A Short History

In 1829 the first shell road was built enabling the upper echelons of New York society to take a carriage down from Brooklyn, perhaps for a picnic and to sample the sea air, to convalesce or maybe stay at the Coney Island House Hotel.

By the 1870s, the 'wild west' of the island and indeed New York in general had its fair share of desperadoes. Wealthy entrepreneurs invested in building larger hotels away from the west of the island along with the railroads to feed them and soon it became THE elegant holiday resort for the middle and upper classes of New York.

Later still at it's zenith in the 1900s it became the electric sensation of the belle époque. Finally by the 1940s and 50s about a fifth of New York people were able to take advantage of the beach, and usually did, altogether on July 4th!

In the 20s Surf Avenue was widened killing many 19th century businesses and by the 60s and 70s the great amusement parks had either closed or burned down. In decline, storm blown and cauterized by frequent fires, very little remains of it's fabulous heyday. Much of Coney Island's appeal lies in the past, in collections of memorabilia and postcards, and in the present, in it's beautiful beach and boardwalk.