Historical Photos To Blow Your Mind: New Release!

Boardwalk

This festive scene was shot in Coney Island, New York, in 1905. Just a couple years before this photo was taken, Luna Park, the amusement park built on the grounds of Sea Lion Park, opened in 1903. The park was mostly destroyed in a fire in 1944.

Today, Coney Island is a major tourist destination, but the development of the island has always been controversial. When it was first built up, there was a major outcry to preserve it as a natural park. In the early 1900s, New York made an effort to slow the growth by condemning all buildings and piers built south of Surf Avenue.