Sea Lion Park was a

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

started in 1895 on

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the s ...

Paul Boyton Paul Boyton (often misspelled Boynton) (1848-1924), known as the ''Fearless Frogman'', was a showman and adventurer some credit as having spurred worldwide interest in water sports as a hobby, particularly open-water swimming. Boyton, whose bir ...

. He fenced the property and charged admission, the park becoming the first enclosed and permanent amusement park in North America. Up until the establishment of this park, amusement areas around the country consisted of pay-as-you-go concessions.History of Enduring Coney Island
Retrieved 4 August 2007. In 1903, Sea Lion Park was replaced by Luna Park.

History

Paul Boyton achieved international notice with various demonstrations of a rubber suit, which was a life saving device, similar to a type of kayak, for example, by crossing the English Channel.Stanton, Jeffrey (1998
Coney Island-Sea Lion Park
retrieved 4 August 2007 He travelled around the United States with an aquatic circus and in 1894 established an amusement park in Chicago. He then decided to settle in Coney Island and purchased the land behind the

Elephant Hotel The Elephant Hotel is a historic former hotel which today serves as the town hall in Somers, in Westchester County, New York, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on August 7, 1974 as Somers Town House ...

as a permanent location for his aquatic show featuring 40 sea lions.

Rides and attractions

The most popular attraction, aside from the aquatic show, was a ride called the Water Chute. The attraction, designed by Boyton and Thomas Polk, consisted of flat bottomed boat that slid down a ramp into a pool of water at the bottom. When the boat hit the pool it would skim across the surface of the pool. Boyton, a consummate showman, also publicized the ride by staging contests in which animals ranging from lions to bears and even baby elephants would ride the chutes. The park also included the infamous ''

Flip Flap Railway Flip Flap Railway was the name of a looping wooden roller coaster which operated for a number of years at Paul Boyton's Sea Lion Park on Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. The coaster, which opened in 1895, was the first looping roller coaster ...

'', which was a roller coaster ride, designed by

Lina Beecher Lina Beecher (January 2, 1841 – October 5, 1915) was an American inventor and roller coaster engineer. Beecher is best known for building the first looping roller coaster in North America, which was known as the Flip Flap Railway, and a later ...

, that inverted the riders in a loop after fall from a height of 20m.Luna Park History site
Retrieved 4 August 2007 The ride was too dangerous and was closed. Boyton also added an old mill style ride called Cages of Wild Wolves, and a ballroom (1899).

Demise

By 1902, Boyton could not keep up the pace of new attraction introductions that the public craved. Boyton tried to keep the public interested by investing $100,000 in a revamp of Sea Lion Park during the winter of 1901, and he also purchased

Topsy Topsy may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Topsy, a character in the novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' * Topsy, a character in the 2018 film ''Mary Poppins Returns'' * ''Topsy and Eva'', a 1928 film based on ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' * ''Topsy and Tim'', ...

, a well-known elephant, early in the spring of 1902 from Forepaugh's Circus. However, the 1902 season was rainy and not profitable. The nearby

Steeplechase Park Steeplechase Park was a amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. Steeplechase Park was created by entrepreneur George C. Tilyou in 1897 and operated until 1964. It was the first of the three large amusement parks built on Con ...

had opened on Coney Island in 1897 and was presenting even newer competition. By the end of 1902,

Frederic Thompson Frederic Williams Thompson (October 31, 1873 – June 6, 1919) was an American architect, engineer, inventor, and showman known for creating amusement rides and one of the first large amusement parks. Biography Frederic Thompson was born i ...

and

Elmer "Skip" Dundy Elmer Scipio "Skip" Dundy Jr. (March 31, 1862 – February 5, 1907) was an American showman and promoter known for creating amusement rides and one of the first large amusement parks. Biography Elmer Scipio Dundy Jr. ("Skip") was born in Falls ...

obtained a long term lease for Sea Lion Park and it was re-opened as Luna Park.Samuel Hawley, TOPSY THE CIRCUS ELEPHANT, .samuelhawley.com (research collected for the novel "Bad Elephant Far Stream")
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References

External links

Captain Paul Boyton and Sea Lion Park
at Heart of Coney Island

{{Coney Island Amusement parks opened in 1895 Amusement parks closed in 1903 Animal theme parks Coney Island Cultural history of New York City 1895 establishments in New York City 1903 disestablishments in New York (state) Defunct amusement parks in New York (state)

History

Rides and attractions

Demise

See also

References

External links