Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Burned 1944

Luna Park was an amusement park in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn created by Frederick Thompson and Elmer “Skip” Dundy in 1903. The park’s name referenced its main attraction, “A Trip to the Moon,” where visitors took a fanciful voyage in an “airship,” named Luna after Dundy’s sister. Although initially a great success, time and competition made the park increasingly unprofitable and it was closed in 1944 after a fire destroyed much of the park. A new Luna Park was opened in Coney Island on May 29, 2010 on the site of the old Astroland amusement park. I couldn’t find the source of the old photograph on which this painting is based.

I remember seeing a film of Luna Park all lit up in the Dreamlands show at the Whitney and wishing I could visit it. Anon.