Before my research and ethnographic experience, Coney Island was just a boardwalk with lots of entertainment for those who seek it. Even the extent of the entertainment I did not grasp. I knew of the New York Aquarium that I had visited many times when I was younger and the beach we visit in the summer. I recalled visiting the Cyclones stadium once, and stopping for ices at Rita’s, but never had I imagined that there were still Freak Shows and a Circus sideshow. I was aware that Coney Island is full of history, but unaware of the actual history and its role in shaping Coney Island. But, that’s what happens when you live somewhere for so long. It is like living in New York City and never going to the Empire State Building or living in Paris and not visiting the Eiffel Tower. I’ve always lived in Brooklyn and have been to Coney Island, but I’ve never actually understood what it meant to visit Coney Island.
As I researched I came across an article written by Lynn Sally where she drew a picture with words of a fictional character’s experience at Coney Island. She writes of the full body experience at Coney Island, where all your senses are engaged. She explains the ideological significance behind the three original parks and their role in the full body experience. Steeplechase represented an out-of-this-world fantasy land; Luna Park embodied the future and represented progress; Dreamland was created to be separate from the havoc of city life, a “higher class amusement park.” I found this interesting being that Luna Park is the name of the new modern day park and the historical Luna Park focused on the future.
I was determined to apply Sally’s words to my own Coney Island experience, especially with it being in accordance with our project goal of following our five senses. And so every smell, sound, sight and feeling were experienced with conscious thought. Though taste was experienced vicariously from the visitors we interviewed. I noticed that the essence of Coney Island lies in its history, but also in the weather! As Stanton wrote in “Coney Island—Nickel Empire,” “While Coney Island’s economy was generally considered recession proof, it did, however, depended primarily on weather. Most of its money was earned during a season only fourteen weekends long” (Stanton). During the colder winter months almost everything is closed. Though if anything is open it’d be Nathan’s Famous. Even on the chillier days when Paul’s Daughter and Coney’s Cones were closed, Nathan’s was open serving hot pretzels and hot dogs. (I also just noticed that the names of the food shops in the area are quite possessive! Rita’s, Nathan’s, Coney’s, Paul’s…) Coney Island’s peak season is summer when the masses flock towards the beach and rides and feast off the boardwalk “delicacies.” In regards to our senses, they were quite limited to the burn of cold air when breathing too deeply and the sharp wind on our exposed skin. Smells didn’t travel as far, and the lack of people made the boardwalk quiet and empty feeling. Luckily, we got to experience one spring day. The boardwalk was filled with families, children riding on scooters, and fisherman. Luna Park was testing out their rides for the upcoming season and Nathan’s had a large crowd around it. Although, I was disappointed not to see the full enactment of a Coney Island summer day and its sensory overload for this particular ethnographic experience.
Sally also gave some background information on the controversial status of Coney Island back in the day. She explained the emergence of Coney Island as being an escape from the big city. Sally focuses on the contrast between the upper and middle class, which J. Kasson also wrote about in Amusing the Million. Coney Island reflected the tension in the larger culture. Coney served as a resort area for the upper class seeking exclusion by the sea as well as “rougher element that demanded gamier amusement” such as pick-pocketers and prostitutes (Kasson 31). With the development of transportation to Coney Island, the crowds grew. While postwar investors attempted to glam up Coney Island by building hotels and expanding the railroads, Coney’s reputation precedes it. Entrepreneurs eventually learned that Coney cannot be redeemed because decency is not nearly as profitable as profanity. The nickel subway system was eventually opened leading to the development of cheaper entertainment and what became known as the nickel empire (Stanton). Thus, the sexual and draw dropping freak shows continued despite the uneasiness around it all and Coney’s reputation remains with it today. With the liberal movements of modern society, the demand for the display of biological weirdos died out, yet the Freak Show and Circus Side Show live on.
Despite the underlying profanity, today at Coney Island one could enjoy the beach and boardwalk without visiting the whimsical, controversial side shows. Which brings me back to my initial feeling towards Coney Island. I was able to see Coney Island for more than a beach and became aware of the role it plays in people’s lives. From one of our first interviews I realized that Coney Island is not just a source of entertainment, but a home to many. Coney Island is, and always has been, an escape from reality, a place to clear one’s head and let loose. Coney is a place for fun, but also a place for relaxation and contemplation as one stairs at the ocean, taken over by the sound of the waves.
Works Cited
“Coney Island – Development of Rail & Steamboat Lines to the Resort.” Coney Island History -Development of Rail and Steamboat Lines to the Resort. Jeffrey Stanton, 1998. Web. 21 May 2017.
“Coney Island – Nickel Empire (1920’s-1930’s).” Jeffrey Stanton, Westland Network, 1997. Web. 03 May 2017.
Kasson, John F. Amusing the Million : Coney Island at the Turn of the Century. New York: Hill & Wang, 1978. Print. American Century Ser.
Sally, Lynn. “Fantasy Lands and Kinesthetic Thrills: Sensorial Consumption, the Shock of Modernity and Spectacle as Total-Body Experience at Coney Island.” The Senses and Society 1.3 (2006): 293-309. Web.
