12 April 2013

Sai Prateek Narayan

ARC338: American Architecture – 1860 to WW1

Professor Jonathan Massey

Term Research Paper

Coney Island and The White City of Syracuse – A Pretext for Popularity

Fig. 1: Construction of the New York Subway (left) showing what the state of Manhattan was at the time of the immigrant

influx, and Coney Island in its full glory (right) indicating that there was a great desire for a getaway spot by the water for fresh

air and relaxation.

With the sudden development and growth of New York City in the mid-

nineteenth century, residents were constantly at an attempt to escape from the

rising population and rapid growth of buildings to areas of leisure; a more quiet and

open location for them to relax and be entertained was of great significance to the

average New York family. It was fortunate that Coney Island, being close enough to

Manhattan so as to not be a hindrance, yet distant enough to be considered a

holiday spot, was commencing its development. However, despite a great influx of

European immigrants and great expansion of the New York Subway, among other

impactful events in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Coney Island

seemed to benefit from this mass immigration and development. These certain

factors may not have positively affected Manhattan, but with regards to Coney

Island, these factors proved to not only provide this leisure locality with a massive

population, but also helped in its economic growth, until its ultimate decline.

On a similar note, due to the popularity of the World Columbian Exposition

held in Chicago in 1893, the Midway Plaissance in particular, there raised a sudden

growth in amusement parks that provided relaxation and entertainment to all

families, which came to be known “White Cities”. These White Cities provided

families of Upstate New York with forms of entertainment and amusement in the

forms of carnival rides and Ferris Wheels. Due to the influx of immigrants that

entered the United States of America, which mainly happened via ship, majority of

the immigrant population preferred to stay closer to the port as they were all of low

income families and could not afford to travel as far as Upstate. With this in mind

we can state that The White City of Syracuse was nearly not as popular as Coney

Island. However, to the then residents of Upstate New York, The White City was an

area for both visitors and residents to go and suffice their needs for entertainment

and amusement on a weekend. Undoubtedly, we can tell how the Luna Park of

Coney Island, implementing similar forms of amusement rides, heavily influenced

this amusement park. It is with these similarities that we can suggest that there

were similar reasons that resulted in the popularity and growth of the White City of

Syracuse.

It is critical to understand what factors in the mid to late nineteenth century

triggered the full-scale growth of Coney Island. Located on the borders of the

developing conurbation of New York City, Coney Island appeared to rise out of the

ocean, just in time as The United States of America was securing its status as a

“financial, industrial and cultural capital”i. The city obtained a constant urge to

reinvent and develop itself further. With the installation of Edison light bulbs in Lower

Manhattan, the inauguration of Roebling’s Brooklyn Bridge and the commencement

of skyscraper construction within the next few years. Towards the end of the

nineteenth century, The United States of America gained victory in the Spanish

American War, and was finally getting worldwide recognition as an up and coming

“formidable global power”ii. This was also around the same time that New York

came to a decision to consolidate the five boroughs of New York City, namely

Queens, Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island). These events, all

happening at a similar time prompted the recognition of New York City alongside

London as one of the word’s cities. It was because of this recognition that New

York City became a destination for Europe’s lower class communities.

Fig. 2: Number of immigrants from various European countries from 1860-1910

It is estimated that in the span of the early nineteenth to the early twentieth

century, more than 30 million immigrants arrived within The United States of

America. Majority of these immigrants were from Europe’s lower classes, and

having to cross the Atlantic Ocean, chose New York City as their destination, and

had to pass through either Castle garden or Ellis Island, two of the country’s many

immigrant centers. The first wave of immigrants arrived in the mid-nineteenth

century, and was composed of Irish and German lower classes. Due to a massive

famine that impoverished the country, the Irish immigrants were extremely poor in

the rapidly growing city of New York and opted to stay by the ports through which

they entered the city, rather than spend what little money they had on travelling to

different parts of the country. The German immigrants, on the other hand, chose to

come to The United States of America as a means to escape the terrors of The

German Revolutions and World War 1. They were at an advantage to the Irish

immigrants, in the way that they were more educated and learned, and were

talented at a variety of crafts. Many bakeries, cabinetmakers as well as construction

companies employed German immigrants for these talents. However, this was only

a significant percentage of the total German immigrant population. The rest moved

towards the Midwest and took up farming as their main sources of incomeiii. The

second wave of immigrants came from Russia, and were mainly of Jewish descent,

and where the Irish and Germans proved beneficial in the agricultural and artistic

professions, they proved their worth. Unfortunately having to depart their homeland

for various threats and attacks against the Jewish population in Russia. This set of

immigrants, majority of which turned out to have experience in the field of crafts and

design, and despite a negligible amount employed within the garment and textile-

based professions, they were still residents of a low-income community, like the

rest of the European immigrants at the timeiv.

