Coney Island Dreamland at the southernmost part of Brooklyn, New York, flourished when high-concept amusement parks were in full swing. The area of Coney Island was once a sanctuary of lagoons and pristine beaches inhabited by the Lenape people. Environmentalists and many locals fought its development. But in the 1870s Coney Island had become a Seaside Resort like those developing in England.
By the 1890s, amusement parks and pleasure piers sprang up beside many seaside resorts. The best of them could hold their own today with the likes of Disneyland, Sea World and Universal Studios. Coney Island Dreamland (1904-1911) was one of the shortest lived of these parks. Even so, it offered astonishing features, several of which inspired some of today’s parks .
Amusement Parks Reflected Changing Times
Only five miles long and an average of one-half mile wide, Coney Island Dreamland became known as “America’s Playground” because it had something for everyone. Some called it “Heaven at the end of a subway ride.” Others called it “Sodom by the Sea.” According to the Library of Congress America at Work, America at Leisure collection, Coney Island reflected profound social and economic changes underway in America.
“The period from 1894 to 1915 was one in which workers in the United States began to have more leisure time than their predecessors. One reason for this was that industrial employers began to decrease working hours and institute a Saturday half-day holiday, which gave workers more free time for leisure activities.” (Library of Congress)
Workers were encouraged to take unpaid vacations from their grueling factory jobs. The Progressive Movement for better health encouraged them to spend time outdoors away from the grime of the city. Many believed sea bathing was the secret to good health. For the first time the working class had a little discretionary income to spend on entertainment. Improvements in affordable transportation and the growing use of electric lighting all contributed to the success of Coney Island Dreamland.
In the later 1800s and early 1900s, some record-breaking heat waves also triggered huge numbers of visitors.
The loosening of Victorian decorum with its rigid codes of social conduct and propriety helped places like Coney Island Dreamland thrive. Although the parks offered family entertainment, they also had attractions that encouraged men and women to intermingle.
A favorite “ride” was the Steeplechase Barrel of Fun that tossed people on top of each other as they entered the park. Another was the Blow-Hole Theatre that blew air up women’s skirts.
In his book, Coney Island: 150 Years of Rides, Fires, Floods, the Rich, the Poor and Finally Robert Moses, William J. Phalen writes that amusement parks were important targets of debate. For some, the amusement parks symbolized the democratic ideals of a melting pot society. For others, they were a disgrace.
Love them or hate them, Coney Island Dreamland and similar amusement parks provided all social classes an escape from the drudgery of the daily routine. At the core was the democratic ideal that every person was entitled to have a good time. Amusement parks became known as “Nickel Empires” where everything from travel to food and rides could be bought for five cents.
Dreamland Was Inspired By Parks That Preceded It
Coney Island Dreamland “borrowed” heavily from amusement parks that came before it including Sea Lion Park, Steeplechase Park and Luna Park.
“They combined popular modernity, mass consumption, and a new collective experience while also offering traditional entertainments such as dioramas, firework spectacles, and music and dance halls, as well as freak and girlie shows.” (Coney Island-Phalen)
Like its predecessors, Coney Island Dreamland carried its visitors away to unknown places and times. Visitors could experience the fall of Pompeii then float in gondolas through the canals of Venice. They could witness the Biblical story of creation complete with a 30-foot-tall topless angel. Coney Island Dreamland also featured one of the largest ballrooms in the nation. For gamers there were shooting galleries and rides. Also among the favorite attractions were a Japanese café and “airplane boat” rides. A high-wire bicycle show over the lagoon harkened back to that of Maria Spelterini who walked over Niagara Falls in 1876.
Following are a few of the most popular attractions.
Dreamland Beacon Tower
The majestic 375-foot Tower stood at the heart of the amusement park. It was one of the tallest structures in New York. Coney Island Dreamland visitors could travel to the top via elevator—no doubt a wild ride unto itself for most people at the time. At night, the famous structure set the night sky ablaze with 100,000 electric light bulbs.
Shoot The Chutes
Positioned close to the Tower, the rambunctious ride featured flat-bottom boats and two ramps that could handle up to 7,000 riders every hour. The ride was built in the ocean and descended over the beach into the saltwater lagoon adjacent to the park.
Swiss Alpine Landscape
Like today’s amusement parks, Coney Island Dreamland delivered escapism. One of the favorite attractions was a railway that ran through a Swiss Alpine landscape, complete with blasts of cold air.
Midget City
Well before The Wizard of Oz, The Midget City was also known as a Lilliputian Village. It had three hundred dwarf inhabitants, a tavern, a circus, theatre, and its own fire department.
LeapFrog Railway
Leapfrog Railway, two trains drove towards each other on the same track, and then one would drive up and over the other using custom tracks.
Fighting Flames Attraction
“Fighting Flames” was a popular attraction that pre-dated the lust for disaster movies. This was a set that recreated a crowded New York Street with tenements and businesses in a large amphitheater that resembled a movie set. Performers reenacted firefighters saving a blazing six-story building. They slid down fire poles to their horse-drawn fire engines. Once they arrived at the burning building, they made dramatic rescues.
The Coney Island Dreamland Baby Incubators
The Dicker family owned the hotel next to Coney Island Dreamland as well as sideshow attractions. They featured premature triplets in incubators. The relatively new invention was not approved for use in hospitals. Eventually, incubators found their way from sideshows to hospitals.
The Dream Ended In A Nightmare
Coney Island Dreamland ended early one morning on May 27 1911 when a real fire broke out in the Hell Gate. The ride carried people in boats through a maze of dark caverns and whirlpools. Most of the structures and exhibits throughout Coney Island Dreamland were not fireproof, so the blaze spread quickly through the park.
The fire was so intense that it sounded “like a volcano erupting.” Tens of thousands of bullets were blasting through the Coney Island air as cartridges in the shooting galleries exploded. The incubator babies were all rescued, but many animals did not survive.
The fire department arrived in full force. Even the firefighters from Midget City helped. At 3:03 a.m., Beacon Tower crashed onto Surf ave. with a pillar of smoke that could be seen for miles.
Despite all efforts, the park was destroyed.
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