The Coney Island History Project, or CIHP, founded in 2004, is a not-for-profit organization that works to record and increase awareness of

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

's history.

Oral history project

The Coney Island History Project was founded in 2004 by Carol Hill Albert and Jerome Albert in honor of Dewey Albert, creator of

Astroland Astroland was a 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. History Ast ...

. Since its inception, Carol Hill and Jerome Albert tapped local historian

Charles Denson Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

as director of the Coney Island History Project. The project began as an

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...

project, collecting stories of Coney Island from longtime local residents. The ''Coney Island History Project'' records, archives, and shares oral history interviews about Coney Island. The CIHP conducts interviews in English, Russian, Chinese, and Spanish. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CIHP continued to record interviews via phone or Skype. Over 370 interviews are available online vi
The Coney Island History Project Oral History Archive

Exhibitions

The History Project’s exhibition center is located next to Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park. The center occupies a former arcade booth, presenting educational exhibitions, events, and performances; displaying historic artifacts and documentary material from Coney Island's history. The collection holds many artifacts of

, including an authentic

Steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

horse, part of Steeplechase Park. In 2014, the history project presented an exhibition on the history of the

Steeplechase Face The Steeplechase Face was the mascot of the historic Steeplechase Park, the first of three amusement parks in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York. It remains a nostalgic symbol of Coney Island and of amusement areas influenced by it. It features a ma ...

. In 2018, the Coney Island History Project presented an exhibition examining the history of Coney Island Creek. After the exhibit, the History Project has presented mobile exhibitions on the Coney Island Creek including one at

City of Water Day A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

on the Coney Island Creek in Kaiser Park, co-hosted with the Coney Island Beautification Project and the

Waterfront Alliance The Waterfront Alliance or Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance (MWA) is a nonprofit organization that works to influence the development and use of the waterfront, shoreline, and connected upland areas of the Port of New York and New Jersey in norther ...

Guided tours

The Coney Island History Project offers

guided tours A tour guide (U.S.) or a tourist guide (European) is a person who provides assistance, information on cultural, historical and contemporary heritage to people on organized sightseeing and individual clients at educational establishments, religio ...

of Coney Island. In 2019, the CIHP offered an immigrant Heritage Tour of Coney Island in English and Mandarin. The special walking tour was offered free of charge as part of Immigrant Heritage Week 2019.

References

External links

CONEYOLOGIST - youtube channel presented by the CIHP

Coney Island History Project - Oral History Archive
{{Historical societies in New York City, state=autocollapse Coney Island Historians of New York City Historical society museums in New York City History of New York City Online archives of the United States Oral historians Oral history Amusement museums in the United States 2004 establishments in New York City