At 2 PM this Saturday (June 19th), thousands of costume-clad citizens will march in the Mermaid Parade, the nation’s largest artists’ procession, at New York’s Coney Island, where musician Lou Reed and his wife, performance artist Laurie Anderson, will appear as King Neptune and Queen Mermaid, respectively.
Those who founded the 28th annual highly-anticipated summer event can only hope that people see this as more than an opportunity to play dress up. It’s a tribute to Coney Island, a the former host of Mardi Gras between 1903 to 1954. This often overlooked historical fact made us wonder, what else don’t we know about America’s nostalgic treasure?
For starters, at the beginning of the 19th century, the 2.7-mile-long boardwalk on the island-turned-peninsula at the base of Brooklyn was a popular pleasure spot for all New Yorkers (its modern-day equivalent would be the Hamptons). When new railroads in the early 20th century made getting there only a five-cent-ride, as many as a million people would cover every inch of sand on any given hot summer’s day. Eager to match the public’s excitement over the beach neighborhood, developers of amusement parks, at the time, brought us these great playgrounds: The Steeplechase (1894), Luna Park (1903), and Dreamland (1904), and later Astroland (1962). Of the four, Luna is the only one still open.
In 1920, the thriving Coney Island got its centerpiece: The world-famous Wonder Wheel. The 150-foot-tall Ferris wheel that seats 144 riders includes 16 swinging passenger cars and eight stationary cars—all of them offer sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean, the Jersey Shore and the Big Apple’s skyline. The now 90-year-old carnival attraction, which has a perfect safety record, continues to draw some 200,000 riders a year as part of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, a family-run operation that took over this ride, and others, several decades ago.
In 1927, the iconic roller coaster called the Cyclone became the Wonder Wheel’s worthy neighbor. Though it was based in Astroland, which closed in 2008, the Cyclone is the nation’s oldest wooden roller still in operation—unlike the nearby 262-foot-tall steel Parachute Jump (initially erected to help train troops, it’s now considered “Brooklyn’s Eiffel Tower”).
When the Great Depression hit, Coney Island took a big blow (people wrote it off as an extravagance). Suffering from neglect, the once celebrated coastal strip developed seedy overtones that tinged its reputation. However, this year the city is finally attempting to revive it and all it’s former glory. City officials have plans for a grand makeover, promising to turn it into a world class, year-round destination spot. With phase one successfully opening Memorial Day weekend, 2011 holds the hope that Coney Island may one day become even greater than it once was, and capture the imagination of a new generation.
WANT A PIECE OF THE ORIGINAL CONEY ISLAND? It’s yours in the form of stylish decor for just a few grand: Brooklyn-based furniture company, Uhuru, offers unique hand-crafted tables and chairs, like the “Cyclone Lounger” ($7,200) and the “Wonder Coffee Table” ($5,200), made out of the repurposed demolished sections of Coney Island’s famous waterfront walkway.
[Photography by Inessah Selditz]
Published on June 12, 2010
While there are many sites today dedicated to the pursuit of fashion and style, here at MRK Style we approach these subjects through a collector’s lens. Through exploring how people relate to Art, Family, Fashion, Food, Film and Travel—essentially life’s various, everyday obsessions—we reflect on how we all live with the things we love. 
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