Two Coney Buildings at LPC
At its weekly meeting on Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission will hear proposals to landmark to individual buildings in Coney Island–the other Childs Restaurant Building (not the one on the boardwalk) at 1208 Surf Avenue and the Shore Theatre (previously known as the Coney Island Theatre Building) at 1301 Surf Avenue. This is just a…
At its weekly meeting on Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission will hear proposals to landmark to individual buildings in Coney Island–the other Childs Restaurant Building (not the one on the boardwalk) at 1208 Surf Avenue and the Shore Theatre (previously known as the Coney Island Theatre Building) at 1301 Surf Avenue. This is just a preliminary hearing to decide whether the buildings should come up for vote later on. “These two buildings are incredibly intact remnants of early 20th-century Coney Island,” said MAS President Vin Cipolla. “I commend the Landmarks Preservation Commission for taking steps to protect these two important Coney Island buildings.
Along with the photo above, Forgotten NY had this tidbit of info on the Child’s restaurant:
Childs restaurant also had a branch on Surf Avenue. When West 12th Street was cut through in 1921 the building was moved 20 feet to the west. Much of its original 1917 molding remains intact, but the ground-floor arches that were there when it was a restaurant have long been removed.
And here’s bit about the Shore Theatre from the LPC:
The Coney Island Theatre was an important part of a redevelopment initiative launched in the early 1920s by the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce (organized in 1923) that aimed to transform the existing core of outdoor amusements into a more respectable year-round entertainment district. The 1920 construction of the Stillwell Avenue subway station and construction of the boardwalk, which made the beachfront publicly accessible for the first time, had paved the way for a revamped Coney Island. The Theatre Building was one of the few buildings on Coney Island to be constructed of more permanent, fireproof materials like brick, stone and terra cotta; when completed, it stood out in contrast to the traditionally low-rise wood and plaster buildings of the amusement district.
Blog Amusing the Zillion, from which this photo is taken, has a lengthy post up about the challenges currently facing the building.
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