When Steeplechase Park thrilled Coney Island

From 1897 to 1964, Steeplechase Park blew away the seaside crowds.

Twenty-five cents got you admission to the park’s 25 rides, including the ferris wheel, steeplechase race, “trip to the moon,” and later, the parachute jump.

Added to the park in 1939 by legendary founder George Tilyou, the parachute jump is the only remnant of Steeplechase that still exists. Today, the Brooklyn Cyclones minor league stadium occupies the site.

It could have been worse. Donald Trump’s father bought the dilapidated park in the 1960s intending to raze it and build high-rises.

Unable to change the zoning, he knocked it down and then sold the land to the city.

The above 1898 painting, expansive and enchanting, is part of the collection at the Museum of the City of New York. So who painted it? It’s a mystery:

“The artist McKay (his first name is uncertain) was probably employed as a scenic painter at Steeplechase Park sometime between 1898 and 1906,” states Painting the Town: Cityscapes of New York. “Nothing further is known about him.”

Tags: Brooklyn in the 1960s, Coney Island Amusement Parks, Coney Island heyday, Ferris Wheel Coney Island, Fred Trump, George Tilyou, Museum of the City of New York, Parachute Jump Coney Island, Steeplechase Park