Queen of Coney Island
Janet Panetta's family had a locker at the Steeplechase Park Bathhouse in the 1950's. She and her sister were set loose to play in the pool and around the park. One summer, Janet contracted polio and remembers being called the Queen of...
Content type: Oral History Item
Two generations are interviewed
Liivia lives in Queens and came to Coney on this day with her son and grandson who are visiting from Ohio. Liivia hasn't been to Coney Island in 50 years and her son Mike, who is also interviewed, is showing Coney to his 7-year-old son for the...
Content type: Oral History Item
Owner of Williams Candy and past owner of Fascination Arcade
Peter Agrapides owns and operates the Williams Candy shop next door to Nathans. He began working in Coney Island in 1949 and also owned the Fascination game arcade on Surf Avenue next to the old Loew's (Shore) Theater.
Content type: Oral History Item
Polish immigrant finds success with an Italian food stand in 1950s Coney Island
Morris Egert moved to Coney Island with his family in the early 1950's from Paterson, New Jersey to open a food stand on 16th Street across from Steeplechase Park. As recent immigrants from Poland, they served chopped liver, gefilte fish and...
Content type: Oral History Item
Son of West End and Sea Gate shopkeepers in the 1940's and 50's
Fogel grew up in Coney Island's West End and Sea Gate in the 1940's and 50's, attending PS 80 and PS 188. His parents ran several shops in the West End, providing him with an interesting perspective on life in the bungalow colonies...
Content type: Oral History Item
Remembers details of riding the Parachute Jump
Born in 1952, he remember riding the Parachute Jump with his father.
Content type: Oral History Item
Lived next door to Luna Park
Rose Patton, nee Schwartz, lived in Coney Island in 1938 in a house her mother and aunt inherited from their father. Rose's family of four and her aunt's family of three shared the house for about a year before moving back to Brighton...
Content type: Oral History Item