Steeplechase Park

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Steeplechase Park

STEEPLECHASE PARK

"If Paris is France, then Coney Island, between June and September, is the World!" George C. Tilyou, 1886.

George C. Tilyou and the original Steeplechase Funny Face

George Cornelius Tilyou was a born and bred Coney Islander who was among the millions attending the Chicago Midway in 1893. What he saw inspired him to build ,in 1897, what is now known as the first true amusement park in the world, Steeplechase Park. Steeplechase was named after its signature ride, a winding, iron railed, mechanical horserace, whose serpentine tracks ringed the entire park. The symbol of Steeplechase Park was the "Funny Face" an expression of hilarity (and a little menace) which many people believed was a portrait of the park's founder. (It wasn't, he was a rather handsome, serious looking fellow). Steeplechase was the first Coney Island park and it had something different: The Pavilion of Fun. This glass enclosed structure was built after the original Steeplechase Park burned in 1907. It was a great glass and cast iron beauty, and it gave Tilyou an advantage - the rides were indoors. Tilyou was a devout man who attended church regularly. His rivals swore he went to pray for rain.

Steeplechase Park closed in 1964 and was torn down by Fred Trump, father of Donald Trump, who intended to build apartment complexes on the beachfront property. He invited guests at his "purchase party" to throw bricks through the windows of the landmark Pavilion of Fun, by then the oldest glass structure in the United States (proving the asshole..uh, I mean apple doesn't fall far from the tree). His venture never happened and today, after years as a vacant lot, Steeplechase Park is a city recreation area.

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	Vanished History \| home An introduction \| Coney Island History \| Luna Park \| Steeplechase Park \| Dreamland Park \| Coney Island Extras \| Wentworth By The Sea \| Saltair \| Sutro Baths & Cliff House \| Contact Me - History Polls \| Gif Steeplechase Park STEEPLECHASE PARK "If Paris is France, then Coney Island, between June and September, is the World!" George C. Tilyou, 1886. George C. Tilyou and the original Steeplechase Funny Face George Cornelius Tilyou was a born and bred Coney Islander who was among the millions attending the Chicago Midway in 1893. What he saw inspired him to build ,in 1897, what is now known as the first true amusement park in the world, Steeplechase Park. Steeplechase was named after its signature ride, a winding, iron railed, mechanical horserace, whose serpentine tracks ringed the entire park. The symbol of Steeplechase Park was the "Funny Face" an expression of hilarity (and a little menace) which many people believed was a portrait of the park's founder. (It wasn't, he was a rather handsome, serious looking fellow). Steeplechase was the first Coney Island park and it had something different: The Pavilion of Fun. This glass enclosed structure was built after the original Steeplechase Park burned in 1907. It was a great glass and cast iron beauty, and it gave Tilyou an advantage - the rides were indoors. Tilyou was a devout man who attended church regularly. His rivals swore he went to pray for rain. Steeplechase Park closed in 1964 and was torn down by Fred Trump, father of Donald Trump, who intended to build apartment complexes on the beachfront property. He invited guests at his "purchase party" to throw bricks through the windows of the landmark Pavilion of Fun, by then the oldest glass structure in the United States (proving the asshole..uh, I mean apple doesn't fall far from the tree). His venture never happened and today, after years as a vacant lot, Steeplechase Park is a city recreation area. =======================================