1 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:05,760 Speaker 1: You're listening to American Shadows, a production of I Heart 2 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:20,239 Speaker 1: Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Makey. Some thought 3 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:24,600 Speaker 1: he was restless, others said he was lazy. Whatever the case, 4 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 1: Lyman Balm saw life differently, and though he dreamed of 5 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:33,440 Speaker 1: becoming an author, he needed to earn a living. He 6 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: and his wife moved from New York to the wild 7 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 1: prairies in Dakota Territory to be closer to her family. 8 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:42,519 Speaker 1: He popped from one idea to another in an attempt 9 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:46,519 Speaker 1: to chase down his fortune. He bred chickens, tried acting, 10 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:50,879 Speaker 1: and eventually opened another business. He called it Bomb's Bizarre, 11 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:55,360 Speaker 1: selling novelties made by Native Americans and glassware imported from Japan. 12 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 1: He trusted his customers, and his generous store credits soon 13 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:04,560 Speaker 1: banged corrupted him. He tried again, buying The Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer. 14 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 1: Unable to afford help, he acted as the editor and writer. 15 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: He often wrote articles on why Native Americans should be exterminated. 16 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: He took up photography and captured images of the stark 17 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:21,559 Speaker 1: and isolated landscape, though his favorite subjects were tornadoes and 18 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:24,639 Speaker 1: in his spare time, he finally took to writing a novel, 19 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:29,600 Speaker 1: setting it in Kansas. The twisters and bleak Dakota landscape 20 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 1: featured prominently in his novel. First published in Dred, The 21 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:38,200 Speaker 1: Wonderful Wizard of Oz sold ten thousand copies. People loved 22 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:41,400 Speaker 1: Dorothy's story and her struggle to find a better place. 23 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:46,399 Speaker 1: Times were hard, and people related to her. In nine, 24 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 1: Hollywood bought film rights and shortened the title to the 25 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 1: Wizard of Oz. The movie went on to earn six 26 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: Academy Award nominations. Bombsed piction of the tornado translated well 27 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: into a motion picture. Viewers exclaimed aimed that they felt 28 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:02,919 Speaker 1: like they were on a roller coaster as the storm 29 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 1: swept Dorothy, her dog Toto, and her house into the sky. 30 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:10,400 Speaker 1: Long before the days of computer graphics and special effects 31 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: didn't come easy to depict the menacing cyclone moving towards 32 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 1: the house, of filmmakers constructed a sort of large, flexible 33 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:22,280 Speaker 1: muslin windsock wrapped around chicken wire and attached it to 34 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:24,880 Speaker 1: a straddling gantry crane on a cart and track that 35 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: could wind and waver around the sound stage. The prop 36 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: cost twelve thousand dollars, a considerable amount of money in 37 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:36,639 Speaker 1: ninety eight, the effects paid off, viewers flocked to the theaters. 38 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:41,240 Speaker 1: Years later, brothers Harry Spencer and Grover Robbins sought to 39 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:43,919 Speaker 1: capitalize on the public's love of The Wizard of Oz. 40 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: They operated Beach Mountain, a ski resort in North Carolina. 41 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: In the off season of nineteen sixty five, the brothers 42 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:54,320 Speaker 1: set out to turn Beach Mountain into an amusement park. 43 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:59,160 Speaker 1: They hired designer Jack Pentis. Two years and forty four 44 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:02,680 Speaker 1: thousand yellow bricks later, the park was complete. It would 45 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: take another three years before opening day, though unfortunately Grover 46 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:10,880 Speaker 1: passed away just months beforehand. Reporters and thousands of visitors 47 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: were on hand when the park opened on June fifteenth 48 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:17,680 Speaker 1: of nine seventy. Actress Debbie Reynolds brought her daughter, Carrie Fisher. 49 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 1: Reynolds had always been a big fan of the movie 50 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 1: and owned a pair of the famous ruby slippers. She 51 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 1: happily posed for the camera as she cut the ribbon. 