Dreaming of a thrilling ride on a historic carousel? Welcome to the story of the Feltman Carousel. This ride is part of Coney Island’s amazing history. It all began with a German immigrant named Charles Feltman. He arrived in New York in 1856. He was just fifteen years old.
Feltman’s journey started humbly. In 1867 he pushed a pie wagon through Coney Island’s sand dunes. Four years later he leased a small plot of land. He started building an empire. By the early 1900s Feltman’s empire covered a full city block. It included nine restaurants, a roller coaster and a carousel. There was also a ballroom and an outdoor movie theater. A hotel, beer garden, bathhouse and pavilion also found space there. A Tyrolean village, two enormous bars and a maple garden completed the picture.
By the 1920s Feltman’s Ocean Pavilion was huge. It served five million customers a year. It was billed as the world’s largest restaurant. Feltman is credited with inventing the hot dog on a bun. Legend says he wanted to avoid providing silverware and plates. So he put a sausage on a roll. The restaurant sold millions of ten-cent hot dogs each year. But it was better known for its shore dinner. This seafood plate included lobster, fish and oysters.
In 1916 a Feltman employee named Nathan Handwerker left. He started his own business nearby. Handwerker’s Nathan’s Famous soon eclipsed Feltman’s. It became a Coney Island icon. Charles Feltman died in 1910. His family ran the business. They sold the property in the 1940s. Dewey Albert and his son Jerry Albert bought the property in 1962. They gradually transformed it into Astroland Park.
One of Feltman’s kitchens remains. With its chimneys and tile floor it was used as an Astroland workshop. This lasted until the park closed in 2008. It was demolished in 2010. Before Nathan’s there was Feltman’s. The name Nathan’s is now synonymous with Coney Island. Feltman’s began in 1867 as a pushcart. Charles Feltman is considered the inventor of the hot dog on a bun.
Feltman decided to put his pork sausage on a bun. This helped him avoid providing plates and cutlery. The hot dogs were known as Coney Island red hots. They sold for ten cents each. President Taft and Diamond Jim Brady stopped by Feltman’s. Feltman’s lasted until 1954.
Michael Quinn a Coney Island historian brought Feltman’s back. In 2015 he started a pop-up Feltman’s. In 2017 Quinn’s Feltman’s of Coney Island Restaurant opened. It replaced the Cyclone Cafe. It also replaced a White Castle. The location was West 10th and Surf Avenue. This was the original Feltman’s location. Luna Park did not renew Quinn’s licensing agreement. Now you know the incredible story of the Feltman Carousel. It is connected to the origins of the Coney Island hot dog. Enjoy your ride.