By Katarina Hybenova
Before you let go in favor of the tomorrow beach mermaid craziness, let’s look together at the iconic Coney Island of the 1920s. Thanks to NYC Department of Records Online Photo gallery, you can now spent hours of looking at old New York in photography. We made a selection of some of the most nostalgic beach photos from the period.
The publication When Brooklyn Was the World (1920-1957) by Elliot Willensky reveals, Coney Island has been attracting crowds since 1920 when the Stillwell Avenue subway station was opened:
[quote]The nickel was the stabilized price for the ride, the hot dog and milk shake; and at Nathan’s, orange drink could be had for only three cents. Coney Island had become the watering place of all the people, not just the select visitors (as had been the case of earlier era)- scions of high society and patrons of organized vice. The extension of the subway to Coney Island had brought the resort within the nickel’s reach of all the city’s millions, making it a favored place to take the family for a weekend outing. It came to be called “the Nickel Empire”…..[/quote]
