Category: Historic Sites in NYC

Coney Island History Project c/o Deno’s Wonderful Wheel Park 3059 West 12th Street Brooklyn, NY 11224

Coney Island History Project

C/O Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park

3059 West 12th Street

Brooklyn, NY 11224

https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 1:00pm-7:00pm (summer months only-May 24th-September 1st)

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60763-d4777489-r1014119112-Coney_Island_History_Project_Walking_Tour-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The front of The Coney Island Project

I came across this interesting museum/gallery when I was walking around Coney Island. The museum is a few small rooms located in one of the buildings in Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park. The museum is not related to the Coney Island Museum on Surf Avenue.

The small gallery space has a wealth of information and some interesting artifacts on Coney Island’s history both past and present.

The main room had artifacts and pictures of Coney Island’s past amusement history. There were many photo’s of the old parks, especially Steeplechase Park before its closing in 1965. It shows its development, growth and changes after the 1907 fire that destroyed the park.

There was all sorts of artifacts from that time as well as the former Astroland that was replaced by the new Luna Park. If you know the history of Coney Island, this can fascinating to read.

The second room had the later history when the Island’s amusements fell into disrepair and the whole island seemed to fall apart. The pictures show a very run down Coney Island.

The outside pictures show Coney Island in its heyday when during the 1930’s and 40’s before and during WWII, the island being a place of relief for so many New Yorker’s especially the working class.

The inside of the gallery

The main gallery

The Steeplechase Exhibition

Coney Island in ruin in the 1970’s

The history of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park

The display outside the museum

The mechanical display that sings and dances

The Miss Coney Island robot is a throwback to old technology and campy robotics that is fun to watch. For a quarter, you can take an interesting video with this robot.

The Deno’s Map of the park

The history of the park

The History of the Museum:

(From the Coney Island Historical Coalition website)

The Coney Island History Project’s 2025 exhibition center season begins Memorial Day Weekend with a combination of free indoor and outdoor exhibits. Visitors to the exhibition center are invited to take free souvenir photos with Coney Island’s only original Steeplechase horse, from the legendary ride that gave Steeplechase Park its name, and the iconic Cyclops head from Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park’s Spook-A-Rama, Coney Island’s oldest dark ride.

The real Midway

I took pictures after the Mermaid Parade and showed how busy the amusement section was that day. There is so much potential to update the amusements and modernize the area with new rides and concessions. There is so much that can be done here. I already see new luxury apartment buildings being built and the revamping of the main shopping drag.

The Boardwalk at the end of the evening.

The Coney Island Boardwalk at twilight

Day Three Hundred and Forty-Two Private Members Nights at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) May 27th, 2025

Day Three Hundred and Forty-Two Private Members Nights at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) May 27th, 2025

What also is difficult is when two major museums have their Members Night on the same night. I had to do a lot of coordinating to go to both museums. What made it work is that both museums closed at different times with The Met closing at 10:00pm. I timed it perfectly.

Members Night at the MoMA ‘Behind the Flowers’ for the Hilma af Klint exhibition

The theme that evening was based on the Hilma af Klint exhibition

https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5779

Going this evening took a lot of planning as I had to teach in the morning and cut the lawn on the afternoon. I was already exhausted by the time I left for the City at 4:00pm. Even on this gloomy afternoon, the weather held and it was a nice evening.

The area around the museum was in full bloom that early evening

The event opened early at the MoMA with their event from 6:00pm-9:00pm and the Met went from 7:00pm-10:00pm so I was able to enjoy both with a lot of walking in between. It was worth it as I was able to see several exhibitions on my bucket list before they closed. With work and finals, it had been tough to visit both of them.

People were enjoying conversation and cocktails when I arrived at the MoMA that evening.

I decided to start my evening at the Sculpture Garden on the first floor. The weather was cloudy but still it was a warm evening. People were conversing near the fountains and listening to music. The lines for the cash bar never let up and they were about thirty deep the whole time.

The Sculpture Garden at the MoMA

While I walked around the gardens and fountains I noticed a lot of the art that they were featuring was really unique, some of which I had not seen before.

The gardens with the poppies in bloom

This beautiful mosaic of a octopus did not have a name

This metal artwork was towards the back of the sculpture garden

The Met at night is quite dazzling

The entrance to The Met in the evening

Looking down Fifth Avenue at night

The entrance in the Rotunda was filled with fresh flowers and members chatting away. I even saw some of the members I had seen at the MoMA earlier.

The floral arrangements were spectacular

The beauty of the Rotunda in the evening

Maybe because these Members Nights were on a Tuesday evening, they both did not seem as crowded as they had been in the past. The museum was crowded but not as crowded as the past two Member’s Nights. I think that I arrived at 8:00pm most people were starting to leave. What was nice was that the MoMA night went until 9:00pm and The Met Night went until 10:00pm so it gave me the time to run through both museums.

I started my tour of The Met in the Greek Galleries looking at the Cycladic Art. I always loved the looks of these works.

https://www.metmuseum.org/departments/greek-and-roman-art

The entrance to the Cycladic Wing

The Cycladic Gallery in the Greek wing

Some of the interesting cases I admired that night

I then did a quick tour of the Roman Galleries which I had not toured in detail since the galleries opened years ago.

https://www.metmuseum.org/departments/greek-and-roman-art

Touring the Roman Galleries

Touring the Roman Gslleries

Touring the Roman Galleries

After the tour of the Roman Galleries, I headed to the Egyptian Galleries, I wanted to explore the galleries and get a drink at the Members Bar.

https://www.metmuseum.org/departments/egyptian-art

I love the Egyptian Galleries. I have been coming here since 1973 and have loved them ever since.

I love the ancient hieroglyphics

For the last two Members Nights, the Members Bar was in the Temple of Dendur. It is always so well lit and the music was wonderful. It is a nice way to end the evening.