52 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:29,240 Speaker 1: Visitors streamed into the park, eager to ride the hot 53 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 1: air Balloon, which was a ski lift. Others flocked to 54 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:35,000 Speaker 1: the gift shops, the museum, or the Magic Moment Show. 55 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 1: The brothers had paid attention to the details when designing 56 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:43,160 Speaker 1: the park, incorporating natural features in vistas with brightly painted mushrooms, 57 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: a replica of Dorothy's house in Barn and Emerald City itself, 58 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 1: a grand amphitheater with gift shops and a restaurant. Someone 59 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: set a fire in the Amphitheater in ninety five as 60 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 1: a distraction to rob the museum. The thieves took many props, 61 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 1: including Judy Garland's dress from the fell, and though the 62 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: park was rebuilt, vandalism men failing tourism forced it to 63 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:08,920 Speaker 1: shut its doors. In what's left of the park, it 64 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 1: seems out of place among the mountains and forest. A 65 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: yellow brick path appears from nowhere in the North Carolina woods. 66 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 1: And though a few trees still hold eerie masks from 67 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 1: the parks, heyday, and it's open a few days a 68 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:26,919 Speaker 1: year every fall, it's not America's strangest nor most enduring 69 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:30,240 Speaker 1: amusement park. For that, we must travel back nearly a 70 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:34,640 Speaker 1: hundred years to a place far stranger than Oz. I'm 71 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:52,039 Speaker 1: Lauren Vogelbaum. Welcome to American Shadows. It was an actual 72 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:56,919 Speaker 1: island once. It's beaches excellent for collecting clams and periwinkle snails. 73 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: It's marsh is good for grazing. The Lenapee pe bulls 74 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:03,200 Speaker 1: who lived in the area left no written history, so 75 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:06,360 Speaker 1: what we know starts when the Dutch began colonizing what 76 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: they called New Netherland. Land grants enticed more colonists, and 77 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,880 Speaker 1: not just the Dutch. This island, to the south and 78 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:18,480 Speaker 1: east of the capital, New Amsterdam, remained a quiet community 79 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:21,080 Speaker 1: of farms for the most part for two hundred years, 80 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 1: until after the Civil War. New Amsterdam had become New 81 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:29,200 Speaker 1: York and this island had become Coney Island. By then, 82 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 1: sea bathing had become all the rage, bringing wealthy families 83 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:36,599 Speaker 1: to its beaches. Hotels and restaurants followed, making the area 84 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:40,800 Speaker 1: popular with tourists. In eighteen sixty eight, seeing an opportunity 85 00:05:40,839 --> 00:05:44,480 Speaker 1: to make a windfall, politician John McCaine sold the land 86 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:47,720 Speaker 1: to developers. The fact that he didn't own the land 87 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:51,480 Speaker 1: never dissuaded him, and he was never prosecuted. By eighteen 88 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:55,320 Speaker 1: seventy three, Coney Island attracted nearly thirty thousand visitors on 89 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:59,279 Speaker 1: the weekends. Developers added railroad lines and two piers to 90 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:03,359 Speaker 1: attract even more tourists, while the beach remained popular. The 91 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:06,719 Speaker 1: west end played host to a less family friendly group. 92 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:10,880 Speaker 1: Gamblers took to the racetrack and ringside bars cropped up 93 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:14,640 Speaker 1: and sex workers set up shop. The area became equally 94 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:18,520 Speaker 1: as popular, though due to the criminal activity and looser morals, 95 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:22,320 Speaker 1: no one in polite society seemed to mention it. Families 96 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:25,719 Speaker 1: focused on the roller coaster that opened in four along 97 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:30,840 Speaker 1: with other mechanical rides, sideshows, dime museums, and concerts. Coney 98 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 1: Island offered dance halls, games of chance, marching bands, and circus. 99 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:39,240 Speaker 1: Patrons could even ride elephants and camels, or sit back 100 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:42,680 Speaker 1: and watch buffalo bills Wild West Show. There was a 101 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:45,840 Speaker 1: wide array of dining options. At night, the skies lit 102 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 1: up with fireworks. There was something for everyone. At a 103 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: time when society stressed boundaries between sexes and classes. Coney 104 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:57,600 Speaker 1: Island played host to the mall, and the park's atmosphere 105 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:02,160 Speaker 1: encouraged visitors to loosen their inhibition. Sans dancers performed the 106 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 1: popular belly dance style shows is sometimes known as the 107 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 1: Coochie Coochie and considered quite risque in the streets. And 108 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:12,840 Speaker 1: then there was the elephant hotel and a hundred and 109 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: twenty foot tall blue building in the shape of an elephant. 