Coney Island's Wonder Wheel Park

Coney Island's Wonder Wheel Park
Author: Charles Denson
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2020-08-03
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 143966997X

The venerable Wonder Wheel, Coney Island's oldest and greatest attraction, has dominated the Coney Island skyline for more than a century. Towering over an ephemeral amusement zone long plagued by fires, floods, and ill-conceived urban renewal schemes, the magnificent steel machine has proved to be the ultimate survivor. The ride boasts impressive statistics. A combination of roller coaster and Ferris wheel, the 150-foot-tall structure weighs 200 tons, has 16 swinging cars and 8 stationary cars, and can carry 144 riders. More than 40 million passengers have taken a ride on the wheel since it was built in 1920, and during that time, it has maintained a perfect safety record. The ride is also a monument to immigrant initiative. Charles Hermann, the ride's designer, was Romanian; the original owner, Herman Garms, was German; and Denos Vourderis, who purchased and lovingly restored the aging landmark in 1983, was Greek. An official New York City landmark, the Wonder Wheel is now owned and operated by three generations of the Vourderis family as the centerpiece of their Deno's Wonder Wheel Park. The enduring saga of this iconic ride, and the family that saved it, provide a captivating chapter of Coney Island's history.

Coney Island's Wonder Wheel Park

Coney Island's Wonder Wheel Park
Author: Charles Denson
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2020
Genre: History
ISBN: 1467104833

The venerable Wonder Wheel, Coney Island's oldest and greatest attraction, has dominated the Coney Island skyline for more than a century. Towering over an ephemeral amusement zone long plagued by fires, floods, and ill-conceived urban renewal schemes, the magnificent steel machine has proved to be the ultimate survivor. The ride boasts impressive statistics. A combination of roller coaster and Ferris wheel, the 150-foot-tall structure weighs 200 tons, has 16 swinging cars and 8 stationary cars, and can carry 144 riders. More than 40 million passengers have taken a ride on the wheel since it was built in 1920, and during that time, it has maintained a perfect safety record. The ride is also a monument to immigrant initiative. Charles Hermann, the ride's designer, was Romanian; the original owner, Herman Garms, was German; and Denos Vourderis, who purchased and lovingly restored the aging landmark in 1983, was Greek. An official New York City landmark, the Wonder Wheel is now owned and operated by three generations of the Vourderis family as the centerpiece of their Deno's Wonder Wheel Park. The enduring saga of this iconic ride, and the family that saved it, provide a captivating chapter of Coney Island's history.

In the Shadow of the Wonder Wheel

In the Shadow of the Wonder Wheel
Author: Carren Strock
Publisher: Gray Rabbit Publishing
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2012-11-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781617207303

Mallory McGill has no idea how she got to Coney Island Creek. The last thing she remembers is traveling to the hospital to deliver her baby. Now her baby is missing, and she is being accused of committing an unspeakable crime. For Teri Cardello, a tough detective who has no tolerance for anyone involved in crimes against children, McGill is guilty, and there's no doubt in her mind. But her partner Sam Rothman, who once let an innocent man go to his death, refuses to be so easily convinced. "Either that girl is the worst liar in the world, or everyone else is lying and she's telling the truth," he says. Why can't Mallory remember that fateful night? Could she have killed her baby, or is someone trying to frame her? Someone knows the answers to these questions, and will stop at nothing--including murder--to prevent her from learning the truth. Brooklyn-born Carren Strock is the author of "Married Women Who Love Women" (Doubleday, 1998; Routledge, 2008) and "A Writer's Journey: What to Know Before, During, and After Writing a Book" (Gray Rabbit, 2011). Visit her on the web at www.CarrenStrock.com.

Coney Island

Coney Island
Author: Charles Denson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2002
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781580084550

Denson gives us an insider's look at one of New York's best-known neighborhoods, weaving together memories of his childhood adventures with colorful stories of the area's past and interviews with local personalities, all brought to life by hundreds of photographs, detailed maps, and authentic memorabilia.

Project Kid: Crafts That Go!

Project Kid: Crafts That Go!
Author: Amanda Kingloff
Publisher: Artisan
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2016-09-06
Genre: Crafts & Hobbies
ISBN: 1579657257

Thomas the Tank Engine. Hot Wheels. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things That Go. Kids’ fascination with vehicles is insatiable. In Project Kid: Crafts That Go!, that excitement is translated into more than 60 inventive craft projects for parents to make with and for their children. The book is organized into seven chapters: City, Rails, Sky, Space, Water, Country, and Dirt. There are police cars and ice cream trucks; circus trains and submarines; helicopters, rocket ships, cement mixers, and school buses. And because the car-obsessed kid doesn’t just want a new vehicle to play with—he wants a racetrack, his very own driver’s license, maybe even a child-sized gas station—each chapter includes not only toys but also thematic clothing, decor, accessories, and more. Projects feature clear instructions and step-by-step photographs wherever they are needed, easy for both kids and non-crafty adults to understand.

Coney Island and Astroland

Coney Island and Astroland
Author: Charles Denson
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2011
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780738574288

Coney Island is a unique New York City neighborhood and a place of exciting innovation, where the roller coaster and the hot dog were introduced to the world, the glow of a million bare lightbulbs at Luna Park dazzled early visitors, and rocket rides at Astroland fueled intergalactic fantasies. Coney Island served as the pressure valve for New York, drawing millions to its famous beach on sweltering weekends. Astroland Park, created at the dawn of the space age, was the vision of Dewey and Jerome Albert. They transformed the 3-acre Feltman's Restaurant property, one of Coney Island's oldest attractions, into a futuristic amusement park that would anchor the amusement zone for the next half century. The park's ambitious opening in 1962 mirrored the wide-eyed optimism of the early 1960s and helped Coney Island survive the closure of the venerable Steeplechase Park.

Amusement Parks of New York

Amusement Parks of New York
Author: Jim Futrell
Publisher: Stackpole Books
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2006
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780811732628

This comprehensive guide profiles 16 major amusement parks in the Empire State and offers information on smaller parks as well. Offers complete information on rides and attractions, a history of each park, and best times to go. Features vintage photographs and postcards scenes.

Mr. Ferris and His Wheel

Mr. Ferris and His Wheel
Author: Kathryn Gibbs Davis
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 45
Release: 2014
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0547959222

Examines how the engineer George Ferris invented and constructed the amusement park ride that bears his name for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

Historic Amusement Parks of Long Island

Historic Amusement Parks of Long Island
Author: Marisa L. Berman
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2015-06-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 1625849818

When Long Island became a suburban paradise after World War II, ambitious entrepreneurs created dozens of amusement parks to help families unwind. The Nunley family built a park in Baldwin in 1939, and it was so successful that they opened Nunley's Happyland in Bethpage just a few years later. Westbury's Spaceland fascinated youngsters with dreams of becoming astronauts, and Frontier City in Amityville was heaven on earth to fans of the Wild West. Today, historic parks like Deno's Wonder Wheel Park in Coney Island and Adventureland in Farmingdale still delight children and remind parents of happy memories of their own. Local author Marisa Berman explores the decades of fun and laughter from Long Island's historic amusement parks.

Coney Island

Coney Island
Author: Robin Jaffee Frank
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015
Genre: Amusement parks
ISBN: 9780300189902

Published on the occasion of an exhibition of the same name organized by the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut, and held there January 31-May 31, 2015; at the San Diego Museum of Art, Calif., July 11-October 13, 2015; at the Brooklyn Museum, N.Y., November 20, 2015-March 13, 2016; and at the McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Tex., May 11-September 11, 2016.