CONEY ISLAND

The Year 1907, 100 Years Ago.

By Takeshi Yamada and Dr. Eriko. N. Bond

Dreamland Tower in Coney Island. Photographed in 1907. (1904 - 1911)

An internationally famed educator and artist, Takeshi Yamada has given many lectures about the unique heritage, history, art, and culture of Coney Island since he moved this unique and distinctive area of Brooklyn, New York. These lectures are usually given on the occasion of his solo and group art exhibits with his unique paintings and rogue taxidermy artworks. Examples of such educational and cultural institutions are American Museum of Natural History, Long Island University, Salt Marsh Nature Center, Orchard Beach Nature Center, Brooklyn Public Library - Coney Island Branch, etc. in New York City. (Yamada has average 30 to 40 exhibitions annually.)

Coney Island is an area, where Yamada purchased a house and have been living since 2002. Yamada did not choose Coney Island; Coney Island chose him. Yamada believes this because he has been professionally producing specialized artworks for numerous big and small amusement parks, theaters, circus sideshow companies, entertainment companies, wildlife organizations, and collectors of cabinets-of-curiosities since he moved to the United States in 1983.  In short, Yamada has been professionally doing things once Coney Island was famous for – entertainment industry. Coney Island was once the center of the entertainment industry of America. Today, Coney Island is in the middle of the revitalization by the major government funded projects. (For more information, please read a series of articles entitled “Summer of Coney Island 2007” by Takeshi Yamada.)    

It is said that if Steeplechase represented fun and sexuality, and Luna was the juxtaposition of art

and youth, Dreamland (1904-1911) was the Bible brought to Brooklyn with hints of showmanship.

These three truly magnificent world-famous amusement parks were in Coney Island.

The current house of Takeshi Yamada is right across from the lost Dreamland.

When Takeshi Yamada says “Coney Island was once bigger than Hollywood, Las Vegas, Disney World, Six Flags, and Times Square”, absolutely no young people believe him. You may be one of them. Yamada thinks this is a true tragedy in Coney Island and New York. It is a fact that Coney Island was the center of the entertainment industries unparalleled to any other cities in the United States about 100 years ago. The world has changed dramatically and drastically in the last 100 years. 

To put this in proper perspective, Yamada wants to share the following information with you. This is the United States’ actual recorded statistics of the year of 1907. This WILL blow your mind.

Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt, the 26th president (1901-9) of the United States,

is the person responsible for giving the teddy bear his name.

The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47.6 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.

There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

California had an estimated population of 2.2 million people, and the United States had 8.7 million.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
 

The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents per hour.
 

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

A loaf of bread cost 5 cents.
 

A gallon of milk cost 31 cents.
 

A Hershey bar cost 5 cents.
 

A stamp cost 2 cents.
 

A car cost $500.
 

A house cost $4,500.
 

The average household income was $897 a year.
 

Unemployment was at 2.8 percent.
 

The federal government spent $0.58 billion.

More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at home.
 

Ninety percent of all U.S. doctors had no college education. Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as “substandard.”

Sugar cost four cents a pound.
 

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
 

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women washed their hair only once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
 

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
 

Five leading causes of death in the U.S. were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis?

3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease

5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn’t been admitted to the Union yet.

Only 8 percent of all dwellings were using electricity.
 

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!
 

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn’t been invented yet.
 

There was no official Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.

Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn’t read or write.
 

Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
 

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were available over the counter at local corner drugstores. Back then the pharmacist said, “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.”

Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
 

There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.

NOW, try to imagine what people will say to themselves at the year 2107 when they see the statistic of the year 2007!