110 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: The front of the structure had large glass eyes that 111 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:22,840 Speaker 1: appeared to scan the ocean. Spiral staircases leading to the 112 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 1: hotel's thirty one rooms were constructed in the rear legs. 113 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 1: The cigar shop occupied one front leg, and the other 114 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 1: housed a diorama. The odd building had been the brainchild 115 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: of John McCain, who had developed the eedier side of 116 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:40,320 Speaker 1: Coney Island that people called the Gut. Mostly the hotel 117 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: served as a brothel. People winked at one another when 118 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 1: they said they were going to see the elephant. When 119 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 1: a fire burned the hotel to the ground in eighteen six, 120 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:53,400 Speaker 1: it did little to improve the area's reputation. Other attractions, 121 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:57,560 Speaker 1: like Sea Lion Park, built in eight became temporarily popular, 122 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 1: though not very lucrative. Sitters enjoyed a water ride where 123 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:04,800 Speaker 1: they traveled down a short incline into a lake. Sea 124 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 1: lions performed tricks, and bands played music throughout the day. 125 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:11,200 Speaker 1: The park fell from favor in nineteen o two and 126 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 1: was sold to partners Frederick Thompson and Elmer Dundee. Between 127 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:18,800 Speaker 1: nineteen o three and nineteen forty four, the area became 128 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 1: Luna Park and included a host of new attractions and 129 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:24,920 Speaker 1: rides like Tripped to the Moon and exhibits in the 130 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:29,040 Speaker 1: form of small villages designed to resemble other countries and 131 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 1: to compete with Luna Park, a rifle developer, William Reynolds 132 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:35,440 Speaker 1: had to come up with more attractions and rides. He 133 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 1: created a village of People with Dwarfism, where tourists interacted 134 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:42,760 Speaker 1: with the residents like a human zoo. The park even 135 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:45,720 Speaker 1: had a show with a one armed line tamer. One 136 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:48,679 Speaker 1: of the biggest attractions was a water ride called The 137 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 1: Gates of Hell. Riders boats were swept through a whirlpool 138 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:54,320 Speaker 1: as though they had been taken below the lake and 139 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 1: into the depths of Hell. An explosion at the end 140 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:00,400 Speaker 1: gave patrons the sense of being catapulted back to their fists. 141 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:04,120 Speaker 1: Parents who visited Coney Island thought nothing of letting their 142 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 1: children explore much of the park alone, and one of 143 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,480 Speaker 1: those children would go on to change Coney Island forever. 144 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:25,839 Speaker 1: George Tillie was a Coney Island native. His parents ran 145 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:28,720 Speaker 1: The Surf House, a family friendly restaurant on the water 146 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:33,320 Speaker 1: throughout his youth, George watched the town change. The chick 147 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 1: Seaside Haven had become a raunchy playground for all social classes. 148 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:40,559 Speaker 1: He observed the tourists parted ways with their cash for 149 00:09:40,679 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 1: just about anything with a price tag. While any other 150 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:45,880 Speaker 1: kid might have had a lemonade stand, George sold bottles 151 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 1: of sea water and sand tourists. He paid attention to 152 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:53,559 Speaker 1: what people wanted and saw another opportunity transportation to and 153 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 1: front the parks. He earned enough to buy a horse 154 00:09:56,400 --> 00:09:59,720 Speaker 1: and made a ramshackle coach from Driftwood. When tourists arrived 155 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: at nor His Point on the west End, George greeted 156 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:05,840 Speaker 1: them and happily took them wherever they wanted. Of course, 157 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:10,000 Speaker 1: every trip happened to pass by the family restaurant. Before long, 158 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:12,520 Speaker 1: George had earned enough to buy six horses and two 159 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:17,600 Speaker 1: stage coaches. For a young entrepreneur, life was good. At seventeen, 160 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:21,320 Speaker 1: he saw another opportunity and put his energy into real estate. 