Document 19-1: Luna Park at Night (c. 1913)

Escaping the City for a Fantasy World of Pleasure

Luna Park at Night (c. 1913)

This postcard of Coney Island’s Luna Park captures the thrill and wonder enchanting city dwellers as they escaped, however briefly, the mundane and hard-knock lives they endured as part of New York’s working class. Amusement parks like this one treated their customers to dazzling displays, exhilarating rides, and attractions, including Luna Park’s famous “Trip to the Moon.” This postcard image shows the incandescent main entrance to the park, radiant from the million electric lights beguiling visitors into the nighttime revelry.

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Source: “Luna Park at Night.” © Lake County Museum/Corbis.

READING AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

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