Any current photos of the Coney site since demolition?

[burlguy41005]

Seems like the conversation on our beloved Coney has slowed....anyone have any pics of the site.....please share!

[DJSkyFoxx]

I imagine an opportunity to see the grounds will be for the Cincinnati Summerfair that will be taking place May 30th-June 1st.

When I saw the billboard for this and seeing where it was being held my jaw dropped. It seems odd that any events would even be taking place there seeing as there is literally nothing left.

I drive past it every day going home from work. If there is anything worth seeing it would require entry onto the grounds because all that can be seen going past it are the old entry ways and a slab of concrete that was once a pool with a fence blocking it off mostly. 

It's surreal to think that once upon a time this park used to be the cause of so many people's excitement upon driving up to the gates. Now we drive past it and see the hollow remains of memories past.

[DiamondbackFan]

Check Google Earth with Historical Imagery turned on.  The newest images are from March 9, 2025.

[rlentless]

Coney Island celebrates Summerfair with over 300 local artists

https://local12.com/news/local/coney-island-summerfair-cincinnati-art-fair-local-artists-business-creative-paintings-paint-sculpture-wood-metal-ceramics-drawings#

[BlondyRidesOn]

I went down to Coney today to take a look at the work. I took the time to look at the vendors that had set up their displays, but my main focus was getting a look at the site.

What was confirmed by Jonathan Martin, the CEO of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO), last spring:

• The iconic Kellogg Avenue auto gate, built in 1924, will remain.
• Lake Como, the manmade lake in the front if the property, which was dug out and filled in 1892 (some sources say 1896), will also remain.
• The picnic grove, shelters and playground will also remain. This was where Coney Island got its start in 1870 when apple farmer James Bell Parker was approached by a Cincinnati church group requesting to set up a picnic on his apple orchard. 

I have included photos below.

Sunlite Pool:

This is still a surreal visual. Once the site of the world's largest recirculating swimming pool is nothing more than a field of gravel and dirt. 

According to Coney Island Central, the pool was designed by W.J. Lynch of New Haven, Connecticut and was 200 feet wide by 401 feet long. The pool could hold 3.5 million gallons of water and could clean and filter 47,000 gallons of water per hour the year it opened. Sunlite Pool would have celebrated its 100th anniversary this season, originally opening in 1925 as simply the Natatorium. The name Sunlite Pool would come later in the 1930s.

LaRosas Pizzeria:

While it was home to Cincinnati's staple Italian eatery during the park's "modern era" (Post Kings Island), the LaRosas Pizzeria at Coney Island had originally opened in 1967 as a souvenir and gift shop on the Mall. It had replaced the old Penny Arcade. I took a visit to Coney for Summerfair in 2024 to get a look at the site. Last season the building was open for restroom use and concessions. This year it was closed with concessions being located on the patio next to the building. A quick peak in the window revealed that the building is undergoing renovations.

For fun, I did a side by side comparison of this building to a photo I found in the book "Cincinnati's Coney Island" by Charles J. Jacques Jr.

The photo, taken from the book, shows Bingo the gorilla from Hanna-Barbera's "The Banana Splits" entertaining people on the Mall. To the right is my photo taken at a similar angle (and similar lighting). This was taken in the early 70s following Taft Broadcasting's merger and acquisition of Coney Island in 1969 to begin the development of Kings Island. I had previously made a comparison using a photo I took last year, but the way the sun was shining today influenced my decision to recreate it.

Mini Golf:

The mini golf course was visibly torn up from construction equipment. MEMI had set up barrier fences to keep people from going into the area (This didn't stop some people though). I think it is safe to say that the Cincy Mini Golf is not long for this world. 

