Future-Themed Amusement Park May Become Part of the Past
By Reed Vreeland
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
BROOKLYN — The Coney Island History Project launched a new exhibit last Saturday, “The Astroland Archives: Back to the Future,” featuring photographs and plans from the vaults of one of the world’s first cosmos-themed amusement parks. The exhibit takes a nostalgic look at Astroland’s visually rich history — the park’s future looks bleak because it may soon be demolished by developers.
The headquarters and exhibit space of the Coney Island History Project is neatly tucked under one of the wings of the Cyclone roller coaster. On Saturday, Beach Boys tunes all but drowned out the thunderous rattle of the Cyclone overhead.
Although last weekend’s opening was a jovial occasion, there was a somber undertone behind all of the smiles. Tourists who wish to visit Astroland may well have their last chance this month, since it has been reported that the park will close for good in September.
Astroland was first opened by the Albert family in the 1960s, at the height of the space race. Space was an unknown frontier and captured the imaginations of the park’s owners, developers and millions of Americans who were glued to the TV during NASA coverage. In the Albert family’s vision for Coney Island, space imagery was democratized and merged with mass culture — everyone could have an out-of-this-world experience.
The Coney Island History Project has collected a wide array of images from Coney history. However, new to their collection are photographs from the Astroland Archives, which depict the futuristic park’s beginnings. Charles Denson, the founder of the Coney Island History Project and author of “Coney Island: Lost and Found,” engineered the Astroland exhibit and has taken much care in cataloging Coney Island’s dynamic history.
“I wanted to do a tribute because Astroland’s future is in question,” Denson said heartfully.
For Denson and for many others who grew up in Brooklyn, the amusement park is not just a tourist attraction — it is the central pillar of a neighborhood and a community. Denson explained that many people in the area have a very intimate relationship with Coney Island and have been going on Astroland rides for decades.
Denson added that when the economic situation made a turn for the worse, “Astroland became the anchor of Coney Island and kept it alive in the ’70s.” He added that the park held charitable events for the surrounding area during “the worst time of the ’60s and ’70s.” High crime rates, vacant lots and trash-filled beaches characterized the site during those years.
Currently, people from all around the world come to see Coney Island’s unique spectacles, including the Mermaid Parade and Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. However, the neighborhood’s economy is highly dependent on the traffic flow during the summer months, and unemployment is still relatively high.
The dramatic ups and downs of Coney Island’s roller-coaster history have made it one of the most dynamic and compelling histories out of any of New York’s famous sites. Coney Island is the birthplace of the world’s first amusement park, and for years was America’s largest amusement area. Coney Island’s amusement builders and engineers produced revolutionarily thrilling attractions that were assembled across the country. Luna Park, Dreamland, and Steeplechase, the three amusement parks that were built and later destroyed on Coney’s shores, attracted several million visitors a year at their height.
Given the recent plans of the Coney Island Development Corporation (CIDC) and Joseph J. Sitt, the founder and chief executive of Thor Equities, which spent over $100 million buying land in Coney Island, it seems as though Astroland may soon be added to the list of demolished parks.
“They are confusing a lot of people with these plans,” Denson said, when talking about the development plans. The CIDC has met much resistance to its proposed plans, and it is still unclear what shape the development will take. Last month, many grievances were aired at the “scoping hearing” held by the CIDC to discuss the environmental implications of the development projects. At the hearing, the majority of participants were hostile to the proposed development project and were not afraid of showing it.
The CIDC made some adjustments to its plans over the summer after an earlier proposal was criticized. Dennis Holt, a Brooklyn Eagle reporter who formerly worked in Coney Island for Congressman Stephen Solarz, said about the CIDC’s recent actions, “The Coney Island Development Corporation is playing a very aggressive role. I have never seen the CIDC play such a role in my life.”
The speed and tone of some of the recent CIDC moves has many fearing that the fun-loving democratic aspects of Coney Island will be eliminated, and the area will be made into a series of high-rises and malls geared toward tourists and the wealthy.
“How they zone will impact what goes in,” explained Holt. If the CIDC and the developers are able to successfully change the zoning of lots, which now provide some building limits, then there are few restrictions keeping the developers from remaking the area as they see fit.
“There is no reason for this part of the city to be a depressed area with no employment,” Holt says in support of having some kind of redevelopment plan. Most people, including Denson, agree that the area needs rebuilding.
“We just have to make sure they don’t destroy it by trying to save it,” Denson asserted.
Right now, plans for Coney Island’s development are in limbo and likely will be so for the near future. Whatever that future may be, even in the most conservative proposals, Astroland’s days are numbered.
Several times every week, Tricia Vita, the administrative director of the Coney Island History Project, takes her camera and snaps shots of Coney Island to document what could be Astroland’s last summer. “I’m keenly aware that everything I’m seeing may only exist in photos soon,” she said in a sorrowful voice.
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2008
All materials posted on BrooklynEagle.com are protected by United States copyright law.
Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues.
So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc at att.net
Main Office 718 422 7400
