Coming into this project I felt that I already experienced all that Coney Island had to offer. I had visited Coney Island multiple times due to the fact that my house is not too far away. I’ve been to a concert at the amphitheater, I’ve jogged the full boardwalk plenty of times, I even visited the art walls and Luna Park. I thought that there was simply nothing else to explore. Looking back at it now, I chuckle at the inaccuracy.
Being conscious of the use of my five senses helped me appreciate Coney Island so much more. Oftentimes I visit Coney Island with some intended goal, whether it is to jog, or have a fun day with friends, but during the course of this semester I was able to roam free and see what I can find. I was able to close my eyes and focus on every sound that would normally pass right through my ears and generally go unnoticed. I found it shocking that there are so many loud sounds that get lost in the shuffle and that I was never aware of any of them in my previous trips to Coney. I heard children whining and giggling (usually on Sundays), helicopters passing by, hammers, and drills during construction, seagulls chirping, tropical music by the bars and shops and children screaming on rollercoasters. I smelled cigarettes, Nathan’s hotdogs, the ocean/sand and alcohol. I tasted the strawberry sorbet at Coney’s Cones which was absolutely delicious as well as ginormous mango on a stick and Marino’s ices from the vendors on the boardwalk. There were times where I shivered and felt the ice cold snow beneath my feet and there were other times when I felt the hot sun warm up my body and the soft sand cushion my feet. Paying close attention to these visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory and tactile sensations enabled me to feel more connected to the place and get a literal sense of why people come here.
The breathtaking scenery is my personal favorite part of Coney Island. During the winter and the summer, whether it was one giant ice-skating rink, a winter wonderland, a beautiful sunset or view of the ocean, every sight exposes me to the aesthetic nature of Coney Island and allows me to reflect on life. I love to walk all the way down the pier and sit there and just write. When I write and look out into the beautiful ocean I feel like I am able to escape all of the troubling thoughts that permeate my mind. When Michelle, Ruthie and I interviewed a woman and asked her what her favorite part of Coney Island is, she said, “I am a busy nurse and rarely get a break, but on Sundays I can come to the pier with my music and give myself a second to breathe and relax.” I noticed that when people sit by the pier they are not in a rush. They come to relax and destress.
Over the course of this project I discovered that two factors highly impact the liveliness of Coney Island; time(season) and weather. Coney Island serves two completely different purposes in the winter and the summer. In the summer everything is open, including the stores, the bars, the shops, the beach, Luna Park, etc. People can bike ride, go for a walk or jog and enjoy the scenery. It is much more lively in the summer primarily because it’s completely outdoors and people stay outside longer in the presence of sun. In the winter however, there is typically snow covering the entire boardwalk and most of the stores are closed. When I visited the boardwalk after a snow day there were about 10 people walking around. I called it “one deserted ice-skating rink” because it was exactly that. The only people that were there were either locals who used the boardwalk as a bridge to get from one place to the next (those people were usually in a hurry) whereas others were foreigners who had to come to Coney Island and were disappointed that there wasn’t much to see during the winter. One optimistic, European, foreign couple however said to us, “there isn’t much to do here during the cold weather, but it is still a beautiful place that we must visit on our trip to America.” During the winter I found Coney Island to be desolate. The only people not in a hurry were the construction workers whose job it was to prepare Luna Park for its reopening and to fix the wooden boardwalk. Even in the summer days however when it rains the boardwalk receives less people, but you will never see it as desolate as the snowy winter days. People come to Coney to enjoy themselves, not to get poured on or freeze to death. In the summer it is also different because people are on vacation and actually have time to relax. Summer is meant for being care free and enjoying the beach and the outdoors where winter is not. Even the freak show bartender mentioned that they are open every day in the summer, but in the winter they have select hours because the business doesn’t do as well during those cold winter days.
Another aspect of Coney Island that this project opened my eyes to was the rich history. Coney Island is well known for being historically rich, but I mainly thought that was due to its Cyclone rollercoaster and simply because it has been around since the early 1800s. This project exposed me to all whole world of Coney Island that I would never even imagine. There were four parks that burned down or closed down that I never knew about including Steeple Chase, Sea Lion, Luna and Dreamland. Premature babies used to be showcased on the boardwalk and viewers were charged fees in order to fund the health costs for the babies. (Coney Island Remembered) There were even freak shows that showcased human oddities that still exist today! During this time period Coney Island attracted the thrill-seekers and the curious and mystery-loving individuals. People came to Coney because it was different and they had the ability to experience an indescribable magical place, a “Dreamland.” Coney Island freak shows gave the audience a feeling of curiosity as they wondered how human beings could live without limbs or with facial deformities. Due to the fact that there were no scientific explanations for such abnormalities, people found them astonishing; however, once there were medical diagnoses for such deformities, the aspects of curiosity had been obliterated which is what essentially led to its loss of popularity. During the time that they were popular you might wonder why people with abnormalities would agree to be put on display solely to entertain the public. This is a question that came across my mind at the very start of the project, but once I did more research it became clear to me. Liluputia was a little midget city that was founded by Samuel Gumpertz in the early 1900s. This city was a home for 300 midgets and included a private beach and a mini fire department. This place created a community for midgets giving them the ability to meet others that were just like them (Coney Island Freaks & Shows.) This is the same idea for the freaks. The freaks were brought from all over the world and were given the opportunity to make a life for themselves and reap in the fame and fortune. These acts were paid very well and even got to be a part of a community and live amongst people that were similar to them allowing them to accept their oddities. These benefits were enough to overcome the negative aspects of being put on display. A few of the acts that became very popular were Violetta the limbless woman, Lionel the werewolf man and Zip the Pinhead; each lived a long and successful life (Coney Island Freaks of Yesterday and Today) Coney Island currently has a freak show bar with a sideshow displaying ten acts. There are sword swallowers, fire breathers, snake charmers and more. Coney Island was a place where everyone could feel comfortable in their own skin. This vibe that Coney exuded once is still around today. I pass by the boardwalk all of the time and see all different types of people doing whatever they want. There is a certain respect and unity that is felt at the boardwalk that is just indescribable. Whether it be young children, adults, senior citizens, females, males, foreigners, locals… everyone is accepted. No one gets judged here because this was once a place that accepted all different types of people and so it must remain that way.
Overall, I have a newfound appreciate for ethnographic research and I can truly say I understand the barriers that may present themselves when doing such research, especially when interviewing people while taking their rights into consideration. I gained a lot of knowledge on the history of Coney Island, but also on its present day status. I experienced the aesthetic nature, the fun and thrill-seeking nature and lastly the nature of the people and their ideals at Coney Island. 
-The boardwalk after a snow day vs a sunny day
– aesthetic nature/ the pier
– the thrill-seeker’s adventure
Works cited:
Cellania, Miss. “Coney Island Freaks of Yesterday and Today.” Mental Floss. N.p., 15 Feb. 2008. Web. 21 May 2017.
“Coney Island Remembered.” YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v>.
“History.” Luna Park in Coney Island. Central Amusement International LLC, 2014. Web. 12 May
2017. <http://lunaparknyc.com/about/history/>.
Stanton, Jeffrey . “Coney Island – Freaks & Shows.” Coney Island – Freaks & Freak Shows. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2017.
