One Sunday in 1900, thousands of miles away from San Valentino, Torio, Italy, some
people from Coney Island had heard a sermon about faith being “…as the grain of a
mustard seed.” On the way home from St. Finbar’s Roman Catholic Church one of the
party called out, “If our faith is loyal, behold our church already built!” As he
spoke, he rubbed off a dirty pane of glass to show the interior of a disused dance
hall, once known as the “Palm Garden,” the home of a thousand spiders and sparrows.
Early in the summer, a priest on the Italian missions in Brooklyn sent a little brass
medal of Our Lady of Solace from San Valentino, Torio, Italy, to the household of
the man who had spotted the possible site and had made a petition for a chapel.
Months passed and the committee continued its work. Once, a group of Italian children
was sent to the Bishop’s house with a bouquet of flowers and this message. “To our
dear Father, the Bishop, begging him not to forget his Coney Island children.” Then,
in October 1900, the long-awaited priest arrived: Brooklyn-born Reverend Joseph Francis
Brophy, D.D., who was later nicknamed “The Apostle of Coney Island.”
When Dr. Brophy (he preferred to go by his educational title of “Doctor” as opposed
to the ecclesiastical title of “Father”) was shown the dance hall he hastened to
get permission to adapt it to its new uses. An army of small boys dislodged the tenant
spiders and sparrows. Everything was then washed down. Benches from a nearby park
were set in order to be used as pews. Two saloon screens marked off the sacristy.
The confessional was a nightmare. It was made of reversed billboards and on the “wrong
side” depicted astonishing feats of jugglers and told of the desirable qualities
of a certain brand of beer. An old chest was turned on its side to serve as a temporary
altar. The Altar Society brought linens, candles and vestments for the celebration
of Mass. On November 4, 1900 on the Feast of St. Charles Borromeo the first Mass
of Our Lady of Solace Parish was celebrated in the newly decorated former dance hall.
The old, abandoned Palm Garden had become the first church of Our Lady of Solace
in Coney Island. However, in the spring of 1901, it became obvious that a more suitable
and a centralized location for the church was necessary. Dr. Brophy realized that
God’s work had to take in the crowds that surged to Coney Island from every tribe
and nation or the church and parish would fail. He envisioned the growth of a work
that would make Coney Island the place of national pilgrimage for the souls in purgatory,
for whose comfort Our Lady bears the “solace.” He selected some lots on 17th Street
on the corner of Mermaid Avenue which provided a direct route to the city. Unfortunately,
the lots were not for sale. So, in his usual manner, Dr. Brophy prayed. Shortly thereafter,
a lady donated to him one of the lots, and by May of 1901, twenty-six lots in all
belonged to Our Lady of Solace Parish. With the land finally acquired, the problem
then was how to move the church building. It was lifted off its foundation and mounted
on rollers. Unfortunately, as it was being transported from the Nassau Depot to its
new location on Mermaid Avenue, it got stuck halfway through the route! As it was
unable to reach its planned destination, the church was put down at a temporary location
on Railroad Avenue.
On the day of the re-opening of Our Lady of Solace Church, a great wind had caused
the Flip-Flop Railway, which was Coney Island’s first “Loop-the-Loop” ride, to collapse.
The timbers were saved by Steeplechase Park founder and owner George C. Tilyou for
Dr. Brophy, who used them to erect a small tower and belfry. This housed the fire
bell that originally rang from the tower of the first Steeplechase Park. On the bell
were engraved the following words:
WE LIVE FOR THOSE WHO LOVE US
FOR THOSE WHOSE HEARTS ARE TRUE
FOR THE GOD THAT REIGNS ABOVE US
AND THE GOOD THAT WE MAY DO.
Our Lady of Solace Church had indeed grown strong since its humble beginnings. Bishop
McDonnell, seeing that the people of Coney Island were in earnest, presented the
little church with a piece of baked stonework, which was a copy of the statue of
Our Lady of Consolation in San Valentino. It is a group of six figures which form
an allegorical picture; angels are represented beside our Lady and her Son, breaking
the chains of the captive souls in Purgatory.
