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Has anyone ever read the book Goodbye old Coney Goodbye?


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I actually find Charles Jacques' book on Coney Island to be the essential "Bible" of Cincy Coney Island. At one point he was compiling one for KI... however that hasn't cone to fruition. Has anyone heard anything from Mr Jacques in recent years? I used to see him at KI from time to time, but I rarely go now, so not sure.

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I'd forgotten about Charles Jacques' book "Cincinnati's Coney Island: America's Finest Amusement Park". This book has many interesting details about the park. Paul IIyinsky's book "Goodbye Coney Island Goodbye" is more pictorial and has more park closure pictures.

I remember going to Sunlight Pool waaaaay back when and walking through the ruins (mostly ghost ruins of ride foundations, no buildings. The haunted house with it's greased stained floor was there for several years after the park closed. I actually walked the old path in the haunted house a couple of times during 4th of July fireworks events at the park...along with the old Merry-go-round building.

( as an side note, if you ever venture to the park now, there is an enormous tree along the path at the back o the park. I believe it is several trees that have merged into one tree and it is twisted and gnarled and huge....Check it out if you are ever there. It is definitely a sight to see in nature.)

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  • 1 year later...
  • 6 months later...

Bumping this topic because I now actually know what everyone's talking about:

I borrowed the "Goodbye, Coney Island, Goodbye" book the other day from the library. It's good, but I feel like some of the impact was lost on me--neither I nor my family (that I know of) ever visited Coney before Kings Island. I also didn't know much about Coney's history, layout, or rides, so it was difficult for me to understand what I was (or wasn't) seeing in the pictures.

Which is why I was really pleased to find Charles Jacques's book in Coney Island's gift shop yesterday. I haven't finished it yet, but what I have read is extremely interesting. It's an engrossing read on the history of the park and, to a lesser extent, the history of Cincinnati during and after the Civil War. If you have any inkling of an interest in the history of everything leading up to the creation of Kings Island (and the history of Coney after Kings Island opened), I really can't recommend this book enough.

I too am dying to read Charles's book on Kings Island, but I haven't found anything indicating that it was ever completed. Does anyone here know anything about the status of the book?

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