The People’s Playground is coming to the people’s burying ground.
An exhibition opening Sept. 7 at Green-Wood Cemetery will celebrate one of the resting place’s most amusing permanent residents — William Mangels, who manufactured and invented some of the world’s most quintessential amusement park rides right in Coney Island. The German immigrant made a lasting impression on the masses that reached far beyond Sodom by the Sea, according to the cemetery’s historian.
“His legacy is fun and thrills,” said resident history buff Jeff Richman. “People relate to his creations because they’re part of their experience. It’s universal.”
Mangels came to Coney in the late 1800s as a teenager, when the area was awash in park and rides. He soon opened a machine shop that manufactured parts for shooting galleries, and by the early 20th century, he was making all manner of amusing mechanics in his West Eighth Street factory.
“He dedicated his life to making these machines,” Richman said.
Some of his most famous inventions include the Tickler, the Whip, and the Human Roulette Wheel. But he is also credited with innovating the carousel, adding the up-and-down motion that mimics a horse’s gallop.
Mangels’ company, which was run by his descendents until 1983, made rides for parks all around the world, but many of his customers were close to home. And some are even still in use today, such as the Fire Engine and Pony Cart rides in Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park.
“His rides were all over Coney Island,” Richman said. “But they were also all over the country. And all over the world.”
The Green-Wood exhibit will feature pieces of original Mangels-made machines, including a fire engine car, a Whip car, and a speed boat. It will also include drawings of his inventions and videos of his rides in operation. The Coney Isand History Project is a co-sponsor of the event, and Green-Wood raised $18,509 to help fund the exhibit with a successful Kickstarter campaign.
“William F. Mangels: Amusing the Masses on Coney Island and Beyond,” which is being displayed in the cemetery’s historic chapel, will also include an operating antique shooting gallery — but unfortunately, visitors will not be able to give it a shot, Richman said.
“That’s where we draw the line,” he said. “There’s stained glass behind it, that would be a problem.”
“William F. Mangels: Amusing the Masses on Coney Island and Beyond,” at Green-Wood Cemetery [500 25th St. at Fifth Avenue in Greenwood Heights, (718) 210–3080, www.green-wood.com]. Sept. 7–Oct. 26, noon–6 pm. $5. Free for members of the Green-Wood Historic Fund and the Brooklyn Historical Society.
