Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-07-08

=
Coney Island is the greatest watering-place In
| the world. 1t is In full motion now. and on the
beginning of what is destined 10 be its most sue
cesSful season. The day is counted bad that does
not see more than 700 visitors and the hotel
proprietorS shake their heads gloomily If there is
room for chair on the acres OF piazza, and
| claim that patronage is light. The beach is in
| some places thing Of the past. 1 remember ten
years ago when there was a stretch o. white sand
nearly an eighth OF mile broad between the rail-
road depots and the. waves. Now there is almost
| no beach at ali in some places. At the Oriental
or instance, the huge promenade platform runs
rom the piazza steps straight to the ocean, where
| ends in dock. The same thing is at Manhattan
| beach, and Brght0ns water line has encroached
| SO much on the hotel that formidable bu,khead
has been built to keep back the sea. Al
| deal OF the genuine old beach. Everything is at
| the West End. The Would-be ariStocratic gentle
| men, who have of late taken to wearing thalr
coatSOf-armS on their fobS. are the jealous adhR-
rents OF the extreme eastern end-the Oriental.
| They may be seen here In the most astoundngly
with white duck overgaiters and grotesaue English
derby hats that look large enough for three men.
They talk in the affected English lingo and stare
retained with palpable difficulty in the right eye.
| They consider music a bore and bathing vulgar,
| ers and suck the ends OF their sticks. They
change their clothes five six times day and are
proportionately happy.
| THE FEMININE PORTION
OF the regular guests at the Oriental are quite as
exclusive. They dress deliberately and reclne in
| dOlently on the piazza all day long There are
some really good people at the Oriental, but the
| majority OF them are great snobS. A little more
than quarter OF mile west OF the Oriental Is the
| Manhattan Beach hotel, with its thousands upOn
thousands OF feet or p1ZZas and dining rooms, and
| its immense promenade, running from the hotel
| to the water. There is an immense band with a
cornet soloist and a gigantic bathing pavilion.
The class OF people that frequent Manhattan Beach
| Is the best on the island. They are mostly New
| Workers. and they enjoy themselves by eating,
drinking, looking at the fireworks and listening to
| the music The costumes OF the ladies are often
very elaborate and costly, and it is considered
| quite the thing to wear evening dress at dinner.
Very little bathing is INDUCED In after II O'Clock
in the morning. Before that hour the regular
and the ladies get an opportunity for e8,
| hibtting various degrees or charming figures
suits ending in silken caps and bare arms at one
| end and open work stockings and sandals at the
| other. The men wear single garment, which is
| nothing but the familiar swimming tights,
| elongated so as to reach the shoulders and knees
| 1t was pronounced Indecent at first, but people
| have become used to it. Tens of thousands OF
| excursiOnists arrive during the day and depart
before nightfall at the Manhattan, but the select
character OF the beach Is well sustained There is
dances always bring the people that the Man.
! haitian folks don't want.
| WHO THEY ARE.
refer to the class Of beautiful and brilliantly
|
and exist without visible means Of support
| They always attend hotel balls, and as they can't
be excluded 1t has been found the better plan not
to give the balls and thus circumvent them. There
| are only two ways tQ get to Manhattan Beach, by
| its railroad or by the little marine railway that
| connects 1t with Brighton. 1t is impossible to
drive there as Sheepshead bay stretches out back
| or the hotel. The lttle5 railway l mention is
| almost toy. 1t runs along the beach about $50
1eet from the oceans edge and carries such eXCur-
S1on1stS as choose to leave Brighton to Manhat-
tan Beach Brighton, however, IS the great place.
1t is at the sea end OF the magnificent boulevard
| that runs from Brooklyn to the ocean. 1t Is very
fashionable to drive down from New York and
Brooklyn, and there is constant moving mass on
1air days OF coaches, dog carts, road wagons, VIC
toras, phsetons, buggies, and indeed all sorts Of
vehicles Whirl1ng down to the sea-
AT BRIGHTON.
Everything at Brighton realizes the American
idea at bigness. Even the prices excel all others
| consume soupe so cents-steak for one $3.50
two chops 81, and so on. The bathing pavilion is
enormous, and the bathing very funny. Levy, the
great cornetist is here fanked by tremendous
| military band. The throng is mixed to the last
drives down in almost regal style, is jostled on the
prominade by the very lowest OF B0wery concert
sal keepers and his naughty wife brushes
portion of the crowd is made up of
respectable people in every sense of the word, and
there Is lots OF fun there. One OF the most
ticeable features is the young man and woman
| from the big city dry goods houses. l used to
wonder often oyer these people, glancing into
| Taylor's. / was often at loss to know what the
two or three thousand young men and women did
they go to Brighton. The young man usually
dresses in way that makes your heart ache
He is most to be found n blue q
patent-leather slippers on his feet, and very,
very small hat perched On his head, tipped very
ltnen and is fond Of flarring scars. He usually
smokes cigarettes, and cultlvates the impression
that he is one of the "boys'-a heightened young
man from New York taking an outing at Brighton.
He is usually very anxious to appear blaSe, ana
drinks what he calls 'sbeah." The girl who accom-.
panies him is of greater variety and much more
attractive qualities. She is nearly always pretty
and is consumed with the desire, however crudey
carried out. to appear "ladylke." She is oftenest
! found in those pretty Newport dresses, made of
blue stuff with bars OF black braid running across
| the front She often has really beautiful figure;
| though, alas, her back Is sometimes bent from
bending over those horrible sewing machines She
| wears pretty hat-etther small Langtry or one
| OF those big Gainsboros In desgn-and her short
skirt reveals tOlerably small feet in shoes usually
run over at the SIDE She Is very fond OF mitts and
Jewelry and stares with insatiate intensity at the
| fashionable women, who are another feature Of
| Brighton There are few children there, but
they are usually In charge OF maids and kept out
side OF the limits Of the great crowd People
| there are occasionally exhibitions Of fireworks
that are uncommonly attractive. The big, black
ocean makes good background for the pyrotech-
But If visitor wishes to see Coney Island proper
| ne must go where everyone but the advanced ariS-
| tocratS or the Oriental goes, to
THE GREAT WEST END.
| 1t is the peoples section. hundred thousand
excursionists, unrestricted by the laws of proprI-
| ETY. and custom, and bent only on having a good
| time, make the west end rushing pandemonium
from morning till night 1t is impossible not to
be amused by something or other. Every few
minutes train will come putting into some OF the
! numerous depotS and send a thousand fresh visit
0rs heller SHELTER over the island, or huge steam
boat will swing up to one OF the great iron piers
and liberate two thousand more anxious excur-
sion1stS The water Is thick with batherS OF every
kind from the slip Of girl of seven years old who
| goes dangerously deep to the 800 pound woman
bulgtng balloon like from suit Intended for
school girl who stands ankle deep and screams
| like mixed octave OF antiquated fog horns. An
other crowd Is to be found night and day 1900
strong in beer pavilion OF the most extensive
proportions. conglOmeration Of German bands
grind out the most deafening music, and perSpir.
Ing German walters fly about like clumsy Mer-
| curyS with aprons held In one hand and huge
trays OF beer carried aloft In the other The pat
ronS sit at small tables and drink at the beer. You
have probably heard OF COney Island beer and may
| lay the hattering JUNCTION on your soul that you
know what it is, but you don't In the first place,
1t Is not all foam. has been said, or, at least, it
| doesn't impress you that way when the German
waiter circles 1t six times around your head and
brings 1t down with a crash on the table. 1t has
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