Guide to Coney Island and Gravesend
Archival Materials at the Othmer Library
April 2012
This guide is intended to aid researchers interested in archival material at Brooklyn
Historical Society (BHS) that relates to Coney Island and the Gravesend region. The emphasis of this guide is on our Coney Island resources. This compilation only highlights complementary Gravesend materials. This resource does not include all Gravesend materials we have available in our archives and special collections. Accordingly, researchers may wish to review finding aids from collections not found on the guide to identify other materials potentially useful to their research.Access to the “finding aid portal” for such searches is available from this page:
This subject guide includes information on our collection of Coney Island and Gravesend land development resources, essays and manuscripts, photographs, viewbooks, artwork and ephemera.
In addition to the archival material detailed in this guide, there are many other resources at BHS useful to researching Coney Island and Gravesend, as discussed below.
First, you can search our online catalog, Bobcat, for relevant material such as books, maps, andother printed matter in our library:
The basic keyword to search is Coney Island, but this will return almost 100 results. Accordingly, you might want to narrow your results by using combinations of keywords such as Coney Island Amusement Park, or Coney Island Seaside, etc. You can also use other keywords, such as Coney Island Landowners, Coney Island Transportation, etc.
The library’s Brooklyn Scrapbook collection, consisting of newspaper clippings compiled on microfiche slides, contain several articles relating to the subject of Coney Island and Gravesend. More specifically, you can search the subject card catalog by street name or prominent figures of these neighborhoods.
The vertical files have folders with articles on Coney Island (1923-1998), BrightonBeach (1911-1997), Manhattan Beach (1996), Seagate (1950s-1997), andGravesend (1943-1997).
In addition to archival and other text-based matter, BHS has an extensive collection of Coney Island photographic images, many of which are highlighted in this guide.
Please note that many of the photograph collections listed within this guide are available digitally through our image database, Past Perfect. Beneath the title of the collections featured below is the Past Perfect, searchable Object ID. An appointment is not necessary to access the image database. Assistance with Past Perfect searching, as well as printing, citation, and reproduction information is available upon arrival.
If the selected images are insufficient for your research or they have not yet been digitized you can request the entire collection to view in the library. These requests do require an appointment for viewing in the library. To schedule an appointment, or for further information about any of these collections, please email:
Section 1: Land and Development
This section traces the development of Coney Island, but focuses on the development of the neighboring Gravesend region. Gravesend was one of the six original towns of KingsCounty. Founded by religious dissenter Lady Deborah Moody and her followers in 1643, it was the only one of the original towns to be founded by English settlers. Gravesend was annexed by the City of Brooklyn in 1894. These collections of textual-based materials require an appointment to be viewed within the library.
Martin Shoonmaker Account book, 1873-1883
Call number: 1973.187
0.25 linear feet.
Account book of Martin Schoonmaker from 1872-1883 with attachments from 1873-1878. Includes family farm and rental accounts, with information on landowners of Gravesend, Ocean Parkway, Parkville, and Coney Island Properties.
Terhune & Wyckoff Families Papers, 1747-1932
Call number: ARC.279
0.8 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
The Terhune and Wyckoff families papers (1747-1932) include documents of two prominent families, affiliated through marriage, from Gravesend in Kings County, New York (part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn after 1898). John Terhune (1767-1842) played a significant role in the early development of Coney Island as a resort location, and the collection includes some documents on that subject and on a dispute over whether to incorporate the town of Gravesend.
Gravesend History Collection, 1686-1891
Call number: 1978.046
0.4 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
The Gravesend history collection contains a charter for Gravesend, signed by Governor Dongan; a land deed and title searches for property in Gravesend; genealogies of prominent families; and a manuscript copy of William H. Stillwell’s Annals of the Town of Gravesend.
American Indians and English Settlers Gravesend Deed, 1665, 1909
Call number: 1977.594
0.01 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
Photocopy of a typescript deed documenting the sale of land in the present-day Brooklyn neighborhood of Gravesend by the American Indian inhabitants of the region to incoming English settlers. The land is referred to in the deed by its English name (Gravesend), as well as its Indian names, Narrumsum and Pootapeck. The typescript, created in 1909, is a transcription of the original manuscript deed recorded in 1665.
