Coney Island may be changing a lot after its last summer with Astroland scheduled to close and redevelopment of the area, but the people over at the Coney Island History Project are doing their best to preserve memories of the old Coney Island. This season, the project inaugurates a permanent home, which is fittingly under the Cyclone. The Times reports that the space had many previous forms: a souvenir stand, a hot dog stand, and a ice cream stand and that the support pillars in the storefront shake when the Cyclone passes. The project's location has its grand opening on Thursday.
In its new space, the History Project already has events scheduled, with three exhibitions already slated for the summer: Land Grab! A History of Coney Island Development; The Queen of Coney Island; and Sidewalk Photo Galleries and their Props. Aditionally, the project also has several resources online. You can search their collection and listen to interviews in their Oral History archives.
Though Coney Island will undoubtedly change a lot once the summer is over, it's good to know that history will always be preserved in the Cyclone. The Cyclone and the space for the Coney Island History Project are landmarked - the perfect place to show people what Coney Island was like in the past.
Hours at the Coney Island History Project are Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, 11 am to 7 pm, through Labor Day.
Photo of Coney Island circa 1954 from C-Monster on flickr (it's her dad!)
