s at Surf and Stillwell is Closed Till Spring. Photo © Tricia Vita via flickr

On Mermaid Avenue, a few more Mom and Pop businesses including Chinese and Spanish restaurants have managed to open. We saw a cell phone shop and barber shop under renovation. At Our Lady of Solace Church parking lot, it was the first day of Chase’s new mobile branch. Along with ATM machines, there’s a tent staffed by community bankers. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm, and on Saturdays from 9am till 3pm. The location will be open until December 17 when a trailer will open at the branch, one of the bankers told ATZ. A few blocks away, a sign on the boarded up Chase branch said: “We apologize that this branch is temporarily closed. We are committed to helping our community after Hurricane Sandy. We will re-open as soon as possible.”

Chase Mobile Branch, Our Lady of Solace Church Parking Lot. Mermaid Avenue, Coney Island. December 5, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita via flickr

An aquamarine and pink notice was posted on the Place To Beach Bar, which is under construction on the Boardwalk adjacent to Scream Zone. The Department of Buildings notice says that it had been “Inspected – No Apparent Structural Hazard.” The bar’s mini- lighthouse appeared to have weathered the storm, too.

Inspected – No Apparent Structural Hazard. Building on Coney Island Boardwalk. December 5, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita via flickr

At the front office of the Brooklyn Cyclones at 1904 Surf Avenue, a sign warned “Do Not Enter STOP Testing in Progress. This Building is Closed to ALL During the Testing Process.” A few doors away, a crew was cleaning up Peggy O’Neill’s Bar.

This Building is Closed to ALL During the Testing Process. 1904 Surf Avenue, Coney Island. December 5, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita via flickr

Posted on telephone pole on Mermaid Avenue: A flyer for a December 1st presentation on post-Sandy mold clean-up at Our Lady of Solace Church. “How to identify it. How to treat it. How to protect yourself and family and remove mold safely. What mold remediation services are available.”

Tom’s Restaurant on the Boardwalk, which is open daily, invites visitors to donate a toy to the Aquarium’s toy drive and receive on ticket to the Bronx Zoo. The event was relocated from the Aquarium, which is closed till June due to storm damage.

On the south side of Surf Avenue, Popeye’s and Island Grocery are open. Popeye’s is a true survivor. The restaurant’s owner had been in business year-round in Coney Island for 27 years when he lost his lease in the now-demolished Henderson Building at the corner of Surf and Stillwell in 2010. He rebuilt his business in the Popper Building last year. On the north side, the franchises in Stillwell Terminal–Dunkin’ Donuts and Subway, usually open 24 hours, remain closed. The Bank of America in the terminal has been cleaned and new walls and ATMs were installed but it’s not yet open. Workers were hauling debris out of the police station.

Also on the north side of Surf, The Coney Island Bar and Grill, formerly Bratva Bar, is open from 5pm with live music on Saturday by FRWG–Fried Rice and The White Guys.