Horse & cart
My romance with Coney Island, when I was about five years-old or so, began at grandma’s house when the iceman delivered ice on his cart, pulled by a horse. He drove down the street hollering, “Ice for sale, ice for sale.” Looked like to me, those huge tongs could almost pick up a dog. He used them to bring the block of ice into the house, and put it in grandma’s icebox. Some of us had refrigerators, but grandma only had an icebox. The iceman always showed up before the ice was all gone. That’s all I remember about that piece of history. Finally, we moved grandma to a place that had a refrigerator. No one had a TV, people played card games, and listened to the radio. Grandma’s radio was a floor model that would constantly lose reception. When I visited her, and it lost reception, she said, “Bang it hard here, on the side.” That always fixed it.
Childs in its day
My romance grew. Ever have a Chow Mein sandwich? I thought it was a Nathan’s of Coney Island specialty, but I found this in Google: Originating in Fall River, Massachusetts, in the 1930s or 1940s, the chow mein sandwich is a hot sandwich, which typically consists of a brown gravy-based chow mein mixture placed between halves of a hamburger-style bun, popular on Chinese-American restaurant menus throughout southeastern Massachusetts and parts of neighboring Rhode Island. This sandwich is not well known outside of this relatively small area of New England. Really? What are they talking about? The chow mein sandwich was mega popular in Coney Island at Nathan’s, and a favorite of mine. So . . . did Nathan’s steal the idea, or were they the originator?
Childs interior
The teen years are fun to save for another blog, but a foodery I loved, was Childs Restaurant.
Coney Island institutions have a way of disappearing without leaving anything on the boardwalk to remember them by. That’s so with Childs Restaurant, the seaside outpost of a popular early 20th Century lunchroom chain, that was built in 1923 and whose frame still stands today. If you’ve ever taken a stroll on the boardwalk, west of the parachute jump and Keyspan Park, you’ve probably noticed its massive facade, leftovers once adorned with flamboyant nautical details.
Childs now . . . Designed by Dennison & Hirons,
The building is now vacant and boarded up. Story of this great restaurant is that it has stuck around for so long because it’s kept a steady number of tenants over the years, including a chocolate factory and then a glitzy roller rink.
Roller rink inside the defunct Childs
Terra cotta details once on Childs facade by Atlantic Terra Cotta Co.
On a visit to Coney in 2010 I found the building derelict. So sad. I took lots of photos and have been painting from my camera shots.
After the destruction from hurricane Sandy in 2012, Coney Island has been restructured, rebuilt and re-energized. It’s a wonderful place to play, have Nathan’s hot, buttered corn, people watch, and walk in the sand, fish from the pier and ride water scooters over the waves. Fireworks used to be every Tuesday night. Hmm, I wonder . . .
What do you think?
I grew up in Stamford. While I’m sure dad took us to Coney, I only remember the fun at Playland. Those old memories are treasures. At Playland, I remember the coin operated gypsy revealing fortunes and the scary roller coaster. Loved hearing about Child’s and theChow me in sandwich. Thanks for sharing and taking me back.
Thanks Joy. Not too many I meet here in New England went to Coney Island, but if your dad came from Brooklyn, then surely he would have been there. It’s out of the way and a long ride from here. These days, the traffic almost makes it prohibitive. But I went, took pics, went back again and again. I am getting some serious painting done last few weeks. All Coney Island.
Childs has no apostrophe, it’s the way it’s spelled. If we use it possessively then we would have to add an s . . . Childs’s, and that would be correct, but their Logo was Childs’. According to the Little Brown Grammar book, Childs’ had it wrong. But that was then, and this is now.
If you thought the roller coaster in Playland was scary, you should take a ride on the Coney Island Cyclone. I tried it when I was seven, then not again until I was married, and everyone twisted my arm. I was so scared, I cried frozen tears.
I’ve never been to Coney Island. I clearly am missing out…although a chow mein sandwich holds little appeal for me:-) That building, though, is beautiful and should be preserved!
I loved your story about your grandmother and the days of ice carts and radio shows worth listening to. Though brought up in the 60’s and 70’s, I have wonderful memories of the milk man delivering gallons of milk to the house in glass bottles, trips to the egg farm on Sunday mornings, and filling the freezer once a month with bread from the Wonder Bread store:-) Simpler times, for sure!
Thanks, but now wait a minute Paula. I paid for those glass bottles of milk being delivered, guess you are my kid’s age. LOL. They were simpler times, I think, milk was always chilled and fresh, and those glass bottles were wonderful. You know, I found a glass bottle, I think, at Home Goods. I bought it, and use it for water each day. It’s 32 ounces, and a couple of those almost fill my quota for the day. Nothing like glass containers.