{"content":{"sharePage":{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"52190986","dateCreated":"1332820178","smartDate":"Mar 26, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"yuribaughman","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/yuribaughman","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/integratingculture-at-nyu.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/52190986"},"dateDigested":1532760287,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Discussion Question 2","description":"Based off of Denson's "Coney Island: Lost and Found" how do the various amusement parks evolve overtime?","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"52191862","body":"Coney Island had various amusement parks across it's history before it evolved into what it is today, a public facility for everyone to enjoy. The first amusement park that opened, "Steeplechase I", was created in the 1890's. This park had a dramatic entrance complete with elaborate statues. It had a horse racing theme. The park itself was gorgeous, landscaped with flower gardens and shaded walks. Entering this Park was free of charge. The park had a family theme, and no alcohol was served. Unfortunately, most of this successful park was destroyed by a fire in 1907.
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\nThe next grand amusement park of Coney Island, Steeplechase II, was created after the fire. This time, it had an edge to it. The park was enclosed and waterproof, enabling it to stay open during rainy days. The park's attractions changed from family oriented to extremely dark and borderline "sadistic". The park's theme strayed away from horse racing, although there was still a mechanical horse race. However, the finish line of this race was at the "blow hole" theater, which was a strange and dark ritual that had people "exit on a stage in front of a howling audience, while being hit by a midget with an electric paddle or chased by a clown" (Denson 34). How terrifying.
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\nOverlapping the reopening of Steeplechase was the opening of Luna Park. This park was much more architecturally elaborate than the other parks were. It was a fantasy land. Each structure had no right angles and were "elaborately" decorated. Luna Park had a circus and for the first time, live animals like elephants and camels strolling the grounds. The park also contained a bizarre theatrical experience which depicted New York being attacked by the navies of the world. Eventually this park burned down as well in a series of fires in the 1940's.
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\nDreamland overlapped the opening of Luna Park as well, but burned down decades before Luna Park did. While Steeplechase was silly and family oriented, then dark and wacky, and Luna Park was colorful and fantastic, Steeplechase was refined. The buildings were symmetrical and classic white. Unfortunately, the park was never as popular as people had hoped, unlike both Luna Park and Steeplechase. The park was redone in 1910, and had a lot of strange attractions similar to Luna Park except bigger and better and darker-- including both a liliputian city populated by midgets and another dark theatrical exhibit called "fighting the flames", depicting people escaping from a burning tenement building. Far different from Steeplechase I's family oriented horse racing theme, Dreamland had a "Heaven" and "Hell" theme, complete with live "devils", walking around and casting drunken "sinners" into pits. However, this park caught fire as well, burning completely over night, leveling the park in 3 hours. The park burned down before it even reopened.
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\nThe parks definitely became darker and more adult oriented as time went by. This evolution may be responsible for the mystique some say Coney Island has today. However, the constant rebuilding and fires, particularly the Dreamland Fire, led to the eventual decision to build the famous public boardwalk that is still accessible to all.","dateCreated":"1332823761","smartDate":"Mar 26, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"jenny427","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/jenny427","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"52228860","body":"It seems as if the architects of these amusement parks couldn't get them right! They went from being very family oriented to weird\/dark themes. These amusement parks also kept burning down and there was always much controversy over what to build in place of the amusement parks. This makes me wonder if the fires were purposefully set or if they happened accidentally. However, overtime, the amusement parks have undergone interesting themes such as "heaven and hell." I also wonder about the fascination of devils and midgets. Today, Coney Island still contains various rides and games, but it is more family oriented and less "devil" themed.","dateCreated":"1332888294","smartDate":"Mar 27, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"mb3267","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/mb3267","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"52240860","body":"After reviewing the articles in the book about the different theme parks on Coney Island, I think it is truly remarkable to be able to see all the changes they have gone through. The images on the first and last pages of this section really capture the different transformations.
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\nThe first park "Steeplechase I," had the theme of horse racing. Here, people were allowed to bet on the horses, and ride mechanical ones around the track. This was an attraction that drew many people in. The park also had soda fountains, and a few other attractions that were able to draw in customers. The second park, "Steeplechase II" has many improvements from the first park, but the park that really caught my eye was "Luna Park." The image of the park at evening is truly beautiful, and it is clear why people would be drawn to it.