Town of Gravesend Record Transcriptions, 1646-1670
Call number: 1977.308
3.0 items, in 3 folders. Link to more information about the collection.
Transcriptions of early town records of Gravesend, dated 1646 to 1670, and a 100-page historical sketch of Gravesend. The transcribed records and the historical sketch were prepared by Works Progress Administration researchers of the Historical Records Survey, Service Division, New York, NY, in March of 1942. The transcribed records include town meeting minutes, dated 1646 to 1653, as well as property deeds and leases, dated 1653 to 1670.
Transcriptions of Dutch Legal Documents of Flatbush, Flatlands and Gravesend, circa 1965-1850
Call number: 1978.034
0.02 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
English transcriptions of Dutch legal documents concerning the towns of Flatlands, Flatbush, and Gravesend. Some appear to have been copied from official records of the Dutch government of New Amsterdam (later New York City) and to have been written by Peter Stuyvesant, the last governor to lead New Amsterdam before the colony was seized by the British in 1664. The original documents date from 1656 to 1719, while the transcriptions were created circa 1850. The repository at which the original Dutch documents are housed is not known.
Guide to the Brooklyn Bureau of Sewers Records, 1853-1988
Call number: ARC.235
53.5 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
The bulk of the collection includes documents supporting the assessments to be levied for sewer projects; the binders of this material include maps of the blocks and lots relevant to a sewer project, lists of property owners, and certifications. Coney Island and Gravesend documents can be found in the “Ocean Front” binders. Other materials in the collection include blueprints of sewer projects and designs, field books concerning special sewer structures, notes on land valuation assessments, journals of work on particular projects, materials test results, and other matter. Collection contains a map of the Coney Island sewer system.
Ferguson Family Collection of GravesendLand Documents, 1863-1957
Call number: 1985.053
0.9 cubic feet. Link to more information about the collection.
Ferguson was a businessman who lived in Gravesend, N.Y. and was a member of the Town of Gravesend Board of Trustees of the Common Lands. This committee was charged with selling underwater lots in the Coney Island area that were to be reclaimed in the 1880s and 1890s.Included are several maps of the Gravesend and Coney Island areas of Brooklyn.
Saretta G. Hicks Research Files, 1963-1965
Call number: ARC.276
1.46 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
Collection contains Hicks' research notes and copies of original documents concerning Lady Deborah Moody (d.1659), leader of English settlers who founded town of Gravesend. Also includes Hicks' correspondence, 1962-1965, and travel diary to England, 1963; alphabetically filed bibliography cards; and typescript of "Dangerous Woman: A Biography of Deborah, Lady Moody of Coney Island."
Department of Parks, City and Borough of Brooklyn records, 1856 – 1945
Call number: 1977.325
2.5 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
The Department of Parks, City and Borough of Brooklyn records span the years 1856 to 1945, and includes Coney Island park information. The collection is arranged into seven series: Correspondence; Reports; Finances; Legal; Minutes and proceedings; Maps and drawings; and Miscellaneous printed materials.
Section 2: Essays and Manuscripts
These collections of textual-based materials require an appointment to be viewed within the library.
Daniel J. Kern recollections of Brooklyn, 1908-1939
Call number: 1992.024
0.1 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
Collection of essays pertaining to Brooklyn history as experiences and observed through the eyes of Kern. Kern covers topics such as Coney Island, Steeplechase and LunaParks.
Jennie Child recollections of Park Slope, 1958-1958
Call number: 1973.129
0.08 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
This manuscript collection consists of several handwritten pages that were used as notes for a talk given by Ms. Child at the Old First Reformed Church in Park Slope in 1958. Includes Ms. Child’s personal anecdotes, including rides to Coney Island on the elevated steam train.
