File:The personality of American cities (1913) (14591347110).jpg

Identifier: personalityofame01hung (find matches)
Title: The personality of American cities
Year: 1913 (1910s)
Authors: Hungerford, Edward, 1875-1948
Subjects: Cities and towns
Publisher: New York, McBride, Nast & Company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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t after a hard fight,is no tiny toy. The building was largely a labor of love to those whosucceeded in getting the subscriptions for it. Its main-tenance is today almost a labor of love for its stock-holders are not alone the wealthy bankers and the mer-chants of the town. Its stock-list is as catholic as itsendeavors — and they are legion. It is designed to beeventually a gathering-place for the butcher, the baker,the candle-stick maker; all the sturdy folk who havetheir homes from Greenpoint to Coney island. One thing more, you demand. How about Coneyisland? Coney island is a part of Brooklyn. It is also themost advertised and the most over-rated show place inthe whole land. While the older Brooklyn used to drivedown to that sand-spit facing the sea for clams and forfish-dinner in the summer days, it is only within the pastfew years that it has been commercialized and an at-tempt made to place it upon a business basis. We areinclined to think that the attempt, measured in the long
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u m BROOKLYN -jt^ run, has been a failure. It began about ten years ago,when the standard of entertainment at the famous beachhad fallen low. A young man, with a gift for the showbusiness, created a great amusement park there by theside of the sea. People do not come to Coney island to see theocean, he said. They come down here for a goodtime. It looked as if he was right. His amusement parkwas a great novelty and for a time a tremendous suc-cess. It had splendid imitators almost within a stone-throw — its name and its purpose were being copiedall the way across the land. Perhaps people did notgo to Coney island, after all, to see the cool and lovelyocean. But after a time the fickle taste of metropolitan NewYork seemed to change. New Yorkers did not seem tocare quite as much for the gay creations of paint andtinsel, the eerie cities that were born anew each nightin the glories of electric lighting. Fire came to Coneyisland — again and again. It scoured the paint and tin-sel citie

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