161 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:25,480 Speaker 1: Corruption was plentiful on Coney Island, and real estate was 162 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 1: no exception. A government officials leased land for forty one 163 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:32,480 Speaker 1: dollars a year and subleased it for a thousand. The 164 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:35,439 Speaker 1: person who subleased up charged the next renter down the line. 165 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 1: Using this tactic, George made serious money. But for all 166 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:44,440 Speaker 1: his success, he grew bored, so with his father's help, 167 00:10:44,679 --> 00:10:48,760 Speaker 1: he built till he Use Surf Theater. Still unsatisfied, he 168 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 1: returned to real estate. But George had a problem. John 169 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:55,559 Speaker 1: McCain presided over a group of thugs who stole from 170 00:10:55,559 --> 00:10:59,280 Speaker 1: locals and tourists alike. He had plenty of government influence, 171 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:01,760 Speaker 1: so every one kept quiet when the New York State 172 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 1: Assembly launched an investigation, except for the Tilayu family. Their 173 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:11,600 Speaker 1: cooperation with prosecutors cost them everything. McCain's gang forced George 174 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:14,080 Speaker 1: to shut down his real estate business, and m Kingpin 175 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:17,520 Speaker 1: managed to use political allies to steal the family's restaurant 176 00:11:17,559 --> 00:11:21,400 Speaker 1: out from under them. The harassment stopped only after McCain 177 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 1: went to sing sing In four for voter fraud and 178 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:30,080 Speaker 1: fixing elections. Afterward, George married his sweetheart Nery O'Donnell. The 179 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:33,040 Speaker 1: couples spent their honeymoon in Chicago, host to the world's 180 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:37,520 Speaker 1: Columbian Exposition. The newlyweds enjoyed time at the Midway among 181 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:41,400 Speaker 1: the rides, snacks, and entertainment. The most impressive ride was 182 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:44,640 Speaker 1: the Ferris wheel. George offered to buy it, but St. 183 00:11:44,679 --> 00:11:48,960 Speaker 1: Louis had already purchased the ride for the next World's Fair. Undaunted, 184 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:51,959 Speaker 1: George set to work on building his own park. When 185 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:55,640 Speaker 1: he returned to Coney Island. The Steeplechase ride was his first, 186 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:59,120 Speaker 1: a tourists rode mechanical horses that moved along a track. 187 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:02,960 Speaker 1: He second purchase was a smaller wheel similar to Ferris's 188 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:06,720 Speaker 1: design in Chicago. His sister, dressed in an evening gown 189 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:09,439 Speaker 1: and sporting a diamond necklace, stood at the entrance to 190 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:28,000 Speaker 1: attract customers. George finally opened steeple Chase Park. The park 191 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:32,319 Speaker 1: remained successful for over a decade. Estimates put over nine 192 00:12:32,559 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 1: thousand visitors through steeple Chase Parks gates where other amusement 193 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:39,040 Speaker 1: parks had failed. George had figured out a trick to 194 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:42,680 Speaker 1: keep guests at the park longer, and the longer they stayed, 195 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:45,880 Speaker 1: the more they spent. George came up with the idea 196 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:50,120 Speaker 1: of a combination ticket. Visitors paid twenty five cents, allowing 197 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:52,600 Speaker 1: them to ride any of his parks twenty five rides. 198 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:56,959 Speaker 1: Other parks charged ten cents per ride. In addition, George 199 00:12:56,960 --> 00:12:59,880 Speaker 1: had a particular kind of customer in mind, but he 200 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:02,880 Speaker 1: prohibited alcohol in the park and hired a security team 201 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:07,120 Speaker 1: to remove troublemakers. While it might appear he wanted a good, 202 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:12,720 Speaker 1: wholesome family park, George also understood one more thing, sex sells. 203 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:18,080 Speaker 1: He worked on a balance between respectable and risque. In 204 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:21,959 Speaker 1: Victorian times, it was considered inappropriate for on web couples 205 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:25,200 Speaker 1: to be alone together or without a chaperone. The simple 206 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:27,880 Speaker 1: touch of a hand on an arm might be misunderstood 207 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:31,840 Speaker 1: and was certainly frowned upon. George called his park the 208 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:36,320 Speaker 1: Funny Place. He designed some rides that allowed polite society 209 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:39,720 Speaker 1: to get a little taste of the taboo. A sign 210 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 1: with a grinning jester's face greeted park visitors, and that 211 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:47,679 Speaker 1: face alluded to the provocative entertainment they could expect inside. 