Coney Island Cyclone

The original Switchback Railway was the first roller coaster at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York City, and one of the earliest designed for amusement in the United States. The 1885 patent states the invention relates to the gravity double track switchback railway, which had predicated the inclined plane railway, patented in 1878 by Richard Knudsen. Coney Island's version was designed by LaMarcus Adna Thompson in 1881 and constructed in 1884. It appears Thompson based his design, at least in part, on the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway which was a coal-mining train that had started carrying passengers as a thrill ride in 1827.For five cents, riders would climb a tower to board the large bench-like car and were pushed off to coast 600 ft (183 m) down the track to another tower. The car went just over 6 mph (9.7 km/h). At the top of the other tower the vehicle was switched to a return track or "switched back" (hence the name). This track design was soon replaced with an oval complete-circuit ride designed by Charles Alcoke and called the Serpentine Railway. In 1885 Phillip Hinkle developed a lift system which appeared in his ride called Gravity Pleasure. The Gravity Pleasure also featured cars in which the passengers could face forward instead of in the awkward bench-like seats of the first two roller coasters. The next year, Thompson patented his design of coasters that included dark tunnels with painted scenery. Thompson built many more roller coasters under the name "The L.A. Thompson Scenic Railway" across the United States. Some of these operated until 1954.

Loop the Loop was a dual-tracked steel roller coaster that operated on Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, from 1901 to 1910. The coaster was one of the first looping roller coasters in North America.

Dreamland was an amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City that operated at the site of the defunct Astroland park for the 2009 season. It was replaced with a new Luna Park the following year. The park was operated by Anthony Raffaele for Thor Equities. The park contained two large freak shows as well as independent attractions to see a giant snake, a giant rat (really a baby capybara), and a tiny woman. It also included a carousel, a scrambler, and other rides. Thor Equities shut the park down before the end of the 2009 season due to $600,000 in unpaid back rent, locking them out in the middle of the night without a formal eviction.

Luna Park is an amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. It opened on May 29, 2010, at the site of Astroland, an amusement park that had been in operation from 1962 to 2008, and Dreamland, which operated at the same site for the 2009 season. It was named after the original 1903 Luna Park which operated until 1944 on a site just north of the current park's 1000 Surf Avenue location. The park was designed, developed, and operated by Central Amusement International, LLC (CAI), a subsidiary of the Italian company Zamperla which built 19 new mechanical rides for the park. There are also interactive games, food and beverage concessions, and live entertainment. As of 2017, the park's general manager was Fernando Velasquez.

Drop the Dip, later known as Trip to the Moon, was a wooden roller coaster that operated at several locations in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, in the early 20th century. The coaster is considered by some to be the first truly high-speed roller coaster.

Tornado (formerly known as Bobs) was a roller coaster located at Coney Island along Bowery Street in Brooklyn, New York City. Designed by Fred Church and built by the L. A. Thompson Company, the roller coaster cost $250,000 to build and opened in 1926. Much like the neighboring Coney Island Cyclone, it was a hybrid design consisting of a wooden track and steel structure. The coaster's track wrapped around a tower atop which the ride's name was attached. The land under the coaster was narrow, only 70 feet wide at its widest.In 1977, much of the coaster was destroyed by arson. The coaster was completely demolished in April 1978.