Brooklyn Correspondence and Miscellaneous Manuscripts, 1757-1968
Call number: 1977.321
0.35 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
This collection consists of a wide variety of correspondence and other manuscripts primarily relating to individuals and families from Brooklyn, N.Y. It also includes records from the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce and the FroebelAcademy, and references to African American slaves. Items date from 1757 to 1968, with the bulk of the material dating from 1850 to 1920.
Daniel M. Tredwell Papers, 1876-1917
Call number: ARC.188
1.5 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
Tredwell was a Brooklyn businessman and bibliophile who frequently wrote about Brooklyn and Long Island. Included here are two handwritten essays. The first is entitled “KingsCounty in Fact, Legend and Tradition.” Its primary topics are Flatbush, Flatlands, and the geography of King’s County. Includes Coney Island as a point of interest.
Seidl Society Records, 1889-1899
Call number: 1977.175
1.75 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
The Seidl Society of Brooklyn, created by Laura Langford Holloway and other affluent female patrons of music in Brooklyn, sponsored programs featuring Seidl at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, BrightonBeach and free concerts held at Coney Island.
Section 3: Photographs
This section contains collections with visual materials of multiple mediums such as stereographs, slides, cabinet cards, and glass plate negatives, photographic prints, and postcards.Digital versions of the majority of these images are available via the image database located in the library. Please refer to the Object ID provided for each collection below when searching the image database in the library.
Stereoscope Views of Brooklyn Collection, 1865-1915,
Call number: V1978.024 (Image Database Object ID V1978.24.7)
0.03 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
Includes a black and white stereographic view of Coney Island, looking down the length of the Iron Pier.
Otto Dreschmeyer Brooklyn slides, 1965-1968
Call number: V1988.012 (Image Database Object ID V1988.12)
0.42 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
Collection includes color slides taken by Dreschmeyer in Brooklyn, likely using a Hasselblad camera. Later images feature docks and beach scenes from Coney Island. Coney Island scenes document the boardwalk and associated attractions such as the Cyclone, Wonder Wheel, and Parachute Jump. Views of Coney Island from the ocean, as well as night views and fireworks displays are also included.
Brooklyn slide collection, 1963-1978
Call number: V1984.001 (Image Database Object ID V1984.1)
0.8 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
The color slides in this collection are duplicates of original photographs, illustrations, manuscripts, maps, museum objects, and books from the collections of the Brooklyn Historical Society and other sources. The collection is arranged by subject and includes Coney Island among the documented neighborhoods.
19th century Brooklyn cabinet card collection, circa 1890-1902
Call number: V1987.021 (Image Database Object ID V1987.21)
0.12 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
This collection is composed primarily of cabinet cards, with mounted black-and-white prints included. Contains images of Coney Island.
Arthur Weindorf glass plate negatives, circa 1901-1916
Call number: V1974.024 (Image Database Object ID V1974.24)
1.21 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
This glass plate negative collection documents the construction of the sewer system and subway tunnels of Brooklyn. Subway tunnel-related negatives mainly show models and illustrated plans. Subway stations include the Coney Island train yard.
Coney Island and railroad photographs, circa 1920s
Call number: V1987.039 (Image Database Object ID V1987.39)
0.01 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
Five photographs, dated circa 1920s, showing the LunaPark amusement park in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn.
Photographs of the former Half Moon Hotel on Coney Island, 1991-1991
Call number: V1991.074 (Image Database Object ID V1991.74)
0.08 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
Detailed views of what was originally the Half Moon Hotel. Black-and-white photographic prints taken by Li-Saltzman Architects in 1991.
Raanan Geberer photographs of Brooklyn neighborhoods, 1988-1990
Call number: V1991.118 (Image Database Object ID V1991.118)
0.05 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
Color photographic prints documenting various Brooklyn neighborhood, including Coney Island. All photographs are taken outdoors with the primary subjects being houses along Glenwood Road in Flatbush; street views of people on sidewalks; views taken from subway platforms; and people engaged in outdoor summertime activities. The photographer places some emphasis on documenting Jewish life in Brooklyn.