212 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:52,000 Speaker 1: Upon entry, people climbed into the Barrel of fun revolving 213 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:56,000 Speaker 1: cylinder ride below the jester's face. The ride tossed people around, 214 00:13:56,120 --> 00:13:59,280 Speaker 1: frequently on top of one another, and riders often grabbed 215 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:01,800 Speaker 1: the person next to them to keep their footing. The 216 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:05,760 Speaker 1: human roulette, a whirlpool, and human pool table were all 217 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:09,360 Speaker 1: designed to allow visitors to interact in these taboo ways, 218 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:14,000 Speaker 1: the which Way ride spun in random directions. Women riders 219 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:16,920 Speaker 1: might be thrown from their seats and into men's laps, 220 00:14:17,640 --> 00:14:21,880 Speaker 1: but the biggest ride remained the steeple chase. Attendants dressed 221 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:25,120 Speaker 1: as jockeys helped guests onto their mechanical horses, and the 222 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:28,760 Speaker 1: trumpeters stood at the starting line. The horses undulated and 223 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:32,160 Speaker 1: bobbed around the track before crossing the finish line. Once 224 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:34,720 Speaker 1: the riders dismounted, they had to travel through a dimly 225 00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:38,920 Speaker 1: lit maze that exited onto a brightly lit stage. The 226 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:42,280 Speaker 1: blasts of air blue women's dresses upward, and people with 227 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:46,600 Speaker 1: dwarfism bearing cattle prods randomly selected men to shock, often 228 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:49,960 Speaker 1: just below the belt. Crowds in the stands laughed and 229 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:52,880 Speaker 1: cheered as the gas ran through a gauntlet of clowns 230 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 1: wielding slapsticks, more blasts of air, and other devices that 231 00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:00,400 Speaker 1: left them with little dignity. Then these newcomer as took 232 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:03,000 Speaker 1: their place in the crowd to watch the next batch 233 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:06,960 Speaker 1: of guests. The park rented out clown suits, allowing patrons 234 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:09,480 Speaker 1: to interact with other guests and employees in ways they 235 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:13,320 Speaker 1: might not otherwise. Even the park employees got in on act, 236 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 1: dressing in animal costumes. With their identities hidden behind masks 237 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 1: and costumes, people were free to participate in more risk 238 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 1: gay manners in lavish gardens. Uniformed waiters tended to the guests. 239 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:30,240 Speaker 1: As patrons dined, Small hidden jets of air might expose 240 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:33,800 Speaker 1: a petticoat or a part of a woman's ankles. For diners, 241 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:38,240 Speaker 1: the experience walked the line between chaste and kinky. Over 242 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:42,000 Speaker 1: the years, the park grew more successful and popular. George 243 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 1: Tillieu had perfected the park with even more rides and 244 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:49,280 Speaker 1: tweaks for the summer season. In nine seven, Coney Island 245 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:53,360 Speaker 1: was packed, and that's when it all came crashing down. 246 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:58,360 Speaker 1: In the early morning hours of Sunday, July, someone discarded 247 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:01,080 Speaker 1: a lit cigarette near the cave of the Winds Attraction. 248 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:05,800 Speaker 1: Watchman summoned help, and though the engine company one four arrived, 249 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:09,200 Speaker 1: moments later, the fire had spread, and George had been 250 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:11,680 Speaker 1: working in his office and raced outside to help douse 251 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:15,320 Speaker 1: the flames. The fire ran along fifteen miles of ground 252 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:18,680 Speaker 1: through the bowery and the concert hall. Hotels and other 253 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:23,480 Speaker 1: businesses were destroyed Before firefighters had the blaze under control. 