Steeplechase The Funny Place by bmac62
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Description
My Grandfather and Grandmother first went to Steeplechase Park, Coney Island, on their honeymoon in 1906. Now, 43 years later, I was getting my first opportunity to go. I could hardly contain myself!
My cousin Bill and I hurried through the main gate of the park and found ourselves immediately engulfed in a menagerie of mechanical amusements. There was a sedate ride with small boats quietly splashing around and around in a small circle. One glance told me this was a ride for little kids, not big kids like me. Remember, I was all of eight in the summer of 1949. The next ride had a dozen small, colorful, single-seat metal airplanes that flew a circular path through the air. The little stubby-winged planes were suspended by means of chains hanging from long steel arms. The faster this contraption turned, the higher the little planes flew. This looked like fun, but I'd try it after seeing what else was here. Next was "The Caterpillar," a string of brightly painted four-seat carriages coupled one behind the other on a two-rail, undulating, circular track. The clickity-clack of the steel wheels on steel rails grew louder and louder as the ride picked up speed. I watched the riders holding on for dear life, most laughing and looking wild-eyed, while a few of the younger passengers appeared terrified and begged their parents to stop the ride and let them off. Just as the excited passengers thought they knew what was going on, a huge canvas cover came over the tops of the careening carriages plunging the riders into darkness and looking for all-the-world like a giant caterpillar to folks watching from the outside. Now this was truly a ride worth trying!
When I was a boy, the greatest amusement parks in the world were located practically on our doorstep. Coney Island, on the south side of Brooklyn, was only 20 miles from where my dad and I lived in New Hyde Park, and only 10 miles from where my Aunt Grace, Uncle Jim, and cousins lived in Queens. Beginning in the 1820s and ballooning in popularity after the Civil War in the late 1860s, amusement parks had become the central attraction for vacationers and day trippers from all over the New York City area. Before air conditioning, city dwellers sweltered in unrelenting summer heat. Coney Island had white sandy beaches and refreshing, cool ocean breezes. By the early 1900s public transportation resources had become plentiful and included steamboats and electrified trains. Trolley cars, busses and automobiles soon followed. In New York, the rush was on to Coney Island.
George C. Tilyou (1862-1914) created Steeplechase Park. It operated successfully from 1897 through the summer of 1964. Tilyou had seen the first Ferris Wheel at the Chicago Exposition in the summer of 1893. He decided to build his own on Coney Island, and it immediately became the resort's biggest draw. He added other rides and attractions, including a mechanical horse race course from which the park derived its name. He was the first to enclose his park to provide his customers with an added sense of security. His philosophy was simple:
"What attracts the crowd is the wearied mind's demand for relief in unconsidered muscular action. We Americans either want to be thrilled or amused, and we are ready to pay well for either sensation."
In 1897, admission for an entire day, including all the rides and attractions in the park, was 25 cents. On hot summer days as many as 10,000 people visited Steeplechase Park.
So, what do I remember most from my first visit to Steeplechase? I remember the Parachute Jump. This was a 262 foot tall tower with twelve parachutes on guy wires. My Uncle Jim took my cousin Bill and me on this thrilling ride. A big burley attendant strapped us into a canvas seat on a steel frame that hung about 15 feet below a deflated parachute. He asked, "Are you ready?" "Yes," we answered meekly. With that, he pulled a big lever and with a jerk, our parachute with us hanging below began a slow, even ascent to the top of the 26-story-tall tower. My heart was in my mouth all the way up. I didn't like the feeling of my feet dangling in space and thought the only thing between me and death was the thick lap strap. I did get a few moments to marvel at the scenery before we got to the top. There was all of Coney Island and half of Brooklyn below as well as the vast, blue Atlantic Ocean off to my right. Suddenly a jolt snapped me out of my reverie, we dropped like a rock for maybe ten feet and with a poof, the parachute above us opened, our seat rocked gently and we floated lazily down to the bottom where we stopped with a bang and another jolt. The attendant greeted us with a big, broad grin as he quickly unbuckled our lap belt. The ride was over, we hopped down, and I felt elated. I had defied death and lived to tell about it!
