The Cyclone and Coney Island

I learned today, courtesy of New York Magazine, that the venerable Cyclone roller coaster recently celebrated its 85^th birthday.

This is particularly important to me because Coney Island was home for the first year of my life. We lived with my mother’s parents, Joe and Esther Goldenberg, on West 25^th street between Mermaid and Surf Avenues, just steps from the boardwalk. My parents bought a house in the Midwood section of Brooklyn in 1947, but my grandparents continued to live in Coney Island for the next ten years or so. Frequent visits to my grandparents gave me the opportunity to get to know the mid-‘50’s Coney Island.

I rode the Cyclone once (for me, once was enough – thrill rides, to this day, were never my thing). But most of my Coney Island ride experience as a real young boy was on the Merry-Go-Round on the boardwalk at the foot of West 25^th. My grandfather took me to this Merry-Go-Round on almost every visit, asking the operator to put me on an outside horse that would give me the best chance to grab the brass ring. But no matter which horse I rode, I never grabbed that brass ring. Either my arm wasn’t long enough or I was too timid to lean far enough to make the grab.

Those walks on West 25^th street with Grandpa Joe were always interesting. After one early winter Merry-Go-Round excursion, I complained to him that my arm was hurting…burning or stinging I recall telling him. Ever sympathetic, he told me not to worry about it, just stop complaining. When we reached his house my mother smelled something burning. Actually, there was... me. The sleeve of my flannel winter jacket was smoldering, having been ignited by the cigar the Merry-Go-Round operator had in his mouth as he placed me on the horse.

During these walks, my grandfather would frequently tell me to forget the Merry-Go-Round -- let’s go on the Parachute Jump instead he would say, knowing I was too scared to go. One day, I finally summoned the courage and said yes, let’s go. Faced with the thought of actually having to ride the Parachute Jump himself, Grandpa Joe said, “No, not today. It’s too late and too far. We’ll go another day”. He never mentioned the Parachute Jump again. He was as scared of it as I was.

The Parachute Jump was part of Steeplechase Park. As I got older, I became a fan of Steeplechase. By that point, it was the only “park” left. Luna Park burned down in 1946; Astroland didn’t open until the early ‘60’s. I’ll never forget the Steeplechase logo with that toothy, smiling man who I thought was George C. Tilyou, the founder of the park. Looking at the logo today, I can’t believe they called Steeplechase the “funny place”. With a spokesman like that, they should have call it the “scary place” 

Since I never rode the Parachute Jump, I can’t say for sure, but I think you sat on a wooden bench with no back and maybe only a lap belt to hold you in. Incredible! My favorite ride at the Park was the Steeplechase Horses, a kind of horse racing roller coaster where riders sat on wooden horses. Pulled up to peak of the tracks like a coaster car, the rest of the ride was gravity driven with one very sharp curve that took you right over the park and beach several stories up. I might be wrong, but I don’t think there was even a strap to secure the rider to the horse. Rules were certainly different in those days.

Many years later in the early ‘60’s Coney Island was in complete disrepair. On my last visit until just recently, my Uncle Albie, my father’s youngest brother and a pretty good eater, took us kids for a ride out to Coney Island. Needless to say, given Albie's appetite for food, our one and only stop was at Nathan’s. As we were stuffing our mouths with the greatest hot dogs (and buns) ever created, it dawned on me that we were still in the middle of Passover. When I mentioned this to Uncle Albie, his face, flushed from downing several hot dogs, flushed a little more and he said, simply, “Don’t tell Grandma”.

I went back to Coney Island last year. The house on West 25^th street is gone, as is the Merry-Go-Round. Steeplechase Park is gone. Nathan’s is there, but it doesn’t feel the same. The Parachute Jump is there, a glorious but inoperable landmark. The Aquarium, the new ball park and the rides at the new Luna Park and Wonder Wheel Park (the Wonder Wheel continues to live up to its name) have given Coney Island some new life and hopefully a better future. I read recently that the latest vision is to re-develop Coney Island with new restaurants, shops, residential towers and even Las Vegas style casinos (if NYS legalizes gambling). While it won't be my Coney Island, I hope it works for the sake of the Cyclone.