This incredibly rapid population growth brought into existence several

negative consequences. Due to the low-income communities of immigrants lacking

the necessary financial stability required in a developing city like New York City, they

were unable to move out of the city, hence staying exactly where they set foot – by

the ports. Without the financial stability, they began to live in unhealthy and

congested conditions, giving rise to what we now call “ghettos” – the basic failure

of an immigrant’s attempt at the American Dream. With this divide due to financial

strain rising in New York City, a distancing in social classes arose, dividing the low-

income immigrant population and well-to-do residents of New York City.

Another reason that led to Coney Island’s expansion was the proximity to

New York City. With the rapid growth of New York City, both in terms of population,

which resulted in the dire need for more residential buildings, the city began to get

congested, creating what is now called “the concrete jungle”, and apart from

Frederick Law Olmstead’s masterpiece of Central Park, both the new and old

residents of New York City felt a need for a space that provided both entertainment

and relaxation in an area free from buildings, providing a lot of open space and

fresh air. With the introduction of the subway system in the mid-nineteenth century,

there was a great amount of construction taking place through the street. Due to

the construction there was a need to spend more time at a place with fresh air and

less noise levels. Coney Island was the best choice, as it proved to be distant

enough from the city that provided sea breeze and open spaces, and yet close

enough to the city, that it be accessible and affordable. Thus, various developers

and entrepreneurs in New York City, realizing the masses’ need for a more open

public leisure space, saw Coney Island as a hotspot to generate income through

pleasure.

Of the several events that led to Coney Island’s growth, the most drastic

positive impact was due to the creation of the cheap transportation and

amusement fares. During the first two decades of the twentieth century, Coney

Island was undergoing a dramatic transformation. Due to the massive population

expansion of the city, along with the need for a larger public space for amusement

and relaxation, the creation of the five-cent subway line. A visitor to Coney Island

would have to pay five cents as a fare to ride the subway, as well as pay an

additional five cents for the amusements they desired. It was this popularity due to

affordable entertainment that Coney Island was then nicknamed “The Nickel

Empire”.v

Despite there being a great challenge in the comparatively small size of

Coney Island to the constantly growing population of New York City, it was visited

by New Yorkers from all parts of the economic spectrum. Due to the fact that over

20 million immigrants had entered The United States through New York City

between 1881 and 1920, around forty percent of New York City’s population was

foreign-born, and an even greater percentage claimed to have foreign parentage,

which was a result of the large influx of Eastern and Southern European

immigrantsvi. Coney Island had indeed been transformed into a “paradise of a

proletariat”. Over 20 million nickel fares were collected at the Stillwell Avenue

Subway alonevii. It was clear that this huge demographic change in New York City

was not only reflected in Coney Island, but also led to an even greater amount of

expansion. The famous boardwalk, despite being almost 3 miles long, was

repositioned and expanded. The beach, as well, was expanded and new sand had

to be brought in to add to what existed. Streets had to be realigned and widened to

account for the rising pedestrian and vehicular gridlock. Apart from these

momentous changes, new landmarks were being added to Coney Island’s

comprehensive skyline, such as the 150-foot tall Wonder Wheel by Herman

Garmsviii.

It was with these various events take affected New York City, both positively

and negatively, that resulted in Coney Island’s popularity among the old and new

residents of New York City. With the entrepreneurs belief that Coney Island can be

directed towards the massive immigrant and non-immigrant population for the use

of entertainment and relaxation, it proved to be one of the city’s most acclaimed

leisure spaces for residents of all economic and financial status, and despite the

downfall of Coney Island after the Second World War, is still an area well visited for

it’s open space and proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and fresh air.

Needless to say, the fact that Coney Island was a hotspot for a majority of

the middle and lower classes as well as the incoming influx of immigrants in the late

nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as a means of escaping the frustrations of

the rapid development of New York City. However, as several immigrants entered

and traveled to various parts of the country, they brought along with them the

desire for generating leisure and entertainment spaces. With the worldwide

recognition of the Midway Plaissance from The World Columbian Exposition of

1893, as well as the Pan-American Exposition of 1901 (which led to the

construction of the first Luna Park in Coney Island), there was a sudden hysteria in

building amusement parks and leisure spaces. This urge is what mainly gave rise to

the several White City amusement parks built across the country in the early

twentieth century. These areas of entertainment were called “White Cities” due to

the overall whitewashing of the park, as well as the incredible amounts of lighting.

In the city of Syracuse, New York, construction began on a pier at the end of

Salina Street, one of the main streets through which one traverses through the city.

Built by the railway in 1888, this came to be known as The Iron Pierix. This name,

being a misnomer as the pier was built only out of wood, and was of more

importance to horse cars and boats as a means of a transport hub. It was also a

hotspot for entertainment and social interaction, as it constituted various forms of

interactivity, such as dancing halls, areas for concerts, bowling arenas, restaurants,

as well as different aquatic activities for frustrated city dwellers at summer time. The

Iron Pier, unfortunately, began to lose its popularity in 1906, and ended in March

1907x. However, it was around the dying years of this leisure space that The White

City of Syracuse was born.

Fig. 3: Map of Onondaga Lake, indicating how The White City of Syracuse in on the southwestern end of the lake,

and how the Iron Pier is across the lake from it.

