From the Coney Island History Project Flickr Set: The Dreamland Pier Bell will be on special exhibition Labor Day weekend (Sat-Mon), 1-6 pm and next weekend (Sept 12-13) 2-6 pm at the History Project on Surf Ave under the Cyclone roller coaster. Also on view will be period photos of Dreamland and the Bell.
As announced by the Coney Island History Project yesterday: The newly found Dreamland Pier bell that once welcomed guest by steamboat to Coney Island has been found resting in its murky grave, twenty five feet below sea level, for almost one hundred years by commercial diver Gene Ritter. Ritter found the bell last November and this week went under with his team to bring the relic out. The Dreamland bell will be on display at the Coney Island History Project for a short time until a permanent home is found (hopefully) in Coney Island.
Free Exhibit: Coney Island Bell on View at History Project under the Cyclone
Special exhibition for Labor Day Weekend – September 5-7, Hours are 1- 6 pm
From the History Project press release:
The historic Coney Island Bell from the old Dreamland Park was raised from the ocean floor yesterday after nearly 100 years underwater. Charles Denson, Executive Director of the Coney Island History Project is pleased to announce that the Bell will be on special exhibition this weekend at the History Project‘s exhibition center under the Cyclone roller coaster. Also on view will be period photos of Dreamland and the Bell along with Charles Denson’s photos documenting the raising of the Bell. The Coney Island History Project’s free public exhibition center is located under the Cyclone at 824 Surf Avenue just east of W 10th Street. FREE ADMISSION for One and ALL! The center is open for Labor Day weekend on Saturday, Sunday and Monday (Sept. 5-7). Hours are 1 to 6 p.m.
The 500-pound brass bell once welcomed visitors arriving at the pier of Coney Island’s old Dreamland Park, which was on the site of the New York Aquarium. The following Channel 7 News video shows the bell arriving at the dock yesterday after a successful rescue mission by the team from “Cultural Research Divers.” The historic bell survived the Dreamland fire of 1911 and was discovered after a 20-year quest by Coney Island diver Gene Ritter.
Image courtesy of bigdoodyhead (Coney Island USA message board)
A genuine artifact from the original Coney Island theme park, 'Dreamland' circa 1911 was found last year in November and has now been raised from it's murky crypt twenty five feet below sea level. A 500 pound bell that rested at the tip of the Dreamland Pier that extended 1,500 feet out from the shore at the Dreamland theme park in the early 1900's Coney Island. The bell for steamboat passengers arriving and leaving the pier. The bell along with most of the pier fell into the ocean during a catastrophic fire that also ruined the themepark.
Gene Ritter of the Cultural Research Diver's Mission, has removed the bell for display in Coney Island. Today's Coney Island will get a glimpse of the old glory that was the Coney Island of yesteryear.
Gene told KC today that the bell will be towed to the Gateway Marina opposite Floyd Bennet Field in Brooklyn around 4pm today.
Ritter, who discovered the treasure in November not far from where the pier once stood off the West Eighth Street beachfront, said the find left him with the same "incredible" feeling he had in 1990 when he was the first to find remnants of Dreamland under the ocean.
"It's an amazing artifact and symbol of Coney Island's past, and it's returning as the city is trying to ring in a new vision for Coney Island," said local historian Charles Denson.
The bell is expected to be on display at the Coney Island History Project this Labor Day Weekend but this information has still to be confirmed. Later a permanent home in Coney Island will be found for the bell. The news of the bell made it to many local and national tv news outlets around the country today.
Watch ABC news video of the Dreamland Pier Bell below
Images courtesy of the