Painting the Town -- Museum of the City of New York

Coney Island has provided New Yorkers with summer recreation and respite from the city's sweltering heat since the 1820s (see plate 37). With the introduction of rides and other boardwalk attractions in the late nineteenth century, Coney Island blossomed into a vast seaside amusement park. By 1905 there were, in addition to Steeplechase Park, the brilliantly illuminated Luna Park (1902) and the whimsical Dreamland (1903).

Steeplechase Park opened in 1897 at Ocean and Surf Avenues and West 16th Street. It was named after a mechanical racecourse (visible here at right center) that sped passengers, clinging to gravity-driven horses, along a half mile of curving tracks in less than thirty-five seconds. The ride concluded on a dark indoor stage, where jets of air blew up women's skirts, to the delight of onlookers. The park's creator, George C. Tilyou, who promoted himself as the "first impresario of controlled chaos," recognized that people in such disconcerting situations were amused, and that at the same time they entertained themselves and each other.¹ He provided wild, raucous rides that produced the surprise effects he intended.

Coney Island's amusement parks represented the recreational use of industrial technological developments, a prime example being the Steeplechase ride. To develop it, Tilyou purchased the U.S. and Canadian patents to William Cawdery's carousel in 1897 and made improvements to it; in 1899 one million people visited the Steeplechase.²

Technology also made transportation to Coney Island's attractions cheaper and thus available to a larger segment of the population. Development of large passenger steamships enabled people to travel to Coney Island from New Jersey and other shore points. Tilyou built the Iron Pier to accommodate these vessels. In 1895 trolleys began operating from all over Brooklyn to Coney Island, carrying hoards of fun-seekers, especially on weekends.

The atmosphere of Coney Island encouraged carefree enjoyment. Women with little spending money viewed a trip to Coney Island as an opportunity to travel. Factory girls dressed up as though they were more prosperous stenographers and secretaries. In this relaxed environment, Victorian proprieties yielded to unsupervised courting, and the roller coaster and tunnel of love promoted contact between couples.³

The artist, McKay (his first name is uncertain), was probably employed as a scenic painter at Steeplechase Park sometime between 1898 and 1906.⁴ Nothing further is known about him.

Notes:

1 Simpson, Jeffrey, "Coney Island: Ballyhoo and Innocence," GEO (September 1983): 86.

2 Harlan C. Pearson, Tilyou's Gravity Steeplechase and Amusement Exposition, Surf Avenue, Coney Island, New York (Concord, N.H.: Rumford Printing, 1900), p. 8.

3 John F. Kasson, Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century (New York: Hill and Wang, 1978), p. 59.

4 This information was provided by the donor for the Museum Archives. Although the donor is unsure of the artist's dates of employment and first name, she believes that the time period is correct and that the artist's given name was Leo.


Steeplechase Park c. 1898 -1906 Leo McKay (dates unknown) Oil on canvas, 51 X 80 Gift of Mrs. George C. Tilyou, 54.167
Coney Island has provided New Yorkers with summer recreation and respite from the city's sweltering heat since the 1820s (see plate 37). With the introduction of rides and other boardwalk attractions in the late nineteenth century, Coney Island blossomed into a vast seaside amusement park. By 1905 there were, in addition to Steeplechase Park, the brilliantly illuminated Luna Park (1902) and the whimsical Dreamland (1903). Steeplechase Park opened in 1897 at Ocean and Surf Avenues and West 16th Street. It was named after a mechanical racecourse (visible here at right center) that sped passengers, clinging to gravity-driven horses, along a half mile of curving tracks in less than thirty-five seconds. The ride concluded on a dark indoor stage, where jets of air blew up women's skirts, to the delight of onlookers. The park's creator, George C. Tilyou, who promoted himself as the "first impresario of controlled chaos," recognized that people in such disconcerting situations were amused, and that at the same time they entertained themselves and each other.¹ He provided wild, raucous rides that produced the surprise effects he intended. Coney Island's amusement parks represented the recreational use of industrial technological developments, a prime example being the Steeplechase ride. To develop it, Tilyou purchased the U.S. and Canadian patents to William Cawdery's carousel in 1897 and made improvements to it; in 1899 one million people visited the Steeplechase.² Technology also made transportation to Coney Island's attractions cheaper and thus available to a larger segment of the population. Development of large passenger steamships enabled people to travel to Coney Island from New Jersey and other shore points. Tilyou built the Iron Pier to accommodate these vessels. In 1895 trolleys began operating from all over Brooklyn to Coney Island, carrying hoards of fun-seekers, especially on weekends. The atmosphere of Coney Island encouraged carefree enjoyment. Women with little spending money viewed a trip to Coney Island as an opportunity to travel. Factory girls dressed up as though they were more prosperous stenographers and secretaries. In this relaxed environment, Victorian proprieties yielded to unsupervised courting, and the roller coaster and tunnel of love promoted contact between couples.³ The artist, McKay (his first name is uncertain), was probably employed as a scenic painter at Steeplechase Park sometime between 1898 and 1906.⁴ Nothing further is known about him. Notes: 1 Simpson, Jeffrey, "Coney Island: Ballyhoo and Innocence," GEO (September 1983): 86. 2 Harlan C. Pearson, Tilyou's Gravity Steeplechase and Amusement Exposition, Surf Avenue, Coney Island, New York (Concord, N.H.: Rumford Printing, 1900), p. 8. 3 John F. Kasson, Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century (New York: Hill and Wang, 1978), p. 59. 4 This information was provided by the donor for the Museum Archives. Although the donor is unsure of the artist's dates of employment and first name, she believes that the time period is correct and that the artist's given name was Leo.