The White City in Syracuse, located on the Southern end of Onondaga Lake,

in particular, despite it’s short life span, was intended to be an amusement park for

miles around. Ironically, the planning and building of the White City of Syracuse was

entrusted to F. F. McIver, the builder of Luna Park. Construction on The White City

began in the early months of the twentieth century on the 12-acre piece of land,

across the Holcomb Steel Plant on an area called “The Hedges”xi.

After the Columbian Exposition of 1893 and the start of Coney Island’s

construction, entrepreneurs from New York City began to notice that the need for

an area similar to the functions of Coney Island. It was in this way that they decided

to build an amusement park on Onondaga Lake, being the closest body of water to

Syracuse, providing a great form of leisure and relaxation to an area like Central

New York, which was an unfortunate distance from the larger bodies of water.

Similarly to Coney Island’s most popular time when it gained the title “The Nickel

Empire”, these entrepreneurs consented to planning this amusement park with the

idea of a five-cent fare in mindxii.

The gates to The White City opened on Memorial Day in 1906, and as the

doors were open to the public, they were left in shock and awe. All the buildings

were painted in a pure shade of white, and around 25-thousand electric lights

decorated the entire area, both buildings and the ground. According to Christine K.

Shephard in her article in The Liverpool Courier in 1992, “it was estimated that a

crowd of 41,000 people attended on opening day.”xiii With an umpteen number of

facilities for entertainment, such as band concerts, vaudeville shows, not to mention

a 1,500-square foot ballroom for dancing events. The entire White City was

wrapped around a large bay, enclosed by a canopied boardwalk. The boardwalk

was lit up with several electric lights. It was indeed the fact that the then sanitary

body of water that was Onondaga Lake, as well as the several amusements

attracted the several people of Central New York. From the several amusements

found at The White City, such as the ballroom dancing, vaudeville shows, carousel

rides, and foods – the chute rides were by far the most popular forms of

entertainment in The White City. The “shoot-the-chutes”xiv ride consisted of boats

sliding down an incline into the central lagoon around which The White City was

situated. By intertwining the people of Central New York with the cool refreshing

feeling of water, as well as an adrenaline rush through the steep incline on which

the boat slides, was a exemplary method used to emphasize The White City as a

locale for leisure and entertainment.

Fig. 4: The White City of Syracuse at night, lit up with over twenty-five thousand electric lights, a spectacular sight.

Fig. 5: The Chute ride at The White City of Syracuse, the most popular ride at this amusement space. People would line up at

the top, to ride the boats down a steep incline right into the lagoon below.

Similar to how the more utilized mode of transport to get to Coney Island

was the railway system, due to the implementation of the five-cent fare, The White

City of Syracuse was also accessible through different modes of transport.

Steamboats were used to cross Onondaga Lake, the Delaware, Lackawanna and

Western Railroad, which was shut down a few years ago, reopened to use its old

coaches to transport passengers to the Oswego division of the railroad line. Apart

from these new and old forms of transport, the most exploited form of transport

was the electric line. A newly formed trolley company named “Syracuse, Lakeshore

and Northern Trolleys”. This company employed several old cars from a bankrupt

railroad company, and were extremely successful in providing transport to and from

The White City. According to the Syracuse Journal, out of the forty thousand

visitors to The White City, “eight thousand passengers arrived from Syracuse alone,

as cars ran every ten minutes and were extremely efficient”.xv

The initial years of The White City, comparable to Coney Island, were the

more popular and financially stable. In Coney Island, with the huge influx of

immigrants, the number of visitors to Coney Island gradually increased. However,

after the Second World War, the popularity of Coney Island began to drop as a

result of fires coming to life in the various amusement parks, not to mention the

years of neglect. The White City, after its foundational years, began to lose interest

among its valued customers. Due to the rise of the automobile industry, people

began to acquire vehicles and travel to several areas of relaxation outside Syracuse.

One of the other reasons that led to the ultimate demise of The White City was the

Solvay process implemented on the banks of Onondaga Lake. The several wastes

and residues of the process were dumped into the lake, thereby gradually

culminating in large quantities of aquatic pollution. These two situations created a

negative impact so large on The White City that it was torn down in its prime, living

a life of only ten years.

In this comparision we are brought to realize that both Coney Island and The

White City of Syracuse were localities used for relaxation and entertainment for all

ranks and classes, at a time where the United States of America was undergoing a

massive immigration growth. This influx proved to be a frustration for the citizens

and immigrants, as a constant desire for spaces for relaxation away from the rapid

development was imminent. It was with the rise of The Columbian Exposition of

1893 in Chicago, more specifically the popularity of the Midway Plaissance that

brought people to notice that there is a great need for leisure spaces within the

country, to counteract the rapid growth of cities all over. Both Coney Island and The

White City of Syracuse were results of that observation. And despite their early

demises, it is still instilled within the minds of the residents of New York State that in

their overdeveloped state, there is a constant need for spaces that provide

recreation and pleasure.

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