In this last half of Amusing the Million, Kasson describes the creating of the three parks, Steeplechase, Luna, and Dreamland, and brings the reader to the end of Coney Island. The first half of this section seemed to reiterate what we have been talking about in class and what was in the movie we watched in class. It illustrated the rise of Steeplechase, then Thompson and Dundy’s creation of Luna Park, and finally the building of Dreamland. Kasson portrayed the competition between the parks, each one trying to out do the others. This section also repeated the discussions we have been having in class about how Coney island was a place where people would go to escape reality and experience a relaxed and primitive state, where everything was just fun.
One thing I thought was interesting was how Coney Island began as something new and exciting, but ended because “the rest of the culture was catching up” (112). Most of the rides were based off of things in everyday life, such as trolley cars and trains, but at Coney Island they seemed much more fun and exhilarating. In reading the first section of Amusing the Million, one of the things I wrote in my last blog post was that it seemed like Coney Island was a gateway into the future. It is this fact, it seems, that is what made Coney Island such a special destination. People no longer found it fascinating when everyday mass culture gave people some of the same opportunities and experiences they got from Coney Island. “The experience was less extraordinary and hence less meaningful” (112).