In September 1905, Dr. Brophy, in poor health, was sent to Rome by the Bishop. He
visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation at San Valentino, Torio, Italy. At
this time, Dr. Brophy also received the privilege of a private interview with Pius
X. Bishop Mundelein, then a young priest, was present at the interview which he
tells about in these words…
“KNEELING AT THE FEET OF HIS HOLINESS, FATHER BROPHY ASKED HIM TO GRANT AN EXTRAORDINARY
PRIVILEGE TO HIS CHURCH, BEGGING THAT OUR LADY OF SOLACE BE MADE A SHRINE IN PERPETUITY
WITH SPECIAL INDULGENCES FOR ALL WHO VISIT IT. HIS HOLINESS LISTENED WHILE FATHER
BROPHY SPOKE OF THE MANIFOLD AMUSEMENTS OF CONEY ISLAND AND OF HIS LITTLE CHURCH
SET SO NEAR THE HEART OF ALL THE RUSH AND GLARE. THEN THE HOLY FATHER SMILED: ‘IF
THE PEOPLE WILL TURN ONLY A MOMENT FROM PLEASURE TO PRAYER LET THEM BE REWARDED.”
Thus, Dr. Brophy’s request was granted. Our Lady of Solace Church became the Shrine
Church of Our Lady of Solace, a recognized Roman Shrine with the privilege of the
Portiuncula Indulgence. It is truly ironic and unique that the island of pleasure,
the playground of the world, was the very place chosen for the special remembrance
of the souls in purgatory.
In 1925, Dr. Brophy’s dream of a magnificent permanent church building and parish
complex was finally realized under the administration of the parish’s second pastor:
Rev. Walter Kerwin, late of St. Sebastian’s R.C. Church in Woodside, Queens. The
Shrine Church of Our Lady of Solace, as it stands today, was erected at the site
located on the northwest corner of West 17th Street and Mermaid Avenue. A tasteful
combination of the best of overall Romanesque, Tuscan roof and Neapolitan brick styles
with grand apse mosaics honoring the Holy Trinity, and an ornate gold-leaf tooled
wood ceiling brought to the church a spacious, ornate and acoustically perfect structure.
The overall atmosphere brought to the near cathedral-sized structure the prayerful
intimacy of a small country church. Stations of the Cross, hand-painted in fine
oil paints with almost photographic renderings surround the church interior on its
walls between its colorful leaded stained glass windows. Its historic tracker organ,
originally built in 1865 by Odell and rebuilt in 1884 by Hilborne Roosevelt for the
Second Reformed Church of New Brunswick, New Jersey, was acquired from the Second
Reformed in 1924, the year before the new church’s completion. An entire parish
campus was constructed that included a school and convent (that still stand today),
and a magnificent spired neo-Gothic three-story rectory on a hill occupied the space
between the church and school. Built on the corner of Mermaid Avenue and West 19th
Street, the structure pre-dated the church by a few years. It was adjacent to the
school and church sites whose construction commenced in 1924.
Attached to the church building with its baptismal chapel in its base was an imposing
185-foot tower that could be seen from miles away. Its Meneely-powered chimes consisting
of massive fire bells were donated by the New York City Fire Department and the Tilyou
family, owners of Coney Island’s greatest and last surviving of its original three
great theme parks, “Steeplechase, the Funny Place.”
Sadly, Dr. Brophy never lived to see the fulfillment of his work. The energetic and
devoted young founder and pastor died of pneumonia in September of 1908 at the age
of 39. A plaque honoring Dr. Brophy was moved from the original church to the lobby
of the current church during its dedication Mass where it remains today.
Over the decades, the destinies of the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Solace and America’s
Playground would be inevitably intertwined. Coney Island lost Dreamland to a massive
fire in 1911. In 1944, Luna Park from Surf Avenue to Neptune Avenue suffered the
same fate. The surviving section of the park from Neptune Avenue to the subway yard
continued to operate for the remainder of the season; then it, too, closed. During
the decades of the fifties, sixties and seventies (the era of Robert Moses’ much-vilified
“urban removal”), Coney Island spiraled into decline as poverty, drugs and gang violence
took over the streets. With devotion and defiance, the Shrine Church of Our Lady
of Solace continued to stand against these elements. By 1964, its great chimes had
been silent for nearly a decade. Through the longtime devotion and generosity of
the Tilyou family to the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Solace, they were restored
that spring for the annual "Catholic Day." However, the escalating crime and gang
violence, as well as the overwhelming competition from Robert Moses' 1964 New York
World's Fair was too much to overcome and the great "funny place," Steeplechase,
closed forever. Moses' triumph was complete; he had successfully helped eliminate
the last of the great Coney Island theme parks. At the moment of its closing, two
bells sounded that indicated the passage of time, and the numerous lights went out
for the last time. In 1965, the Tilyou family sold the park to developer Fred Trump,
who then subleased some of the property to small independent ride operators and concessionaires.
