Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Playland Letters

Coney Island's old Playland is losing its letters. One by one as the years go by.


Summer 2010

They're mid-century neon letters. One has to wonder if they're being taken by ordinary vandals or by Coney Island history buffs terrified that this, too, is about to vanish.


Summer 2011

In Forgotten New York, Kevin Walsh tells us that Playland began in 1930 as Silver's Penny Arcade. It was run as Playland from 1957 until it closed in 1981. Horace Bullard bought it and left it to rot. The ruin's guardian was a man named Andy Badalamenti. He recently passed away. A small tribute to him hangs on the fence outside Playland.



For a peek inside the ruins of Playland, see photos by Lindsay Wengler and Nathan Kensinger.
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10 comments:

  1. T.E. RinaldiAugust 31, 2011 at 9:48 AM

    So bummed to see this sign go to pieces! At the extreme right (and left?) of the sign, there appear to be little rectangular plaques identifying the sign shop that made this - does anyone have a close-up photo? I'd like to record the maker of this sign for nyneon.org before it disappears completely...

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  2. maximum bobAugust 31, 2011 at 10:07 AM

    When I was a boy, my father used to
    tell me in reverent tones about
    Luna Park at Coney Island, which
    apparently was a paradise for the boys of his generation.

    ReplyDelete
  3. SJFAugust 31, 2011 at 11:04 AM

    Sundays when I was a kid growing up meant a visit to my grandparents, lunch consisting of a frank, fries and a coke at Nathan's and then PLAYLAND for skeeball and games. Accumulated a nice collection of stuffed animals and back scratchers. Sad to see another childhood memory gone.

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  4. BaHaAugust 31, 2011 at 1:39 PM

    @maximum bob: Whenever my mother saw a women who was wearing garish clothes and/or too much jewelry, she would say: "She's all lit up like Luna Park!"

    ReplyDelete
  5. Marty WombacherAugust 31, 2011 at 3:14 PM

    It's like Wheel of Fortune in reverse.

    ReplyDelete
  6. LindsayAugust 31, 2011 at 4:19 PM

    In just March of 2010 it had all of its letters:

    So sad, it was such a beautiful sign!

    ReplyDelete
  7. esquared™August 31, 2011 at 8:32 PM

    they didn't have to take out all the letters; could've just taken the first l and name it payland, which coney island would be anyway

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousSeptember 1, 2011 at 1:02 AM

    you better go and grab that last remaining N or that D as a souvenir.

    ReplyDelete
  9. chris flashSeptember 3, 2011 at 8:26 PM

    Jeremiah: Where is this place? Surf Avenue?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Jeremiah MossSeptember 3, 2011 at 10:50 PM

    hey Chris, i believe it's visible from 15th between Surf and the boardwalk.

    ReplyDelete

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