Luna By Night

 

Here are two views of the Electric tower at the end of the lagoon.  The view on the right shows the lagoon with the circus in place.  Edwin E. Slosson wrote in "The Independent" magazine, "Now, line by line, as we watch in the twilight, as if lit by an unseen taper, as if drawn by the architect on the darkness by a pen of fire, the building slowly appears, until with a final flash it stands like a glorified ghost of itself in the night." [July 21, 1904]  (Both photos courtesy of the Library of Congress)

 

These two views are from the top of the shoot-the-chutes.  The left postcard is the more accurate of the two, although the American flags were often added by the card's artist.  When it opened in 1903 Luna Park featured 250,000 lights and 100,000 of those were on the Electric tower.

 

The aerial swings fly behind one of the small towers pictured above.  The right image features two towers on the left hand side and a row of restaurant boxes on the right.  (Both photos courtesy of the Library of Congress)

 

The left photo shows the Dragon's Gorge and the main gate is visible in the distance.  The photo on the right is another view of Luna, this time closer to the entrance.  The park at night was amazing.  Russian writer Maxim Gorky said, "With the advent of night a fantastic city all of fire suddenly rises from the ocean into the sky.  Thousands of ruddy sparks glimmer in the darkness, limning in fine sensitive outline on the black background of the sky, shapely towers of miraculous castles, palaces and temples.  Golden gossamer threads tremble in the air.  They intertwine in transparent, flaming patterns, which flutter and melt away in love with their own beauty mirrored in the waters.  Fabulous beyond conceiving, ineffably beautiful, is this fiery scintillation." [The Independent: August 8, 1907]


The Front Gate

The Promenades

Luna Park

Inside the Park

The Rides

The Park's Animals

 

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Adam Sandy, Copyright 2002.