A Question:

Curious...My grandmother used to tell me about a ride at Coney Island called the steeplechase. She loved the ride, but complained about the rats in it. Well, she passed away and I realized that I never asked her what exactly the steeplechase was.

An Answer by Slim Price

Ahhh, memories!

Reading about rats make me think you (she) are mixing memories. George Tilyou's Steeplechase Park was an enormous building with lots of rides inside close to the Parachute jump and backing up to Coney's Boardwalk. If I remember right you paid one fee to enter, and could stay as long as you could stand it, and ride everything until you fell apart.

It had all the elements of a funhouse but was lots more than that. I never saw any rats there, but I suppose there were some. nOW , FINALLY, specifics.

On an elevated platform, like a balcony, all the way around the outside of the building, (remember it was enormous) there were six parallel tracks, and on each track there was a horse much like a real one rather than a "Merry-go-Round" horse. The horses, very like in a real race (steeplechase) roared around the track and you held on for dear life!

The things we thought were fun then! Jeez...

A Thanks:

She said the rats would be all over the outside.. I don't know and I can't ask her now (Thanks *very big hugs and kisses).
 

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Images:   Postcard of the Steeplechase - Steeplechase Park Coney Island NY   One of the horse from the the Steeplechase Ride, Coney Island Museum   Sign - 2 on a horse Coney Island Museum