Say goodbye to the Freak.
This week, the developers and operators of New York's Coney Island served eviction notices to nine businesses at the Brooklyn amusement area.
Shoot the Freak is out. Nathan's Famous, which has been serving up hot dogs with spicy mustard and deep-fried clams since the summer of 1916, will stay. Also, the Cyclone, the most famous attraction in Coney Island and arguably the most popular roller coasters in the world, will gain a new operator; the old operator cited costs.
Central Amusement International, the operator and developer, has been criticized for trying to gentrify the area. It says it wants Coney to be a year-round destination.
I rarely saw anyone actually playing the ridiculous Shoot the Freak, which enticed players to shoot a human target with paintballs, but there's something about it not being there that will be strange. Other evictees were pretty cheese and many were old--Ruby's Bar & Grill, also on the chopping block, opened in 1939--but Coney Island is a great mix of cheesiness and nostalgia.
Coney Island may not be what it was in its peak of the early 1900s but it's still a great place to experience the smells, sights and sounds of summer.
Before the summer ended, I headed there to sample my first fried Oreo, play umpteen games of Skee-ball and watch old men fishing in the sea.
More photos after the jump.
3 comments:
Nice shots, I especially like the 2nd and last pics of the rides. I like that there are still old fashioned amusement parks left. This summer, I wandered through an old school, but spruced up amusement park in Santa Monica and it was really fun to take pictures of.
Really nice and atmospheric
I love these pictures; they totally brought me back to those lazy summer days in Coney Island.
And you're right; it'll be odd to have a boardwalk without Shoot the Freak. At least they're keeping the Cyclone and Nathan's!
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