Guest Post: Lisa Mangels-Schaefer

As part of their Annual History Day celebration, the Coney Island History Project will be honoring a number of new inductees into their Hall of Fame. Although my great grandfather, W.F. Mangels, has already been inducted as a ride inventor and manufacturer, on Saturday, August 6th, he will once again be an honoree, this time as a member of a group of artisans, mechanics, and businessmen known as “the Wizards of West Eighth St.”

We are all familiar with the names of the men who dreamed and built the now famous landscape: Tilyou, Thompson, Dundy, Reynolds, and Feltman. However, it was the artists, mechanics, machinists, and innovators who took those dreams and made them jump, spin, twirl, and fly. Like my great-grandfather, these men were all immigrants- the Pinto and Kargman Brothers, the Peluso and Rea families, and the Bonsignores. Along with the skills acquired in their homelands, they arrived in this country carrying their own hopes and dreams for the future. They came to Brooklyn, and with dedication and hard work, established the workshops that would make Coney Island the capital of the outdoor amusement industry. As businessmen, they owned property, paid taxes, and, in turn, employed other immigrants. Not only did they keep the great parks operating, but their many contributions to American society were a positive influence on the growth of the community in which they prospered.

My great grandfather, William Mangels, arrived in this country in 1883, at the age of 16. His father, Ernst, owned a machine shop, repairing bicycles and producing parts for merry-go-rounds. Eventually, William opened his own shop in Coney Island, first repairing rides, and then building devices of his own design. In less than 25 years, he was granted more than twenty patents for amusement devices and improvements, and designed and manufactured many more without patents. The overwhelming success of his ride, “the Tickler”, followed by “The Whip”, enabled him to construct a state of the art factory on West Eighth St., from which he shipped his rides all over the world. In 1929, he realized a lifelong interest with the opening of his American Museum of Public Recreation, dedicated to the collection, study, exhibition, and conservation of all variety of objects and ephemera related to the public pursuit of fun. In 1952, he published “The Outdoor Amusement Industry”, the results of his own research of a history that he so famously had contributed to. After William F. Mangels passed away in 1958, at the age of 92, the company he established continued to operate until 1981, when my father, Albert, built the very last Mangels shooting gallery.

Every day I spend in Coney Island is “History Day”, viewed through the lens of my family’s connection to this place, and the experiences of my childhood. For me, and so many others, Coney Island exists as a nostalgic pop culture Camelot, cherished in our collective dreams and memories, and worthy of our efforts to nurture and protect. I entreat you all to come and share the glories of the past; to ride the beautifully restored B&B Carousell, and be thrilled by the Cyclone and the Wonder Wheel. Let your children enjoy the Mangels’ Pony Cart and Fire Engine rides at Deno’s, and discover the hidden treasures at the Coney Island History Project. Stroll the boardwalk, marvel at the architectural splendor of the Parachute Jump, and relish a frankfurter at Nathan’s. Immerse yourself in the Coney Island Museum, and try your skills at the 1940’s era Mangels shooting gallery installed at Coney Island USA’s Arts Annex. This isn’t textbook history, folks- “it’s real, it’s alive, it’s all at Coney Island!”

With the recent completion of the new Ford Amphitheater, the influx of updated restaurants and retail venues, the renewal of the Shore theater property, and the numerous future construction sites, Coney Island appears to be in the midst of a much-needed revitalization, something that should imbue all fans, as it does me, with a sense of hope.