Frederic Thompson and Elmer ‘Skip’ Dundy, the two founders of Luna Park, were the perfect complement. The artistic and creative side of architect Thompson with the crafty business-like personality of Dundy made for a good team. The two initially met at the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in 1898, then again at the New York World’s Fair of 1901. It was after the second meet when they decided it would be both wise and profitable to partner up. And thus was the start of a lifelong comradery.
Thompson and Dundy shared their debut with their instant success A Trip to the Moon at the 1901 Buffalo World’s Fair. It was here where George Tilyou scouted for new attractions for his park, Steeplechase Park, and wanted Thompson and Dundy to feature their ride in his park. In late 1901 it was done.
This addition helped improve the reputation of Coney Island to a family-friendly atmosphere. This attraction drew crowds to Coney Island and led Thompson and Dundy to save up a considerable sum of money, which aided in their purchasing of Boyton’s remaining lease and then developing their own park.
Luna Park was created in the summer of 1902. They purchased it just nine months before opening season. The pair called it “Luna” for two reasons: one was in reference to the attraction that started it all, all the fame and glory, A Trip to the Moon, and the other is because that was Skip’s sister’s name.
Much of the park’s inspiration came from the 1893 Chicago World Fair. He reconstructed and redefined all previous notions of typical or then-known parks or architectural design—he used curved lines instead of straight, surpassing even what Orientalism or Art Nouveau provided, and added red hearts all over the park which became known as “The Heart of Coney Island.”
By fall 1902 construction was already underway. Topsy the elephant, whom was included in Thompson and Dundy’s purchase from Boyton, was set to move the entire Trip to the Moon ride from Steeplechase to Luna Park on an oiled midway running through Coney Island. When she alone couldn’t budge it, his ruthless trainer, William Alt, stabbed Topsy with a fork in between the eyes and on the sides. After police intervention, Alt then let Topsy loose, for which he was arrested for under disorderly conduct. Topsy had a team of horses assist him in the final moving of the ride form one park to the other.
By late November, over 500 hundred workers were tearing down all of Boyton’s Sea Lion Park, with the exception of Boyton’s Chutes, the only ride to remain. Thompson was also renovating his Trip to the Moon ride. This included views of villages all around the world and national parks and sites, including the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone Park, log cabins of Lincoln and Jefferson. Dundy loved the circus, too, so they also created a ring in the center of the park for acrobatics and animal performances and shows. Thompson and Dundy would have animals trained to carry children through the villages stationed throughout the park. Dundy let elephants roam around his park, under supervision, and give rides to kids. Unfortunately, after numerous unverifiable reports, Topsy gained the reputation as a ‘man-killing elephant,’ so her fate was sealed and she was not a part of the park life anymore. Thomas Edison’s electric company filmed Topsy’s electrocution, which took less an hour to accomplish as opposed to other method which took over an hour, and failed. Another sad note, Thompson and Dundy’s funds were running low.
“Luna Park opened the night of May 16, 1903, just two weeks later than Thompson had predicted in his late November interview. At exactly 8:05pm, the precise time of sunset, all of Luna’s 250,000 lights were turned on at once, ‘revealing lakes, streams, towers and winding pathways’. The assembled crowd of sixty-thousand people could not believe their eyes; in a time when light bulbs were used sparingly, Luna Park had so many that it glowed at night” (heartofconeyisland.com).
Luna Park was considered New York World’s Fair because of all the great new attractions and features, and how it displayed aspects of life all over the world. Luna Park was a huge success and continued to be so, regardless of minor schedule setbacks. The success came to halt after a tragedy stuck the unbeatable pair of partners.
Dundy unexpectedly died of pneumonia on Tuesday, February 5, 1907. Doctors were certain he would recover, and he had even just spoken with Thompson an hour before his heart failed. The next five years proved to be difficult ones without Dundy there as Thompson’s financial anchor. Thompson did not care to spend recklessly, both in his personal and professional life. He married a young actress, Mabel Taliaferro, and took her on extravagant vacations, only to be divorced in 1911. Thompson officially lost Luna Park to creditors in 1912. He left to San Francisco in a failed attempt to build a new park Toyland, but it simply was not catching on amid the years of World War I. Thompson died shortly after in 1919. Years after Luna Park lost its fame and glory, one of its original rides, Dragon’s Gorge, caught fire, setting the entire park ablaze in 1944. And thus ended the life of Luna Park, though its legacy lives on.
