“If Paris is France, then Coney Island, from June to September, is the World…” George C. Tilyou, Steeplechase Founder
For over a century, the Coney Island amusement district has represented the changing face of American popular culture.
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Experience a wonderful journey with the gifted immigrant carvers, and see a visually delightful aspect of what makes New York great.
“…Zoe roamed amusement parks and danced until dawn at resort hotels, while sympathizing with the bewildered recent arrivals from Europe who found solace on Brooklyn beaches during breaks from their sweatshop work weeks.”
Join the Coney Island Museum as we welcome author/photographer Ken Farrell and celebrate the launch of his new book, The Mermaids of Coney Island.
Blog
The 2026 Lunar New Year is ushering in a period of passion and energy, perfect for a new project — and the CIM is chomping at the bit to get started!
Not even an impending nor’easter could dampen spirits on Saturday, October 11, as the Coney Island Museum and Coney Island USA celebrated the unveiling of a plaque on our building denoting its land marked status…
“Home of the Coney Island Circus Sideshow, the Freak Bar, and the Coney Island Museum, has long been a part of Coney Island’s iconic landscape. Built in 1917, it’s seen many changes and weathered many storms before becoming the home of freaks, mermaids, and Coney Island USA…”
"...It is difficult to see why the strange new island which has all at once taken so considerable a place in the chart, should not permanently remain what it seems to be now — the greatest resort for a single day’s pleasure in the world."
“…the history of Coney Island is populated by extraordinary individuals whose stories are no less fascinating for being obscure.”
In the Spring of 1905, New York newspapers regaled readers with the summer’s upcoming spectacles and attractions to be hosted at the city’s amusement center, Coney Island. But one particular “exhibition” caught the attention of most New Yorkers. On May 9, 1905, The Standard Union reported: “A band of fifty-one Igorrotes from the Bontoc Province, Island of Luzon [Philippines] is coming across the continent, bound for Luna Park, where they will provide an attraction entirely different from anything ever seen in a Coney Island amusement resort.”
“The diaries of James Onorato are among the Coney Island Museum’s most significant holdings.This collection of hand-written volumes and supporting materials chronicle the tenure of James “Jimmy” Onorato, the longtime General Manager of Steeplechase Park.”
Learn about Weegee’s history with Coney Island. Throughout the 1940s, he captured the people that occupied the Coney Island beaches, which included everything from lost children during the day, to lovers in the pitch-black night.
RE: COLLECTIONS- Some of the items donated to the Coney Island Museum come to us with a very personal or family-related history, a story all of its own that gets woven into the broader narrative we present to our visitors, and endeavor to preserve for posterity.
