Brooklyn Film Works: Movies Al Fresco in JJ Byrne Park presents
Coney Island
Directed by Ric Burns
JULY 7 at 8:30 p.m.

An ‘Electric Eden’ — ‘fabulous beyond conceiving’ — ‘ineffably beautiful’ — ‘Sodom by the Sea.’ To the millions who poured into the mesmerizing seaside amusement empire as the twentieth century dawned, Coney Island was all this and more. The birthplace of the hot dog and the roller coaster – an the most dazzling laboratory of mass culture the world has ever seen – Coney Island and its three extraordinary amusement parks, Steeplechase, Luna Park and Dreamland, delighted visitors with the largest herd of show elephants in the world, a spectacular trip to the moon, an infant incubator, and Lilliputina, a miniature town inhabited by 300 midgets. This elegant and absorbing documentary film chronicles the greatest amusement empire the world has ever seen from its emergence in the mid-1800’s through its demise after World War II.

Released 1991; 68 min
(Produced by Steeplechase Films; presented by American Experience)

Brooklyn Film Works: Movies Al Fresco in JJ Byrne Park
Curated by Louise Crawford
Concession by Stone Park Cafe
This series is made possible thanks to the generous support of Scharff Weissberg, Showman Fabricators, and Methodist Hospital