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Article: Coney Island survives ups and downs
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- September 21, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1997 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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NEW YORK - Coney Island has the smell of an underdog.
Even in autumn in New York, the aroma of workingman's sweat
drifts through the air around Nathan's hot dog stand, which has stood
for 81 years at the heart of America's spiciest playground. The
greasy odor slaps you in the face as you disembark from the D train
at the end of the line in Brooklyn.
On other days, the Atlantic Ocean breeze across the 12th Street
boardwalk cleanses the humble soul. Coney Island defies the winds of
change.
And it is an island only in name.
Dutch settlers bought the peninsula from Native Americans in
1654. The land was termed an island because of a tiny creek that
separated it from the rest of Brooklyn. ...