VISUAL ACTIVITYBeach Scene at Coney Island Coney Island became a symbol of commercialized leisure and mechanical excitement at the turn of the century. This fanciful rendering of Coney Island captures men and women frolicking in the waves. Notice the modest woolen bathing outfits. Men box and play ball, a woman flies on a parachute, and a uniformed policeman wades into the fray, while the Ferris wheel dominates onshore.READING THE IMAGE: What does the scene present as the mood at Coney Island, and what does it tell us about who visited Coney Island and who didn’t?CONNECTIONS: Many reformers worried about the moral temptations mass leisure afforded city workers. Why?
Library of Congress, var.2117.