Read on Twitter
Colorized by me: Dreamland Park, Coney Island, New York, 1905.
Original:
The sky wasn't replaced. It was recovered through exposure, brightness and contrast adjustments.
Now, to my favorite part... close-up:
Dreamland was an amusement park at Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, which operated from 1904 to 1911. It was the last of the three original large parks built on Coney Island, along with Steeplechase Park and Luna Park.
Dreamland's large central tower at night. The park was lit with one million electric lights.
Among Dreamland's attractions were a railway called Coasting Through Switzerland that ran through a Swiss alpine landscape...
... the Canals of Venice, an imitation of the Venetian canals, with gondolas...
... a human zoo called the "Lilliputian Village" with three hundred dwarf inhabitants;
(Postcard originally hand-tinted. Not colorized)
(Postcard originally hand-tinted. Not colorized)
There were also two Shoot-the-Chutes with two ramps that could handle 7,000 hourly riders and a simulated submarine ride.
On the night before opening day, an attraction called Hell Gate, in which visitors took a boat ride on rushing waters through dim caverns, was undergoing last-minute repairs. A leak had to be caulked with tar.
During these repairs...
During these repairs...
... at about 1:30 a.m. on May 27, 1911, the light bulbs that illuminated the operations exploded, likely due to an electrical malfunction.
In the darkness, a worker kicked over a bucket of hot pitch, and soon Hell Gate was in flames.
In the darkness, a worker kicked over a bucket of hot pitch, and soon Hell Gate was in flames.
The fire quickly spread throughout the park.
The buildings were made of frames of lath (thin strips of wood) covered with staff (a moldable mixture of plaster of Paris and hemp fiber).
The buildings were made of frames of lath (thin strips of wood) covered with staff (a moldable mixture of plaster of Paris and hemp fiber).
Chaos broke loose as the park burned.
As the single-armed Captain Bonavita strove to save his big cats with only the swiftly encroaching flames for illumination, some of the terrified animals escaped, but about 60 animals died.
As the single-armed Captain Bonavita strove to save his big cats with only the swiftly encroaching flames for illumination, some of the terrified animals escaped, but about 60 animals died.
A lion named Black Prince rushed into the streets, among crowds of onlookers, and was shot by police.
By morning, the fire was out and Dreamland was completely destroyed and never rebuilt.
And since you're going to ask: I spent 6 days working on this one (between commissions)
The fact that the fire started at an attraction called Hell Gate is tragically funny. And sad.
