Brighton Beach... Brighton Beach was first developed in the late 1870s by German-American railroad magnate William Engemann, who hoped to cater to a middle class, explicitly non-Jewish vacation crowd. Engemann built a sea-side resort including a pier, a bathhouse, and The Brighton Beach Hotel, in hopes of providing a “respectable family-oriented counterpart” to what he saw as the vulgar working class attractions of the neighboring Coney Island – sites which tended to attract young Jewish immigrants. Engemann excluded Jews from his hotel, but the neighborhood soon supported boardinghouses and “bungalow colonies” that drew Jewish immigrant families from across New York (Orleck, 87). When Engemann built the Brighton Rapid Transit elevated train line – which brought travelers to Brighton for only a nickel – it further enabled the area’s development as a Jewish community, as working families were able to summer at the sea while fathers and other workers commuted daily to garment shops in Williamsburg and Lower Manhattan. By 1868, Coney Island had been established as the first of the resort communities, and Manhattan Beach and West Brighton were in development as well. William A. Engeman, an entrepreneur who made his fortune during the Civil War, purchased several hundred acres of oceanfront property for $20,000 and named the area Brighton Beach after the famous English beach town, Brighton. Access to Gravesend was improved with the building of a toll road called Shell Road, which was then known as the Coney Island Causeway (now Coney Island Avenue). Crowds arrived by stagecoach, steamboat and finally railroad. The first railroad was the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad in 1864, followed by the Brooklyn, Flatbush and Coney Island Railroad (1878, this is todays Brighton Beach subway line); in 1887, the Brooklyn and Brighton Beach Railroad reached the area. In 1869, Engeman built a small wooden pier to receive steamboats and in 1871 he opened the Ocean Hotel, located approximately where, today, Brighton Fourth Street meets Brightwater Court. With the completion of the extension of Ocean Parkway (designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux) from Prospect Park to the ocean, carriage traffic brought crowds practically to the door of the hotel. In 1878, Engeman created the 2-story Brighton Beach Bathing Pavilion and Ocean Pier, which accommodated 1,200 bathers. In an effort to compete with Manhattan Beach and Coney Island, the board of directors of the Brooklyn, Flatbush and Coney Island Railroad bought half of Engemans property at Coney Island Avenue and built the 3-story, 174-room Brighton Beach Hotel. The grand hotel became the summer home of the New York Club, the Bullion Club and the Seidl Society, which in September 1889 hosted a luncheon for Susan B. Anthony, the veteran womens rights advocate. Happily for the crowds, Brighton Beach found that it had to offer ever more exciting entertainment to compete with Coney Island, Manhattan Beach and West Brighton. In 1883, William Buffalo Bill Cody rode into town with a spectacular re-creation of the cowboy life - complete with a band of Sioux Indians, cowboys from the Doggie Camp, Oklahoma cowgirls and Chief Bull Bear of the Cheyennes. Two vaudeville theaters presented various types of entertainment. The New Brighton Theatre, touted as the handsomest seaside theatre in the world, featured Belle Hathaway and her Simian Playmates, Elfie Fay, The Belle of Avenue A, and many others. Located at the ocean end of the New Iron Pier, the New Brighton advertised itself as the only theatre in the world located a quarter of a mile out in the ocean. Brighton Beach Music Hall | Call# NEIG 0381Brighton Beach Music HallBrighton Beach Music Hall featured such famous performers as Sophie Tucker, and Louis Reinhards Orchestra performed Irving Berlins Theyve Got Me Doing It Now. Brighton Beach concerts were often put on by Admiral Neuendorfs Naval Band. The Taking of New Orleans with a cast of 1,000 and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra under the direction of Anton Seidl were staged at Brighton Beach Pavilion. At the Brighton Beach Bathing Pavilion, visitors entered the Midgets Palace to enjoy a performance by the Lilliputian Opera Company. In 1883, G. B. Bunnell opened a dime museum. His Brighton Museum showcased a Convention of Curiosities which included Colonel Routh Goshen, billed as 11 feet tall, and known as the Palestine Giant; Major Tot, who weighed 10 and a half pounds; Richard James, the fat boy who was 9 feet around the waist; and Miss Nellie Walter, the albino lady. Horse racing began in Brighton Beach in 1879. William Engeman formed the Brighton Beach Racing Association, with a course located between Ocean Parkway and Coney Island Avenue. Racing began on June 28 and in that first year there were more than 34 days of racing. Engeman died in 1884. His son William Jr. built a new grandstand in 1896. The track operated until 1908 when it closed due to new anti-betting laws. By 1910, horse racing had diminished to the point that all tracks were closed. The closing of the racing tracks led to the departure of the wealthy and heralded the demise of the grand hotels. The Brighton Beach track was later used for flying airplanes and for automobile racing.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 15:17:38 +0000
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