Moonlite Pavillion & Tivoli Fountain:

Moonlite Pavillion, named after the famous Moonlite Gardens just down the Mall, was originally built sometime in the 1960s and served as the rides shelter for the Cuddle Up, Whip and Dodgem. It was renovated in 1976 and renamed Moonlite Pavillion to host special events. This was part if the initiative by Taft Broadcasting to redevelop the site as a non competitive alternative to Kings Island. For Summerfair, this was the congregating place for the vendors and crafters as well as a lost and found station. The building is being put to great use and is most definitely going to stick around. It was most recently used for a Memorial Day party this previous week:

 

The little fountain pool on the Lake Como side of the building once featured bubbling tubes, mimicking the fountains of Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark: below is a screenshot from the 1968 film "A Dream of A Park:"

This was no doubt influenced by Gary Wachs' 1963 trip to Europe. Today, however, the Tivoli fountain is gone, replaced in later years with simple cascading jets. Now it's empty and void of water, but it does not look like it's going anywhere anytime soon.

On a side note, if there's one feature I would love to see revived and replicated at Kings Island from Old Coney, it's the Tivoli fountain.

EDIT: A fun fact about Moonlite Pavillion/ Rides shelter is that it was replicated in smaller scale at Kings Island in 1972, housing the Dodgem and Cuddle Up. While the children's Whip ride, now called Linus' Beetle Bugs, made it to Kings Island, the full sized Whip gave its last rides on September 6, 1971 was presumably scrapped. Moonlite Pavilion's little sister building was demolished in 2017 to make way for Coney BarBQue. 

Rivergate and Lighthouse:

Steamboat travel was a common early method to reach Coney Island, dating back to its beginnings as Parker's Grove. Many steamers would land here and deliver passengers. Steamboat captain William F. McIntyre, who bought the property from James Parker in 1886 renaming it to the Coney Island we know it as today, ferried people from Cincinnati's Public Landing to the park on his ship the Guiding Star. Eventually others joined the mix. The Princess, Island Maid and even the Delta Queen. The most beloved and remembered, however, were the two Island Queens.

The river gate at Coney Island had seen several changes over the years, but the most iconic version, the one standing today, was built in 1925 using stones and rocks from the riverbank of the Ohio River. 

With the increased popularity of automobiles, and the disastrous explosion of the second Island Queen in Pittsburgh on September 9, 1947, guests would begin to drive to Coney Island. This would eventually lead to the problem of limited parking, a major factor in the development of Kings Island. 

**HERE TO STAY**

Following the press release in Spring of 2024, I sent a follow up email to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's CEO Jonathan Martin inquiring about the lighthouse and river gate. In a response email, Mr. Martin confirmed the preservation of the iconic river gate. 

"Current plans are to save the lighthouse and storey pole near the river which marks the many historic floods."

On top of this, I had received a double confirmation from an employee sitting near the river gate. She was preventing attendees from going down the ramp to the river as the Ohio River had risen overnight due to the large bouts of rain this past weekend.

I had a pleasant conversation with her regarding the future of the site. Which is a perfect transition to the information I'm sure most people are interested in.

Moonlite Gardens:

Built in 1925 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, Moonlite Gardens was the park's ballroom. In its heyday, Moonlite hosted some of the nations biggest acts. While Moonlite Gardens was built in 1925, the current New Orleans French Quarter style front entrance was built in 1947. The old band shell and dance floor was made from wood and had seen severe damage from years of flooding by the Ohio River. The band shell was demolished shortly after the opening of Kings Island in 1972. In its later life, Moonlite was used for wedding receptions and small concerts. 

**HERE TO STAY**

The employee I had talked to today confirmed that Moonlite Gardens isn't going anywhere. The Symphony had expressed interest in restoring the building, stating in response to my email inquiry: 

"The venue, its history and its use are aligned with our mission to serve the community through music."

With that said, the building is apparently in sorry shape. The floor has deteriorated and is crumbling and the building was denied an occupancy permit by the Cincinnati Fire Department a few years back as a result. But from the news that was shared with me, Moonlite Gardens is slated for restoration and preservation as the new amphitheater is taking shape.

Skill Games building/Hampton Court/ Moonlite Square:

Neighboring Moonlite Gardens on the shore of Lake Como, this building was designed by UC architect Darrell "Dusty" Daniels and constructed in 1966. This building is a steel frame structure and a brick exterior, designed in the French Normandy style of architecture. Complete with a slanted roof and a cupola with a clock tower, this building is probably one of my favorite buildings on the site. While the building was primarily used for Skill Games for the guests, the building also housed the Group Sales offices for the park. The offices inside the building are now occupied by MEMI, so this iconic beauty is definitely safe from the wrecking ball.

