A Look Back at the Coney Island of Yesteryear: A MOFH Video Presentation

Hurry, Hurry, step this way, for a nostalgic visit to the Coney Island of yesteryear!

The Museum of Family History invites you to spend an hour looking back at the once magnificent beach, boardwalk and amusement areas in Coney Island (from 1905 to 1952!), located in Brooklyn, New York. All videos come to you courtesy of YouTube. These films should be watched using Internet Explorer (though feel free to try using another browser!)

Here's what you can see for just one thin dime :

First, tag along with a group of young ladies from Miss Knapp's Select School as they spend the day at Coney Island in 1905.

Second, see Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Buster Keaton in the silent film "Coney Island." The clip shown features Beautiful Luna Park in 1917.

Third, For many decades the beach and boardwalk at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York was the place to be on a hot summer day. There were also side shows and amusement parks with plenty of thrill rides, not to mention Nathan's famous hot dogs. See a YouTube video of the Coney Island of the 1940s and get a sense of how our family members who lived in the New York metro area spent their time more than five decades ago.

Fourth, you will see some of the Coney Island "freak show," which includes fire eaters, dancing girls and more, cir 1940s and 1950s.

Last, but not least: "Coney Island, U.S.A." (1952): "An impressionistic view of a day in the life of Coney Island from the desertion in the early morning to the hysteria at midnight. Commentary by Henry Morgan."

Come one, come all!!
The videos can be found at www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/mfh-coneyisland-ytv-01.htm .