The Riegelmann Boardwalk (also known as the Coney Island Boardwalk) is a 2.7-mile-long (4.3 km) boardwalk along the southern shore of the Coney Island peninsula in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, facing the Atlantic Ocean. Opened in 1923, the boardwalk runs between West 37th Street at the edge of the Sea Gate neighborhood to the west and Brighton 15th Street in Brighton Beach to the east. It is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks). The Riegelmann Boardwalk is primarily made of wooden planks arranged in a chevron pattern. It ranges from 50 to 80 feet (15 to 24 m) wide and is raised slightly above sea level. The boardwalk connects several amusement areas and attractions on Coney Island, including the New York Aquarium, Luna Park, Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, and Maimonides Park. It has become an icon of Coney Island, with numerous appearances in the visual arts, music, and film. After its completion, the boardwalk was considered the most important public works project in Brooklyn since the Brooklyn Bridge, with a comparable impact to the Catskill Watershed and Central Park. By the mid-19th century, the Coney Island waterfront was divided among several private entities who erected barriers. Plans for a Coney Island boardwalk were first discussed in the late 1890s as a means of uniting the different sections of Coney Island, and as a revitalization project for these areas. The boardwalk, designed by Philip P. Farley, was named after Brooklyn borough president Edward J. Riegelmann, who led its construction. The Riegelmann Boardwalk's first portion opened in 1923, with further extensions in 1926 and 1941, as well as several modifications and repairs throughout the 20th century. After NYC Parks unsuccessfully attempted to repair the boardwalk with concrete in the early 21st century, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Riegelmann Boardwalk a city landmark in 2018.

The Wonder Wheel is a 150-foot-tall (46 m) eccentric Ferris wheel at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park at Coney Island in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The wheel is located on a plot bounded by West 12th Street to the west, Bowery Street to the north, Luna Park to the east, and the Riegelmann Boardwalk to the south. As with other eccentric Ferris wheels, some of the Wonder Wheel's passenger cabins are not fixed directly to the rim of the wheel, but instead slide along winding sets of rails between the hub and the rim. Built in 1920 as one of several Ferris wheels on Coney Island, the Wonder Wheel was designed by Charles Hermann and operated by Herman J. Garms Sr. for six decades. Despite the subsequent economic decline of Coney Island, the Wonder Wheel continued to operate each summer through the 20th century. In 1983, Herman Garms's son Fred sold the ride to the Vourderis family, who restored the attraction and continue to run the wheel as of 2020. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Wonder Wheel as an official New York City landmark in 1989, and minor modifications were subsequently made to the attraction.

Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park is a family-owned amusement park located at Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. It features six adult rides and 16 kiddie rides, including a dozen family rides that parents and children can ride together. The park is named for its main attraction, the Wonder Wheel, a 150-foot (46 m) eccentric wheel built in 1920.The park overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and Riegelmann Boardwalk along the Coney Island beach. The Wonder Wheel was made a New York City designated landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1989.

Astroland was a 3.1-acre (1.3 ha) amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City that first opened in 1962. It was located at 1000 Surf Avenue (at the corner of West 10th Street) on the boardwalk. It ceased operations on September 7, 2008.

The Childs Restaurant Building on Surf Avenue is a New York City designated landmark on Surf Avenue at West 12th Street in Coney Island, Brooklyn. It was completed in 1917 for Childs Restaurants, an early restaurant chain and one of the largest in the United States at that time. Its design, by John Westervelt, Childs' in-house architect, shows "elements of the Spanish Revival style." The company built a much larger Childs location on the Coney Island Boardwalk in 1923, but continued to operate the Surf Avenue location until 1943. In later years the building was used for other restaurants and nightclubs. In 2007 the property was acquired by Coney Island USA, a local arts organization that is headquartered in the building, which currently houses a theater, a bar, and exhibition and office space. The building was designated a New York City landmark in 2010.The building sustained considerable damage in Hurricane Sandy on October 31, 2012. With the help of many volunteers, Coney Island USA repaired the worst of the damage and reoccupied the building by spring 2013.

Coney Island USA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit arts organization founded in 1980 that is dedicated to the cultural and economic revitalization of the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. Its headquarters building in the heart of Coney Island's amusement district houses a theater in which the organization presents "Sideshows by the Seashore", a showcase for performers with unusual talents that runs continuously during the warmer months, as well as the Coney Island Museum. It is also notable as the organizer of the annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade, the first of which took place in 1983.The Coney Island Museum features artifacts and memorabilia about the amusement park, beach and neighborhood's history and culture, as well as changing exhibits of art and culture. The museum is open seasonally.Coney Island USA was founded in 1980 by Costa Mantis, Jane Savitt-Tennen and Dick D. Zigun. Coney Island USA is funded, in part, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York Council for the Humanities, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, New York City Councilman Mark Treyger and its members.