Archivist update: Coney Island

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people visit Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York. In this Archivist Update, we take a look at Coney Island's historic beachfront, boardwalk and amusement park from 1937 to the present.

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This aerial view shows the huge crowd that fills the water and beach at Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Independence Day, July 4, 1937. (AP Photo)

A young couple enjoys a ride around the building on the famous Steeplechase horse ride in New York on May 26, 1943. (AP Photo)

This general view from the Steeplechase Pier shows part of the crowded beach at Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y., Aug. 28, 1948. (AP Photo)

Winter sunbathing draws a crowd to the boardwalk in Coney Island, New York, on Feb. 27, 1952. (AP Photo)

Grandma Margaret Mackenzie has three-year-old Janie Watt along for company as they are whisked down a slide at Steeplechase Park in New York on August 13, 1954. (AP Photo/Carl Nesensohn)

Coney Island View

Two passengers on the Parachute Jump ride see throngs of people on the boardwalk and beach at the Coney Island Amusement Park in Brooklyn, New York, July 1, 1957. (AP Photo)

Nathan's Famous hot dogs are cooked on the grill as customers line up at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, on Sept. 10, 1958. (AP Photo)

Looks as if Sybil Scotford is wearing one of those new chemise swimsuits until you see it outside the funny mirror at Coney Island, New York on July 1, 1958. (AP Photo)

Betty McGuire gets extra yardage out of her leopard printed swimsuit in the mirror at Coney Island's Steeplechase Park in New York on July 1, 1958. (AP Photo)

Coney Island 1958

Mona Pivar's figure takes on a new twist only slightly related to the shape in front of the the "funny" mirror at Coney Island amusement park in Brooklyn, New York on July 1, 1958. (AP Photo)

Some of the rides at Coney Island amusement park in New York on August 14, 1959, lose their identity in a whirl of lights as they carry fun-seekers around and around. (AP Photo/Ruben Goldberg)

A summer romance blossoms on the beach at Coney Island, New York, July 27, 1961. (AP Photo/John Lindsay)

This aerial view shows sunbathers and swimmers at Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Independence Day, July 4, 1961. (AP Photo)

Within feet of the cool Atlantic surf four women play a hot game of gin rummy on the sands of Coney Island, New York on July 23, 1961. (AP Photo/Jack Kanthal)

Mobs of people disgorge from the Surf Ave. subway station at Coney Island, New York on July 29, 1963, head for the beach and relief from a sweltering heat wave that has gripped the eastern seaboard for days. (AP Photo/John Lindsay)

Bill Olsen, of Brooklyn, a New York elevator inspector, is shown on the job inspecting rides at Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York, 1964, before the start of the summer season. (AP Photo)

Crowds of people swarm to the beach at Coney Island in Brooklyn on July 21, 1991 in an effort to find relief from temperatures that swarmed over the 100-degree mark in New York City. (AP Photo/Mike Alexander)

Jackqueline and Barry Norman, foreground, of England, join members of the American Coaster Enthusiasts for a ride on the Cyclone roller coaster at Astroland Park in Coney Island, in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Aug. 30, 1992. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Beach goers take advantage of temperatures that reached into the mid-70's Friday, May 26, 2000, at New York's Coney Island. (AP Photo/Ed Bailey)

Kate Higgins, left, and Jennie Fiske, dressed as goddesses of the sea, pose at the 22nd Annual Mermaid Parade in the Coney Island section of New York Saturday, June 26, 2004. (AP Photo/Joe Kohen)

Only his face exposed to the sun, Brian Suarez, 9, stays cool by staying underground on the beach at Coney Island Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2006 in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

The entrance to Astroland Park is seen from the boardwalk at night at Coney Island, N.Y., Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Costumed performers entertain the crowd before the start of Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Sunday July 4, 2010 in the Coney Island section in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)

Visitors to Coney Island ride the Thunderbolt, Friday, July 3, 2015, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Don, left, and Angela Boerem, of Queens, take a stroll on the Coney Island boardwalk, Friday, July 3, 2015, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

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