Portraits of America: Coney Island : The Museum of the City of New York (Portraits of America) John S. Berman

More than simply an escape from New York"s sweltering summer streets, the strip of Brooklyn"s south shore known as Coney Island embodied a new American attitude toward entertainment. Here, you"ll experience the decadent delights of this magical land of ritzy hotels and penny arcades, where dance pavilions and freak shows shared space with sizzling burlesque and cooling ocean breezes. You"ll meet George Tilyou, whose Steeplechase Park featured the Blowhole Theater, the Insanitarium and the Human Pool Table, and Nathan Handwerker, whose Nathan"s Famous hot dogs became synonymous with summertime food. You"ll ride the legendary Cyclone roller coaster and stroll through Dreamland and Luna Park, where generations of New Yorkers met and mingled in a place that came to define American fun.