brooklynmuseum: At the start of the twentieth century, visitors to Coney Island were multiplying ra

brooklynmuseum:

At the start of the twentieth century, visitors to Coney Island were multiplying rapidly. This photograph by Irving Underhill was taken in 1913 when the population of New York City was around 5 million and Brooklyn’s more than 1.6 million. With up to half a million tourists during the summers of the 1910s, Coney Island attractions were the weekend getaway for a significant number of New Yorkers. Seven years later, the expansion of the BMT train service connected Coney Island to Manhattan. Costing only a nickel, the number of daily visitors doubled to over a million a day.

In Underhill’s photograph, the swimmers and beach crowd at front seamlessly extend from the strollers and sightseers of the boardwalk and amusement parks. Men in shoes and ubiquitous straw boater hats and women in a variety of styles intermingle with the conservative woolen suits of the swimmers. The sand is so packed that there is little room for lounging or sleeping, although a few bold tourists attempt to make space between the footsteps. In the water, bathers hug the shallow shore line.

Posted by Rob Sohmer