254 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:25,960 Speaker 1: Though the park had been closed when the fire broke out, 255 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:30,920 Speaker 1: and there were injuries throughout it all, George remained calm. 256 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:33,480 Speaker 1: He fought the blaze and helped with the injured until 257 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:37,560 Speaker 1: seven that morning. Then, with the fire out, he went home, 258 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:42,000 Speaker 1: changed clothes, and took his family to church. Over thirty 259 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:45,600 Speaker 1: five acres had been burned. George later estimated that the 260 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:49,320 Speaker 1: park cost two hundred thousand dollars to rebuild, an astounding 261 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:52,760 Speaker 1: amount for the time. He started by charging admission to 262 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:56,480 Speaker 1: the ruins for ten cents. The next day, when he 263 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:59,960 Speaker 1: rebuilt Steeple Chase Park, he added a five acre glass 264 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:03,800 Speaker 1: building he called the Pavilion of fun Funny Face. The 265 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:08,480 Speaker 1: deviantly smiling jester stood amid the stained glass designs, and 266 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:13,160 Speaker 1: long after George died in nineteen fourteen, Funny Face remained. 267 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:16,639 Speaker 1: Had not only been the park's mascot, but had become 268 00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:20,760 Speaker 1: symbol of Coney Island, welcoming visitors for years to come. 269 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 1: Robert Moses did not care for Funny Face, not at all. 270 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:41,399 Speaker 1: He didn't like what the grinning jester represented a Coney 271 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:45,600 Speaker 1: Island and amusement parks. In his opinion, anyone who visited 272 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:49,560 Speaker 1: them was low brow and low class. In the nineteen thirties, 273 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:52,280 Speaker 1: Robert set out to rid Coney Island of the parks. 274 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:55,800 Speaker 1: In the nineteen forties, he managed to take over Dreamland 275 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:58,359 Speaker 1: and relocated the New York Aquarium in its place to 276 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:02,399 Speaker 1: prevent other amusement parks from take over, and soon he 277 00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:06,080 Speaker 1: built low income high rise apartments nearby, which made him 278 00:18:06,119 --> 00:18:10,320 Speaker 1: a tidy profit. The downturn came during the nineteen sixties. 279 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:14,199 Speaker 1: Coney Island's crime rate sword and new theme parks like 280 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:20,480 Speaker 1: Disney opened elsewhere, loring vacationers away to safer environments. Consumers 281 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:23,679 Speaker 1: began to share Robert's opinion that Coney Island had become 282 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:28,040 Speaker 1: dated and trashy. Over the years, George's children had done 283 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:32,040 Speaker 1: everything possible to keep Steeple Chase Park going, but now 284 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:34,480 Speaker 1: they had grown older and the time had come to 285 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:38,600 Speaker 1: sell it. Astra Land, a neighboring park, offered to buy, 286 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:41,520 Speaker 1: but Mary till You turned them down and began looking 287 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:45,359 Speaker 1: for a higher bidder. Without consulting her siblings, she sold 288 00:18:45,359 --> 00:18:47,640 Speaker 1: the park to a New York businessman and real estate 289 00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:50,919 Speaker 1: developer by the name of Frederick in July of nineteen sixty. 290 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:54,600 Speaker 1: Fred was more than happy to shell out two point 291 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:58,000 Speaker 1: five million dollars for it. He had big plans for 292 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:00,199 Speaker 1: the area, and none of them had to do with 293 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:03,960 Speaker 1: amusement parks. In the nineteen fifties, he had owned both 294 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:07,320 Speaker 1: Luna Park and another park nearby, but lost them in 295 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:10,640 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty five after the federal government blacklisted him during 296 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:15,240 Speaker 1: a profiteering investigation. Finally, it seemed that Fred's plans for 297 00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:18,159 Speaker 1: more low income housing on Coney Island were about to 298 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:22,280 Speaker 1: come to fruition. The land wasn't zoned for residential construction, 299 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:26,040 Speaker 1: but that hadn't stopped Fred from purchasing it or from 300 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:29,760 Speaker 1: moving forward with the project. Other parks had since been 301 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:34,359 Speaker 1: demolished and rebuilt into housing districts, and with his political connections, 302 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:38,320 Speaker 1: he felt confident that rezoning would not be a problem. 303 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:42,040 Speaker 1: His close friend A Beam was almost certainly going to 304 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:45,679 Speaker 1: be elected mayor in the upcoming election. The surrounding beaches 305 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:49,600 Speaker 1: had become public domain, and Fred worried that Steeplechase Park 306 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:53,880 Speaker 1: might become a designated landmark, so he planned a farewell 307 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:57,399 Speaker 1: party for September twenty one of nineteen sixty six, in 308 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:01,679 Speaker 1: which he would destroy everything historical about the park. He 309 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:06,000 Speaker 1: posed with bikini cloud models wearing hard hats and sporting sledgehammers. 