Crown Publishers photographs of Brooklyn, circa 1920-1960
Call number: V1987.011 (Image Database Object ID V1987.11)
0.16 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
Black-and-white photographic prints that document Brooklyn from the period circa 1920 to 1960. Collection includes images of Coney Island.
Photographs and postcard of Villa Joe’s in Coney Island, 1922-1965
Call number: V1992.014 (Image Database Object ID V1992.14)
0.03 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
The Photographs and postcard of Villa Joe’s in Coney Island consist of eight color photographic prints taken in 1965, three black-and-white photographic prints dating from 1922 to 1955, and one photographic postcard, circa 1932. The collection documents the history of Villa Joe’s, a family-run Italian restaurant that was located in Coney Island from 1915 to 1975.The photographs show exterior and interior views of the restaurant in 1965, an exterior view of the restaurant in 1955, and two group portraits showing the proprietors, Joseph and Fausta Palescandolo, their three children, and the restaurant staff, in 1922 and again in 1927.
Lucille Fornasieri Gold photograph collection, 1968-2008, bulk 1973-1985
Call number: 2008.013 (Image Database Object ID 2008.013)
0.25 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
Documentary photographs of Coney Island.
Aerial Views of Brooklyn and Long Island photograph album, circa 1928
Call number: V1986.004 (Image Database Object ID V1986.4)
0.13 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
Contains black-and-white prints of aerial views, including Coney Island. Each photograph is identified by city, town or neighborhood name.
Abbot Low Moffat collection of Brooklyn photography, circa late 19th century-early 20th century
Call number: V1980.003 (Image Database Object ID V1980.3)
1.0 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
This photography collection includes lantern slides, prints, film negatives, and glass negatives. Images depict street scenes of Brooklyn neighborhoods such as Coney Island and Gravesend.
Photographs of houses in Sea Gate, circa early 20th century
Call number: V1990.023 (Image Database Object ID V1990.23)
0.02 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
The photographs of houses in Sea Gate consist of two black-and-white photographic prints depicting two different houses located in the Sea Gate section of Coney Island in Brooklyn, circa 1900 to 1920. Both photographs were taken during the day and show exterior views of the houses, along with their surrounding landscaped lawns. One photograph displays a group of people playing croquet on the lawn outside one of the houses, circa 1900.
Edna Glyde photography collection, circa 1940-1967
Call number: V1988.001 (Image Database Object ID V1988.1)
1.04 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
Photograph collection consists of color slides, negatives, contact sheets, and black-and-white prints by resident Edna Glyde, with cityscapes and images of urban conditions in Brooklyn during the mid 20th century. Included are prints and negatives of Coney Island.
Martin Fishman photography collection, 1989-2009
0.25 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
The photographs are 8″x10″ and 8.5″x11″ black and white prints of photographs taken of Coney Island over the previous two decades. Some of the photographs capture events such as the annual Mermaid Parade.
Dwight B. Demerritt Jr. collection of 19th century photographs, 1897-1898
Call number: V1986.001 (Image Database V1986.1)
0.1 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
This collection includes mounted 19th century photographs featuring views of Coney Island.
Section 5: Coney Island Viewbooks
The viewbook collection contains both photographs and illustrations. The viewbooks listed below are available on the library’s image database. Please search using the Object ID number.
History of Coney Island: Lists and Photographs of Main Attractions viewbook, 1904-1904
Call number: V1986.022 (Image Database Object ID: V1986.22)
0.03 linear feet. Link to more information about the collection.
Viewbook contains biographical information on people who shaped Coney Island, historical information, and black-and-white non-photographic prints of photographs and drawings of Coney Island. Images included in the viewbook consist of views of attractions and performers at SteeplechasePark, LunaPark, and Dreamland, as well as views of Surf Avenue. Images and descriptions documenting attractions and rides at Coney Island that were not part of the three amusement parks are also included. The original softcover of the viewbook has been recovered with a hardcover library binding and page size is 5 x 7.5. The viewbook was published in 1904. The pages of the viewbook are brittle and have separated from the binding. Digital versions of the images from the viewbook are available via the image database located in the library.