Playland Letters

Coney Island's old Playland is losing its letters. One by one as the years go by.





Summer 2010



They're mid-century neon letters. One has to wonder if they're being taken by ordinary vandals or by Coney Island history buffs terrified that this, too, is about to vanish into the hungry maws of Thor and Zamperla.





Summer 2011



In Forgotten New York, Kevin Walsh tells us that Playland began in 1930 as Silver's Penny Arcade. It was run as Playland from 1957 until it closed in 1981. Horace Bullard bought it and left it to rot. The ruin's guardian was a man named Andy Badalamenti. He recently passed away. A small tribute to him hangs on the fence outside Playland.







For a peek inside the ruins of Playland, see photos by Lindsay Wengler and Nathan Kensinger.

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