What else do I remember? The list could go on forever. I remember the Steeplechase ride which began at the Fun Pavilion in the center of the park. Joyce, Bill, Aunt Grace and I each got to ride on a large wooden horse. The ride had a roller coaster feel to it but the hills were nowhere near as dramatic. After being pulled up the first hill, gravity took over for the remaining half mile or so of track. The heaviest rider always won. I came in last. I also remember big wooden slides inside the Fun Pavilion. When you went down one of these slides you rode on a piece of carpet to increase your speed and protect your bottom. The peril was getting floor burns on exposed elbows. The solution was to wear long sleeves or fold your arms and do your best to sit upright. The slide I liked the best was "The Human Pool Table" which consisted of a three-story-tall tower with a cork-screw-like slide inside. It threw you out onto a large, smooth wooden floor with imbedded rotating wooden disks. Half the disks spun clockwise, the other half spun counterclockwise. These disks took away all of your ability to walk and then flung you rather ingloriously off an edge of the floor into a pit. If you liked your experience, you got out of the pit, adjusted your clothing and raced up the tower stairs to go again. Bill and I went countless times.
When we left late in the afternoon, we were all bone tired. We had been thrilled. We had been amused. My world had been dramatically expanded. Subsequently, I got to go to Steeplechase Park two more times in the early 1950s before getting swallowed up in the next phase of my life. George Tilyou's philosophy proved itself to me. Unfortunately for me, no theme park that I've visited since has matched my experiences at Coney Island. Oh, to be eight again! Well, at least for a day :-)
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The photograph with this story is a scan of a postcard in my collection and in the public domain.
Comments (14)
jayfar
A super old pic and a wonderful story Bill. You were born in the same year as me !!
durleybeachbum
What a brilliant writer you are! I was totally engrossed , and of course some of those experiences are reflected in my own childhood, but I have never ever liked sudden drops!
giulband
Great great photo !!!!!!!!!
MrsRatbag
For me it was Disneyland; I grew up in Los Angeles, where I had my first visit when I was about 7. My father's mother, who I had never met, had come to visit us from Minnesota, and we all went to Disneyland. I loved it, of course, especially Sleeping Beauty's castle. When I was 12 we moved to Long Beach, which was much closer to the heaven of Buena Park and Anaheim, which held not only Disneyland but Knott's Berry Farm, the other big attraction in the area in those days. We had lots of trips to both, and for my grad night they locked us seniors in at Disneyland and we had free usage of any and all rides all night. I miss those early visits to the "magic kingdom"!
Faemike55
I was totally engrossed and caught up in your story. thank you for sharing your childhood with us. If I can find one, I'll post the Roller Coaster that was at Jantzen Beach and tell you my story of the rides there
RodS Online Now!
Tell ya what, Bill..... If you want a thrill to match the parachute drop..... They ought to have all the problems worked out with that Verrückt water-slide at Schlitterbahn Water Park over in KCK by the time you and Tara make it back to this neck of the woods. It currently holds the world record as the tallest water-slide in the world - 17 stories. I'd give it a go, but there's no elevator - you have to climb the stairs to the top! I'd have a heart attack before even trying the slide (you reach about 50 mph going down the main slide - 50 mph...... on your butt!). Then you go weightless for a few seconds as you go over the next rise.. You up?? :-D What a delightful picture you painted with words, Bill! Ah, those were the days, weren't they? :-D You're as good at writing as you are behind the lens, my friend! Bravo! The Verrückt awaits you.... muahahahahaha
jendellas
Super B/W pic, super rides & memories. xxx
helanker
I really enjoyed, what you so beautifully wrote about your childhood. I remember the caterpillar. I have tried it in Tivoli Copenhagen, when I was a school girl.
kgb224
Superb capture and a wonderful story Bill. God bless.