310 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:09,679 Speaker 1: He handed guests bricks and instructed them to smash the 311 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:15,040 Speaker 1: stained glass, especially the iconic funny face. After the guests left, 312 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:18,320 Speaker 1: an earth mover destroyed everything else except for the pier 313 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:22,120 Speaker 1: and the parachute jump. The election rolled around and John 314 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:25,920 Speaker 1: Lindsay was elected mayor. In a surprise upset, he agreed 315 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,199 Speaker 1: with the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce to keep the 316 00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:31,640 Speaker 1: area's zoning laws intact and to turn Steeple Chase into 317 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:36,159 Speaker 1: a public park. Without the new mayor's political support, Fred 318 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:39,560 Speaker 1: sold the property to the city. While it would never 319 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:43,040 Speaker 1: earn him the profits a housing project would have. Fred 320 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:46,440 Speaker 1: c Trump walked away with a one point two million 321 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:54,520 Speaker 1: dollar profit. There's more to this story. Stick around after 322 00:20:54,560 --> 00:21:10,159 Speaker 1: this brief sponsor break to hear all about it. She 323 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:14,119 Speaker 1: was born sometime around eighteen seventy five in Southeast Asia, 324 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:17,320 Speaker 1: where she enjoyed a care free life with her loving family. 325 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:20,800 Speaker 1: In eighteen seventy seven, that life ended when she was 326 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:23,280 Speaker 1: taken from her family and put on a boat to 327 00:21:23,359 --> 00:21:27,920 Speaker 1: New York. There, circus owner Adam Forepaw named the baby 328 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:32,800 Speaker 1: elephant Topsy, and promptly put her on display. Fearing backlash, 329 00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:37,160 Speaker 1: potential criticism, or to be one up on competitor P. T. Barnum. 330 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:40,080 Speaker 1: He claimed that she had been born in captivity. Although 331 00:21:40,119 --> 00:21:43,840 Speaker 1: she wasn't his first elephant, Topsy became his only elephant, 332 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:47,520 Speaker 1: and without a herd. She did her best to please 333 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:51,400 Speaker 1: her human handlers, but in that time and place, it 334 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:53,960 Speaker 1: was believed that the only way to maintain control of 335 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:58,040 Speaker 1: an animal was to use pain and fear. At first, 336 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:02,000 Speaker 1: handlers and trainers thought Top's compliance meant she had accepted 337 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:06,359 Speaker 1: their power over her, but the opposite came true. The 338 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:09,520 Speaker 1: continued abuse made her more difficult to deal with, and 339 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:12,760 Speaker 1: her handlers began jabbing her with pitchforks or burning her 340 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 1: with a lit cigar for her disobedience. On two circus 341 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:22,680 Speaker 1: attendee j Fielding Blout wandered her tent. As the story goes, 342 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:26,000 Speaker 1: he had been drinking heavily. Blount lit a cigarette and 343 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:29,240 Speaker 1: tried to force feed it to Topsy. It was one 344 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:32,760 Speaker 1: torment too many. Topsy grabbed Blount and threw him to 345 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:36,600 Speaker 1: the ground, killing him. Her handlers and the papers labeled 346 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:41,640 Speaker 1: her a bad elephant. Never once considering her treatment. Instead, 347 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:45,200 Speaker 1: reporters wrote stories about her man killing past, though there 348 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:49,440 Speaker 1: were no records, reports, or truth to the tales. For 349 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:53,920 Speaker 1: Pa didn't mind the sensationalist headlines, though atopsy, the man 350 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:59,840 Speaker 1: killing elephant drew large crowds. Meanwhile, Topsy's abuse continued, and 351 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:03,200 Speaker 1: in June of nineteen o two, the abuse became too 352 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:06,720 Speaker 1: much once more. While loading her onto a train car 353 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:09,399 Speaker 1: in Kingston, New York, a man jabbed her behind the 354 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:12,760 Speaker 1: ear with a stick. She turned and grabbed him, tossing 355 00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:16,600 Speaker 1: him to the ground. He survived, but for Paul quickly 356 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:20,320 Speaker 1: sold Topsy to Luna Park on Coney Island. Her new 357 00:23:20,359 --> 00:23:22,800 Speaker 1: trainer jabbed her so many times in the face with 358 00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:27,280 Speaker 1: a pitchfork that he drew blood. Though terrified, Topsy never attacked. 