Trump (who was pushing for luxury hotels, high-rise low-income apartments - much
as he did to the Luna Park site - and legalized casinos on the site) demolished the
abandoned and historic Pavilion of Fun and its surroundings in the pre-dawn hours
of one morning in September 1966. He discovered that the City Council and the Department
of the Interior would protect it as a city and national historic landmark later that
day. The new, temporary Steeplechase Park opened in 1966. It was “Steeplechase” in
name only; much of it wasn’t even on the original Steeplechase site and the ride
for which it was named was gone with the Pavilion of Fun. The facility was generally
rundown in comparison to the clean, sparkling theme park of the Tilyou era. Unable
to secure zoning changes, Trump sold the site the the City of New York. The former
Avis Antique Car ride from the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair also arrived with some
of the Fair's light fixtures and was reconstructed at the boardwalk end of the Thunderbolt;
it died in 1968. Two of the three remaining great historic rollercoasters, the Tornado
and the Thunderbolt, survived for a few more years. The Tornado was claimed by fire
in 1978; its location is now a vacant lot. With the final closing of the the Parachute
Jump in 1968 and the historic Thunderbolt in 1983, this sad incarnation of Steeplechase
Park was gradually abandoned and completely closed. In 2000, the abandoned Thunderbolt
was suddenly condemned and demolished by the City Buildings Department as “unsafe”
on the orders of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (he saw it an “eyesore” next to the new Keyspan
Park), just before the City Council was about to meet with property owner Horace
Bullard and consider landmark status and funding for restoration and new operation.
Fortunately, were two bright spots that kept classic amusements from leaving Coney
Island forever in spite of the City’s efforts to wipe them out completely. One was
the establishment of Astroland Park in 1962, built on the site of the old Feltman’s
Hot Dog Emporium, by Dewey and Jerome Albert. The Albert family later took over
management of the National Historic Landmark Cyclone rollercoaster in 1974 after
it was purchased by the City of New York. The other was when Tarrytown pushcart
vendor, entrepreneur, restaurateur, and very frequent Coney Island vacationer Denos
Vourderis purchased and saved the former Ward’s Kiddie Park in 1981. In 1983, he
purchased the Garms family’s great Wonder Wheel as “…a wedding present to his wife
- a ring so big, everyone in the world would see how much he loved her - a ring that
would never be lost.” Together, they form the ever-popular Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement
Park.
During the late 1960's, the aging rectory of Our Lady of Solace on the northeast
corner of Mermaid Avenue and West 19th Street had become more and more difficult
and increasingly expensive to maintain. The rectory building and its manmade hilltop
were eventually razed and replaced with a new building on West 17th Street adjacent
to the convent. The main church parking lot now occupies the original site. The
185-foot bell tower had major structural issues; it was top-heavy and its foundation
had been built too shallow to support the weight of the massive belfry as well as
its total height. In 1989, the bells were removed and sold. Its ornate belfry as
well as its top 100 feet were razed, but the lower portion was saved and still stands
today. The original 1884 Roosevelt tracker organ had become far too expensive to
maintain and repair. After 1969, it was rarely used and the passing decades of neglect
and decay ultimately rendered it unplayable. Our Lady of Solace School was shuttered
in 2003; the auditorium/gymnasium is still used by the parish for special events,
and some classrooms for the Sunday Religious Education program.
From the dawn of the 1990’s (and especially over the first decade of the new millennium),
Coney Island has experienced a reversal of its fortunes as new generations have discovered
the remaining landmark amusements and a rich history. The annual Mermaid Parade draws
more than a million people annually, evoking memories of George Tilyou and Steeplechase.
The New York Mets’ minor league Brooklyn Cyclones baseball team plays at MCU Park
(formerly Keyspan Park; the name disappeared when it was absorbed by National Grid).
