page_title: Canarsie, Brooklyn
section_title: Fishing and amusement heyday
hierarchical_section_title: Canarsie, Brooklyn / History / Fishing and amusement heyday
caption_attribution_description: English: Nunley's Carousel at the Cradle of Aviation Museum, East Garden City, New York.
context_page_description: Canarsie is a mostly residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City, United States. Canarsie is bordered on the east by Fresh Creek Basin and East 108th Street; on the north by Linden Boulevard; on the west by Ralph Avenue; on the southwest by Paerdegat Basin; and on the south by Jamaica Bay. It is adjacent to the neighborhoods of East Flatbush to the west, Flatlands and Bergen Beach to the southwest, Starrett City to the east, East New York to the northeast, and Brownsville to the north.
  The area near Canarsie was originally settled by the Canarse Native Americans. The community's name is adapted from a Lenape word meaning "fenced area". After European settlement, Canarsie was initially a fishing community, but became a popular summer resort in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By the late 1930s and early 1940, the resorts had been destroyed, and Canarsie was developed as a largely white Italian American and Jewish suburb.
context_section_description: By the start of the 20th century, Canarsie was a bustling amusement district. Of the 50 buildings along the Canarsie bay shore, eighteen were hotels. Three ferry systems operated routes to Bergen Island, Barren Island, Rockaway Beach, and other destinations in Jamaica Bay. A fourth would start operations in 1915, but shuttered in 1918 after several unprofitable seasons.
  The Canarsie Line faced a steep drop in patronage in 1895, when frequent trolley service started operating to Coney Island. The line, which had operated a fleet of at least 10 vessels throughout its existence, stopped operating in 1905. The Canarsie Railroad, a subsidiary of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, acquired the Brooklyn and Rockaway Beach line north of Rockaway Parkway on May 31, 1906. The BRT then announced that it would build an elevated railroad to Canarsie. This spurred speculation of rapid real estate development in Canarsie. Residents started constructing water and sewer pipes, as well as paving roads, in anticipation of this new development. The route south of Rockaway Parkway became an electric trolley shuttle route.
  The 25-acre (10 ha) Golden City Amusement Park opened in May 1907 at what is now Seaview Avenue, near Canarsie Pier. The owners hoped that the five-cent fare of the Canarsie Railroad would draw riders who would otherwise pay 10 cents to go to the Coney Island amusement area. Golden City cost $1 million to build and included a miniature railroad, a dance hall, a roller skating rink, and a roller coaster. There was also a 300-foot-long (91 m) wooden shorefront promenade and a 2,500-seat theater with 7,000 electric lights. The buildings were adorned with silver and gold. Part of Golden City's appeal was that it was easily accessible from Manhattan via the elevated. In August of that year, the Golden City Construction was leased to the Canarsie Amusement Company, who planned to make the park one of the world's largest. In 1909, the park was severely damaged by a fire, which also destroyed two hotels. The park was completely rebuilt for the next season.
  Murphy's Carousel was created in 1912 by the Stein and Goldstein Artistic Carousell Company of Brooklyn and installed in Golden City Park. A writer for The New York Times later noted that "the horses were carved in Coney Island style, which eschewed the look of docile ponies and prancing fillies and produced much more muscular, ferocious creatures with bared teeth and heads often lifted in motion."
  After the end of World War I, the New York City Department of Docks started renting piers along the Canarsie shore. These piers were transformed into summer vacation houses, boardwalks, industrial buildings, railroads, and piers, among other purposes. Some piers were used by boat yards, clubs, and builders, while other piers were rented for an expansion of Golden City Park.
caption: Nunley's carousel, formerly located in Canarsie
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