The time when Coney Island truly became a resort was the period of time after Civil War. Its beach was listed as the best beach on the Atlantic coat and attracts 25000 to 30000 visitors per weekend in 1870's.
Transportation to the island blossomed in the 1870s, including four steam railroad lines, two large ocean piers and a major public road which brought thousands of visitors from Brooklyn to Coney.
Many criminal elements were introduced due to the openness of the island, including the horse racing, boxing, gambling, drinking, and prostitution in the so-called “Gut” section of Coney’s West End in 1870.
Coney Island reached it's popularity peak after other amusement parks became popular as well. This began with the opening of Sea Lion Park;the first enclosed park that charged an entrance fee. Then Luna Park opened on May 16, 1903, lit by some 250,000 electric lights. The last of the “big three” amusement parks in Coney Island was called Dreamland. There were many attractions at Dreamland included a midget city, Frank Bostock’s wild animal show, scenic railways, a ballroom, a Japanese tea pavilion, the Hell Gate boat ride, Dr. Martin Couney’s Infant Incubators , and the Fighting the Flames exhibition. The park opened in 1904, however, it was bankrupt and sold to auction in 1910. And a fire burned half of the park down in 1911. The first roller coaster built in the United States, LaMarcus Thompson’s Switchback Gravity Railway, was opened at Coney Island in 1884. It was a primitive ride by today’s standards. Passengers had to climb a fifty-foot high loading platform to board a train, which was propelled along a wooden track by gravity at the break-neck speed of six miles an hour. It came to a stop at the crest of a hill at the other end of the track, where passengers than re-boarded the train for the return ride. The popularity of the coaster encouraged the construction of other amusement ride, including the first coaster in the country which had a mechanical conveyor to carry the cars to the top. Others included carousels, toboggan rides, and an aerial slide.
There were also dining establishments, dime museums, concert halls, dance pavilions, sideshows, circuses, fireworks displays, games of chance, an aquarium, and other forms of amusement including John Philip Sousa’s marching band and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Many of these amusements were part of the Bowery Midway, an area containing many games, shows, and attractions such as the Streets of Cairo, where one could ride an elephant or camel or watch an erotic “couchee-couchee” dance by performers including the famed Little Egypt.
Transportation to the island blossomed in the 1870s, including four steam railroad lines, two large ocean piers and a major public road which brought thousands of visitors from Brooklyn to Coney.
Many criminal elements were introduced due to the openness of the island, including the horse racing, boxing, gambling, drinking, and prostitution in the so-called “Gut” section of Coney’s West End in 1870.
Coney Island reached it's popularity peak after other amusement parks became popular as well. This began with the opening of Sea Lion Park;the first enclosed park that charged an entrance fee. Then Luna Park opened on May 16, 1903, lit by some 250,000 electric lights. The last of the “big three” amusement parks in Coney Island was called Dreamland. There were many attractions at Dreamland included a midget city, Frank Bostock’s wild animal show, scenic railways, a ballroom, a Japanese tea pavilion, the Hell Gate boat ride, Dr. Martin Couney’s Infant Incubators , and the Fighting the Flames exhibition. The park opened in 1904, however, it was bankrupt and sold to auction in 1910. And a fire burned half of the park down in 1911. The first roller coaster built in the United States, LaMarcus Thompson’s Switchback Gravity Railway, was opened at Coney Island in 1884. It was a primitive ride by today’s standards. Passengers had to climb a fifty-foot high loading platform to board a train, which was propelled along a wooden track by gravity at the break-neck speed of six miles an hour. It came to a stop at the crest of a hill at the other end of the track, where passengers than re-boarded the train for the return ride. The popularity of the coaster encouraged the construction of other amusement ride, including the first coaster in the country which had a mechanical conveyor to carry the cars to the top. Others included carousels, toboggan rides, and an aerial slide.
There were also dining establishments, dime museums, concert halls, dance pavilions, sideshows, circuses, fireworks displays, games of chance, an aquarium, and other forms of amusement including John Philip Sousa’s marching band and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Many of these amusements were part of the Bowery Midway, an area containing many games, shows, and attractions such as the Streets of Cairo, where one could ride an elephant or camel or watch an erotic “couchee-couchee” dance by performers including the famed Little Egypt.