359 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:31,040 Speaker 1: The assault on Topsy finally drew the attention of authorities, 360 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:34,879 Speaker 1: who arrested her handler for extreme cruelty. Then they arrested 361 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:37,240 Speaker 1: him a second time for the same charge, and a 362 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:40,520 Speaker 1: third time. Even though her trainer had been charged with 363 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:45,080 Speaker 1: cruelty and abuse, the newspapers still blamed Topsy. Luna Park's 364 00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:47,640 Speaker 1: owners decided the best course of action was to hang 365 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:51,680 Speaker 1: Topsy upon hearing the news, the Society for the Prevention 366 00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:54,080 Speaker 1: of Cruelty to Animals Today the a s p c 367 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:57,840 Speaker 1: A stepped in, forcing the park owners to abandon their plan. 368 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:03,480 Speaker 1: The hanging Topsy was necessarily cruel, the society said. After 369 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:07,120 Speaker 1: a visit to Thomas Edison's labs, they devised a new plan. 370 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:11,000 Speaker 1: Edison and the SPCA had worked together back in the 371 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:14,600 Speaker 1: eighteen eighties. The SPCA wanted to find a humane way 372 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:18,800 Speaker 1: to euthanize animals, and Edison, a proponent of d C current, 373 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:22,200 Speaker 1: wanted to prove that his rival, Tesla's A C current 374 00:24:22,359 --> 00:24:27,880 Speaker 1: was deadly inspired. Luna Park decided on electrocution for Topsy's fate, 375 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:33,040 Speaker 1: but electrocuting something as large as an elephant posed a problem. 376 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:37,200 Speaker 1: They decided to execute Topsy with a combination of electrocution, poisoning, 377 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:42,639 Speaker 1: and strangulation, and while Edison probably wasn't involved, it wasn't 378 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:46,160 Speaker 1: there the day of the execution. His company did provide 379 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:49,200 Speaker 1: the six thousand, six hundred volts from a nearby A 380 00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:54,600 Speaker 1: C generator station. The overcast and gloomy sky marked Topsy's 381 00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:59,240 Speaker 1: last day January four, of nineteen o three. Hendler's led 382 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:02,280 Speaker 1: her from her stall. A final time. She stopped at 383 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:05,800 Speaker 1: the bridge leading to her execution site, and, even with prodding, 384 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:08,880 Speaker 1: would move no further. Officials had to bring the equipment 385 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:12,840 Speaker 1: to her. Other than refusing to cross the bridge, Topsy 386 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:16,880 Speaker 1: did everything the handlers asked. She gently raised each leg, 387 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:20,800 Speaker 1: allowing copper plates to be secured to her feet. Everyone 388 00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:25,560 Speaker 1: grew quiet except for one reporter. Not so vicious, he said. 389 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:29,879 Speaker 1: She gently took the poisoned carrots from her handlers and 390 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:32,560 Speaker 1: stood quietly as they slipped a noose over her neck. 391 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:36,680 Speaker 1: Then one of the men flipped the switch. Topsy shook 392 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:41,119 Speaker 1: violently for ten seconds, then collapsed to the ground. The 393 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:44,119 Speaker 1: men tightened the noose for another ten minutes to ensure 394 00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:47,800 Speaker 1: she was dead. Newspapers like The New York Times reported 395 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:51,080 Speaker 1: on it that week, and the film crew documented the execution. 396 00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:57,119 Speaker 1: Though handling practices did change over the years, elephants remained 397 00:25:57,160 --> 00:25:59,800 Speaker 1: in large circuses like the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and 398 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:04,919 Speaker 1: bay LEAs until when public outcry over living conditions and 399 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:07,760 Speaker 1: the use of bullhooks and other devices to chorus the 400 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:11,600 Speaker 1: animals to perform forced the company to stop using elephants 401 00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:24,679 Speaker 1: in their acts. American Shadows is hosted by Lauren Vogelbaum. 402 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:28,840 Speaker 1: This episode was written by Michelle Muto, researched by Ali Steed, 403 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:32,679 Speaker 1: and produced by Miranda Hawkins and Trevor Young, with executive 404 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:37,440 Speaker 1: producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. To learn 405 00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:40,359 Speaker 1: more about the show, visit grim and mild dot com. 406 00:26:40,359 --> 00:26:43,760 Speaker 1: From more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 407 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:47,160 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.