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The Oriental Hotel, at the eastern end of the Coney Island peninsula, opened in 1880 and was demolished in 1916.
1903. "Oriental Hotel and boardwalk, Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, New York." Panorama of two 8x10 glass negatives, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
During the summer of 1893, John Philip Sousa and his band were engaged to perform several daily concerts at Manhattan Beach for a 10 week period. Manhattan Beach March was written directly after that summer concert
series and was an immediate hit.
I bet it's the same guy, this must be where the negs split, there's a line of bad focus running up through there.
I was a student at Kingsborough Community College. When I attended,the campus consisted of barracks left over from a WWII training facility. The old wooden buildings wouldn't have been worthy of being outhouses for this grande dame that stood on the sight earlier.
While hotel's receding into the mists of history, and the boardwalk no longer extends that far east, a small, crescent-shaped portion of Oriental Beach still remains. What makes it a bit unusual is that it is located on the campus of Kingsborough Community College and students use it as a lounge and outdoor lunch area. During the summer, outsiders can get special permits allowing them to use the beach, accessing it via a walkway that keeps them away from campus buildings.
And yes, that's Dead Horse Island in the background, though its proper name was actually Barren Island. Landfill has since connected it to the mainland.
Superb image; surreal and very simple, but can be interpreted on several levels. Thank you, Dave.
Look at the woman's waist. That can't be healthy.
Trying to figure what's off in the distance behind the two promenaders. Maybe Dead Horse Island?
On the sidewalk to the left we see that the local constable is making a beeline towards the suspicious GWC (guy with a camera). After all he could be a spy or something.
What a beautiful building! I'm often surprised to see just how short-lived some of these magnificent buildings were. A mere 36 years is all this gorgeous hotel existed. I guess that's the price of progress.
Possibly the most beautiful image I have seen on Shorpy so far (and I have been coming here for a long time).
Groundskeepers watering all that lawn by hand!?!
by any standard, in any century! Was that panoramic pair printed in 1903 or was it a contemporary collaboration with Shorpy? If so, all hail Photoshop!
[Photoshop! - Dave]
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