T.Rex
Aw, Bill. Brought tears to my eyes. I never was to Coney Island but heard lots about it, living in New Rochelle 1956 - 1962. Thanks for giving so freely of yourself and your past history. Keep up the good work. (I've been off-line a month due to that nasty ucash trojan that took over and sabbotaged my computer over a month ago. I still haven't recovered.)
flavia49
fabulous work
debbielove
Fabulous shot you've posted and a great read Bill, excellent....and thanks for it! Rob
auntietk
Huh ... I guess I didn't comment on this! LOL! After editing the draft and talking about it, I guess I thought I had. :P I like the immediacy of this. VERY engaging story, with a nice amount of painless history thrown in. Good job, hon! :*
anahata.c
Wonderful collection of memories, Bill, and very well put together too. You start by placing us in personal (and general) history---the opening sentences about your grandparents. Then you dive right into the first impressions of walking into this magical place: In medias res, you drop us right in the middle of things. Then you give some background---just enough to root the story, and make it fascinating. (Not easy to put history into memoir: The challenge is to keep it "part" of the memoir rather than to break-up the memoir and drop the reader into a challenging bit of facts and figures. The challenge is to keep it flowing and engaging, in other words. And I was entirely engaged.) Then, you return with a few well chosen specifics---ie, the rides you share with us, the experiences, the anticipation, shock of reaching the top and then dropping, the relief in reaching the end, etc. And you sweetly leave the place behind, with a very fine sentence---"Subsequently, I got to go to Steeplechase Park two more times in the early 1950s before getting swallowed up in the next phase of my life." (What was that about, lol? It "swallowed you up"---did you become a spy? Take over a major corporation---in your teens? Were you indicted on several counts of embezzlement??? Did you invent a space ship at age 18? Not a lotta people refer to their post 10-year old period as being "swallowed up": I'm very curious!) Finally, you end it with a gentle bow of sweet memory. I too, like some people above, have very sweet memories of my first amusement park, and you captured those experiences with real ease and gentleness. (I should bow to Tara, since she edited the piece. If she had any class, instead of leaving her comment above, she'd write: "Hey! I EDITED this piece! It was CRAP before I touched it! Gar-bajjjj. You couldn't understand a word of it! I'm accepting all compliments---in fact, cash gratuities are encouraged. He may be my husband, but trust me, he can't write to save his you-know-what..." I'd pay to see that...Anyway, bows for her editing; and she left your voice wholly intact---I remember your voice from your earlier writings, some of which moved me to tears. You're a good pair.) Some specifics: Some very nice alliteration---"and found ourselves immediately engulfed in a menagerie of mechanical amusements": Lotta "m"s there. (I'll let you find them. If you can't find them, you have to give back the admission fee. There are 4 of 'm, as I count.) "There was a sedate ride with small boats quietly splashing around and around in a small circle." I counted 6 important "s"s there---sibilants (which I always thought were very small siblings). Hint: The soft "c" counts, even though it's not an "s". If you say you didn't intend these, well...when they're that prominent (and musical), I think they come out as part of your natural music. Your description of the first things you saw, incl the caterpillar, is very sweet, and does capture the feeling of the "first rides" one saw in these places, often not the most exciting but fascinating and very mechanical (yes). And your parachute ride---in the 'main' section---captures just what those rides felt like. (Are guy wires for dudes, and chick wires for women? I know, guy wires are types of cables, but I had to ask.) You captured, in a few sentences, the strange feeling of being hoisted, looking below but not wanting to see, the sudden snap, the sudden fall, and the sudden "catch" as the parachute catches you. (I was on these things.) Then the added 'bang' when you hit the ground...You got all the key experiences, Bill. As well as the feeling of having defied death. I could describe more, but I don't want to write a tome here. Suffice it to say, it's a fine piece of selection. Selection of experiences... Suffice it to say, you captured the entry, the wonder, the strangeness, all the mechanical tinker-toy feelings, the jolts and joys and childhood glee's of the place. And added a smattering of history. A very sweet piece, Bill, and I'm thrilled you're doing these---for your family, and your friends. It's wonderful. Now I'm onto the next piece... (Btw---did you change the photo? You must've had copyright issues---I thought there was another photo, was I dreaming that? Well it doesn't matter: This postcard is just right in its saturated hues and its old cars and big cleaned up sky. And the parachutes are right there. It'll do just fine...)