Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island

3045 West 22nd Street | Coney Island | built 2019

Open on the map4 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1923

    Childs Restaurant is built on the Coney Island Boardwalk

    The Childs Restaurant building on the Riegelmann Boardwalk was originally constructed in 1923. It was renovated decades later when it was converted into an outdoor concert venue, the Ford Amphitheater, with the restaurant's rooftop and main dining areas reopening in 2016 and 2017.

    Source: Wikipedia

  2. 2013

    Marty Markowitz's plan to turn the Childs building into a concert venue wins City Council approval

    Planning for an amphitheater at the Childs building began in 2012, driven largely by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who had long wanted a permanent home for the summer concert series he had sponsored for 35 years. The City Council approved the plan just days before his term ended on the last day of 2013. Community opposition included worries about noise, traffic and the area's slow recovery from Hurricane Sandy.

    Source: Wikipedia

  3. 2014

    Community gardeners sue the city over land beside the Childs building

    In 2014, gardeners who had tended land next to the building for 16 years sued the city, arguing the plot had been designated parkland and could not legally be taken for other purposes. The city replied that the park had been decommissioned in 2004. Coney Island's community board rejected the redevelopment plan and pressed for a community benefits contract guaranteeing jobs for local residents, but it lacked the power to stop the project.

    Source: Wikipedia

  4. 2016

    July 1

    The amphitheater's first show is Impractical Jokers, followed by Peter Gabriel, Sting and the Beach Boys

    The venue opened in June 2016, and its first show was Impractical Jokers on July 1. Peter Gabriel and Sting performed on July 3, and the Beach Boys, with John Stamos as a special guest, played on July 4. Later acts that first season included Culture Club, Travis Scott, 311, Counting Crows, Widespread Panic, Willie Nelson and the Hollywood Vampires.

    “The first show at the newly opened venue was the Impractical Jokers on July 1, 2016. This was followed by performances by Peter Gabriel and Sting on July 3…”

    Source: Wikipedia

Further reading

Nearby

All 12 buildings with stories in Coney Island