The sparkling new modern subway terminal greets visitors as they arrive, its facade,
spires and running exterior lights patterned after the Surf Avenue entrance to old
Luna Park. The National Historic Landmark Cyclone rollercoaster and Deno’s ever-popular
Wonder Wheel continue to thrill visitors. The original Nathan’s at the corner of
Surf and Stillwell Avenues still turns out its gastronomic delights and has visitors
holding their stomachs during its nationally-televised Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Garguilo’s Restaurant, Coney Island’s “Cathedral of Italian Dining”, continues to
prepare the finest in Italian cuisine as it has for a century. The famed Steeplechase
Parachute Jump (“Coney Island’s Eiffel Tower”) has been painstakingly structurally
restored and stands proudly at the foot of Keyspan Park, once the site of the Pavilion
of Fun and the World’s Largest Swimming Pool. It is hoped that it will one day thrill
new generations as an operating ride. Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park will remain;
the land under the former Ward’s Kiddie Land was sold to the City of New York which
leased it back to Deno’s. Astroland, whose properties also were sold to Joseph Sitt
and Thor Equities in 2006, was finally closed permanently on September 7, 2008 and
demolished in early 2009. Only the AstroTower remained. Carol Hill Albert and family
do continue to operate the city-owned Cyclone rollercoaster and proudly maintain
and operate it to the highest standards for safety in the amusement industry. Ringling
Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus arrived in the summer of 2009 with the spectacular
Coney Island Boom-A-Ring, its first time hitting the famous Riegelman Boardwalk in
its 139-year history. Major Prime Meats, source of Coney Island history between cuts
of the best and finest meats, and a long-time landmark on Mermaid Avenue in the same
building since 1932, finally closed on February 28, 2009 after an amazing seventy-seven
year run. The beach itself is still greets millions of sunbathing visitors every
summer. New pavilions, reminiscent of the buildings that once stood prior to the
1960s, have been built along the Boardwalk and the old classic ornate cast-iron street
lamps (some mothballed originals and others perfect replicas) have made their return
to the Boardwalk after an absence of nearly five decades. With the sale of seven
acres of Thor property along the boardwalk to the City of New York, the summer of
2010, the first section of a new incarnation of the long-lamented Luna Park. It will
open on Memorial Day on the former Astroland site, its brilliant entrance facade
of crescent moon logos, ornate towers and lights recreated after the original on
Surf Avenue. (In a strange twist of irony, it will face directly across the street
from the location of the original Luna Park.) Many of its new thrill rides will
be unique to Coney Island, and the last piece of Astroland, the shuttered AstroTower,
is slated to be restored and operational within Luna Park. In 2011, another new theme
park, Scream Zone, will make its debut.
All through these changes to the Coney Island area, the Shrine Church of Our Lady
of Solace continues to stand proudly as it serves its parishioners and community.
An impressive digital carillon emulates the great chimes of the past and emits
from the church tower. A newly-installed (2004) Rodgers digital organ adds to the
glory and spirit of the Mass. Two adult choirs (English and Spanish) and a youth
choir serve as the foundation of a growing, energetic devotional music ministry.
The 11:00 A.M. Sunday Mass brings the beauty of the Spanish language and customs
of our newest citizens and parishioners to worship. The many prayerful and occasionally
festive processions through Coney Island started by Dr. Brophy continue today. The
Pastoral Planning Council and Liturgical Committee promote parishioner involvement
in all aspects of the parish’s mission. The Our Lady of Solace Baseball League reaches
out to the youth of the community through the pride of team spirit and athletic competition
on the athletic grounds of Steeplechase Park and the ballfields of Kaiser Park. A
parish hymn to our Blessed Mother petitions her to help the least fortunate among
us, to aid in the growth of the parish and its ministries; it has become an additional
source of pride for its parishioners. More and more visitors who once simply “passed
by” on the way to the shore are stopping to come in and discover (or rediscover)
the beautiful church and stop in to pray or attend Mass. The annual Palm Sunday Passion
Play, staged by the youth of the parish, draws people from all over the region to
be moved by its profound beauty each Palm Sunday. The once-shuttered Our Lady of
Solace School has been leased by the New York City Board of Education and has reopened
as Liberation High School. Like Coney Island itself, and through the tireless efforts
of its current pastor, Rev. Patrick J. West, the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Solace
has rediscovered its vitality and looks to a promising future in our Lord’s service.
One hundred and ten years since its founding by Dr. Brophy in abandoned dance hall,
the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Solace continues to thrive and serves as an important
focal point in a reviving community. Also, in keeping with Dr. Brophy’s dream and
the words of Pope Pius X, the souls in Purgatory are not forgotten. On the third
Sunday of every month, a special Purgatorial Mass is offered for all enrolled in
the Purgatorial Society of Our Lady of Solace.
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