The following photograph rich article features scenes that Takeshi Yamada sees when he goes to shop for groceries in Coney Island area of Brooklyn, New York. All the photographs featured here were taken by Yamada unless noted. For years numerous films, TV news segments, DVD, and Youtube clips produced in American and Canada have featured the eccentric life of Yamada in Coney Island. This manuscript was produced by Dr. Eriko N. Bond, noted art critic and book author in New York City, as told by Yamada.

JOURNEY TO THE GROCERY STORE

Coney Island, summer 2007

By Takeshi Yamada and Dr. Eriko N. Bond

Part 3

The Golden Era of Coney Island was about 100 years ago. During the summer months, Coney Island was the center of the entertainment industry in America and was  famous  and  popular  for  world  class amusement parks, giant swimming pools, circuses, circus sideshows, dime museums, theaters, burlesque  shows,  gambling,  and upscale seafood restaurants. Even after losing the major amusement parks, the area prospered for the several decades that followed. The photograph below was taken in 1945 and it shows how truly popular Coney Island Beach had remained.

Coney Island Beach. Arthur (Weegee) Fellig. (1945)

There are many auto body shops located near the resident of Takeshi Yamada, located just one block from the Coney Island-Stillwell subway station (also the final stop for the F, Q, N and D subway lines.) These were built initially to accommodate the need for car repair for the many vacationers and tourists who traveled from far away to visit Coney Island during the summer months. 

A yellow auto body shop with a yellow school bus on Neptune Avenue. There are many large parking lots that accommodate the numerous yellow school buses seen in the area for unknown reasons. (September 5, 2007)

Auto shops. (September 9, 2007)

And more auto shops. The graffiti and gang signs are truly eyesores. (September 9, 2007)

And yet even more auto shops. The shop on the left is Chinese owned.  As you can see on the right, some of the auto shop’s store signs are so old they are almost completely faded by decades of rain and sun light. (September 9, 2007)

An old, hand-painted auto body shop sign. (September 5, 2007)

This memorial mural features one of the children of Sal, a nice, old Italian man who lives next door to the house of Takeshi Yamada. (September 5, 2007)

An upscale limousine service company. These very elegant and classic automobiles don’t match their surroundings and stick out like a sore thumb in this neighborhood. They are often used for the Riviera’s special events and wedding ceremonies. “These are my kind of cars”, says Yamada. (September 5, 2007)

An old cement factory on Cropsey Avenue. (September 9, 2007)

An old cement factory on Cropsey Avenue seen from the bridge in the front.

Seen in the back is the historical Parachute Jump Tower. (September 5, 2007)

This mural located at the US Post Office Coney Island Station, shows the Parachute Jump ride in operation. The Parachute Jump is 262 feet tall and weighs 170 tons, and has been called the "Eiffel Tower of Brooklyn". It was built for the 1939 New York World's Fair in Flushing Meadows Park, Queens, and was moved to its current site. It then became part of the Steeplechase Park amusement park in 1941. It is the only portion of Steeplechase Park still standing today. The ride ceased operation in 1968. “It was the bungee jumping of the good old days”, says Yamada.

The Parachute Jump seen from the Coney Island Beach. It was repainted in 2005, and hundreds of small twinkling lights were installed in 2006.  Barring rain or fog, Yamada enjoys the view of this remarkable Brooklyn landmark from the window of his house every day - and it is less than 15 minutes walking distance from his house. (July 22, 2007)