Sorry for the long post. I know it was packed with information, but I hope this helps answer some questions. There are a few photos that show land clearing beginning. I plan to share those as well. If need be, to cite my source, I can provide screenshots of the email I had received from the CSO last year.

 

[jbeast]

Thanks for sharing all those photos. It's nice to see they are planning on saving some of the iconic spots. I know progress happens, but it is so sad to see a place where I spent so many happy summer days like this.

I spent my summers so many years escaping from boring West Texas and having my amazing grandma cart me around to Coney, LeSourdsville (Americana), and Kings Island because she knew how much each of those places meant to me. It breaks my heart that The Screechin Eagle had such an unceremonious ending. Absolutely loved that coaster...rode it well over 100 times in one day (back when I could do that...ha!). I miss that park so much!

My family spent so many memorable summer days at Coney just in the rides section alone. Living on the east side of Cincy, it was a quick alternative to heading up to KI alot of times. Bumper cars off the hook, mini golf, The Python and so much more...such good times.

[BlondyRidesOn]

9 hours ago, jbeast said:

Thanks for sharing all those photos. It's nice to see they are planning on saving some of the iconic spots. I know progress happens, but it is so sad to see a place where I spent so many happy summer days like this.

I spent my summers so many years escaping from boring West Texas and having my amazing grandma cart me around to Coney, LeSourdsville (Americana), and Kings Island because she knew how much each of those places meant to me. It breaks my heart that The Screechin Eagle had such an unceremonious ending. Absolutely loved that coaster...rode it well over 100 times in one day (back when I could do that...ha!). I miss that park so much!

My family spent so many memorable summer days at Coney just in the rides section alone. Living on the east side of Cincy, it was a quick alternative to heading up to KI alot of times. Bumper cars off the hook, mini golf, The Python and so much more...such good times.

Growing up, I and my siblings were always Gold Pass holders to Kings Island, but a trip to Coney was always special because it was different. My mother loved it because it reminded her of her childhood before Taft moved the park to Kings Island in 1972. I loved it because of its connection to Kings Island. 

But the thing was for us, we only went to Coney for the rides during the "modern era." Having a local YMCA and Soak City/Boomerang Bay/Water Works a short distance from our house, my parents never saw the need to take us as we grew up. I did not get to step into Sunlite Pool until 2020; I had just barely finished college. My mom had not been in years by that time and my father rarely went when he was a kid because my grandparents had their own pool at their house. So most of our Coney memories were made on the Mall. To us, Coney was Moonlite Gardens, the Python, the Flying Bobs and early rides from my parents generation like the Tumble Bug the Whip and the Shooting Star; Sunlite Pool, at least to us, was just Sunlite Pool.

The pool didn't deserve the ending it got, with all that said. It was from an era where nobody had air conditioning, so large pools like that were an attractive investment for parks. I believe it was the last classic amusement park "mega pool" I guess you could say. In the early development of Kings Island, there were apparently discussions about reproducing Sunlite Pool in Mason. It was ultimately shot down because of the expense that would need to be paid. After all, it cost the Royal Fountain, which is a fraction of the size of Sunlite, $500,000 to complete on a $250,000 budget. The pool stayed open down on Kellogg Avenue and helped keep the park afloat when Taft couldn't sell the property. I often wonder how things would have been different if they had been successful in finding a buyer for the property back then? On one hand, Coney would have been lost a lot earlier than it had been. On the other hand, Taft probably could would have found the budget after Kings Island's 1972 inaugural season to move forward with moving the pool north as a "Phase 2" of the Kings Island Resort complex (WaterWorks would have come 16 years earlier than it did in real life).

As for the site today, it would be cool to see it transition into a community/city park in conjunction with the new Farmer's Music Center, something similar to Flushing Meadows Park in Queens after the 1964 World's Fair; the old buildings and park pavilions are reutilized and preserved for the next chapter. With the old park buildings getting a new lease on life, it would almost be as if Coney Island never actually closed. 

[burlguy41005]

Wow....great pictures and thank you for sharing....can't believe Farmer Family contributing to MEMI....cancelled my Cintas contract...