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\nThe final park- "Dream Land" is also another eye catching park, but not as Luna Park was, and it also speaks about how the park suffered because it was the only corporate park. This park had many more attractions than the one before it, but it also appears to of had a different feel, maybe on that was not as warm and welcoming to others.","dateCreated":"1332906829","smartDate":"Mar 27, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"kellywalsh3","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/kellywalsh3","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"52241160","body":"Since Jenny described each park pretty well, I just want to say that I definitely agree with both Jenny and Martyna in that the parks started out as being very family oriented and kid friendly to darker and more adult oriented. What I love about Charles Denson's "Coney Island: Lost and Found" is the amount and variety of pictures that is included. It is amazing to read about the evolution of Coney Island and these parks and see the pictures to go along with these words. This has really allowed me to deeply think about the dramatic difference between the first Coney Island amusement park, "Steeplechase I" and the last, "Dreamland."","dateCreated":"1332907683","smartDate":"Mar 27, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"yuribaughman","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/yuribaughman","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]},{"id":"51381186","dateCreated":"1331082846","smartDate":"Mar 6, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"jenny427","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/jenny427","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/integratingculture-at-nyu.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/51381186"},"dateDigested":1532760287,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Discussion Question One: Part 1, Coney Island 1645-1955","description":"After reading about the heyday of Coney Island in "Coney Island: Lost and Found" by Charles Denson, have your impressions of the area changed since our trip to the Brooklyn Public Library?","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"51383166","body":"My impressions of the area have definitely changed since the trip and reading the book.When I think of Coney Island, I just think of an amusement park on a boardwalk. However, Coney Island is much more than an amusement park. I didn't know that their were 350 years of disputes over this land. Their is so much history that many people don't know about, and this book brings Coney Island's history alive once again. In the library we saw a poster of Astroland from the 1900's which is also included in the book. Looking at archival information is fascinating and it connects us to the past. I find it interesting how Coney Island changed throughout the years, yet we still have the image of rollercoasters and Nathan's hot dogs in our heads. I enjoyed reading this book because you read about how Coney Island went through so many changes. There are many facts that people don't know about such as that Coney Island was also the first sight immigrants saw when coming into New York. You also learn about how many people tried to preserve Coney Island from any type of development. I definitely now have a new appreciation of this historic area.","dateCreated":"1331084987","smartDate":"Mar 6, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"mb3267","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/mb3267","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"51385438","body":"Martyna, I completely agree! Before reading this book, I only associated Coney Island with the famous amusement park attractions, like Luna Park. This book definitely uncovers a lot of the lost history of the area that people don't frequently discuss. I thought it was particularly interesting that in the introduction Denson states that "Coney Island is perceived much differently when it's your home and daily routine instead of a weekend designation or a nostalgic notion." I have never even considered looking at Coney Island from this perspective. The old fashioned glamour of the amusement park really was what pulled me into the topic. Just as Denson states, Coney Island really only existed in my imagination. When learning about the true history of the land, the area actually is "stripped of the enticements and illusions of the amusements". As Denson also paraphrases, it is truly amazing how Coney Island went from "a remote sandbar", was then transformed into "the most famous resort into the world", and then deteriorated into "one of New York City's worst neighborhoods" (viii).
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\nWhile the exhibit at the Brooklyn public library showed us extremely interesting primary artifacts from Coney Island that sparked all of our interests and helped paint a more accurate picture of the "heyday" and how amusement park symbols from the early 20th century are circulating back into popularity, it did not help us see the rich history of the actual area as Denson does.
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\nI am looking forward to exploring part three of the book. This part of the book speaks to the "search for a new identity for Coney Island after the neighborhood hit a new low point during the 1970's". This part would be especially beneficial for classroom discussion in our fourth grade curriculum, because it illustrates how history both changes over time and cycles back in resurgence.","dateCreated":"1331088078","smartDate":"Mar 6, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"jenny427","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/jenny427","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"51387784","body":"I agree with you both! The opening pages of the book displays Coney Island as such a beautiful and lively place. The photographs really seems to capture what was going on during each time period, and really takes you through the entire history of Coney Island. It really give you a feel for what was going on during that time, what the people were like, and what they liked to do.
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\nYou can also really see the creativity that was used during the construction of some of the buildings or rides. What really caught my eye was the image of the Elephant Hotel, as well as the picture of the Luna Theater. The same creativity seems to have stuck with the theme of Coney Island throughout all of its years.
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\nI am looking forward to reading more specific details about this wonderful and historic place!","dateCreated":"1331091681","smartDate":"Mar 6, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"kellywalsh3","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/kellywalsh3","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"51391272","body":"Hey guys! I just want to first say how I really enjoyed looking through and reading this text. I love how thorough the descriptions are of how Coney Island was in the past and how it is now. The various images provided are also extremely helpful in trying to truly understand how Coney Island used to look or be like.
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\nWhen I think of Coney Island, the first things or images that comes to mind are without a doubt the amusement park, famous Nathan's hot dogs, and beach. Although these are images that represent Coney Island to me, I did know that Coney Island is a neighborhood and not just an amusement park (which is sadly the assumption for many people these days). Before looking into this book though, I didn't know the specifics of the neighborhood of Coney Island, such as the types of people and lifestyles of these people who lived there, the businesses set up there, and so on. Many of these details of Coney Island's history and past, as well as why or how it became the way that it is now, is not discussed. I am really excited to learn more about Coney Island and its amazing "Lost and Found" history.
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\nYuri","dateCreated":"1331102213","smartDate":"Mar 6, 2012","userCreated":{"username":"yuribaughman","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/yuribaughman","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]}],"more":false},"comments":[]},"http":{"code":200,"status":"OK"},"redirectUrl":null,"javascript":null,"notices":{"warning":[],"error":[],"info":[],"success":[]}}