Steeplechase Park
Surf Ave. between W. 16 St. and W. 19 St., Public Beach
Brooklyn
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The opening of George C. Tilyou’s Steeplechase Park in 1897 marked the beginning of Coney Island’s era as “the Nation’s Playground” and the rise of the modern-day amusement park. Named in honor of Coney Island’s horseracing tradition, initiated by the Brighton Beach Racetrack in 1879, this site would lure crowds of up to an estimated ninety thousand people on a hot summer day during its peak years.