CONEY

ISLAND  , an island about 9 M . S.E. of the S. end of Manhattan Island, U.S.A., on the S. shore of Long Island, from which it is separated by Gravesend Bay, Sheepshead Bay, Coney Island Creek, a tidal inlet, and a broad stretch of low salt marshes . It lies within the limits of the Borough of Brooklyn, New York city . The island is the westernmost of a chain of outlying sandbars that extends along the southern shore of Long Island for almost loo m.; it is about 5 M. long and varies from 4 m. to 1 m. in width . It is served by the Long Island railway, by several lines of electric railway, and (in summer) by steamboat lines . The island is the most popular seashore resort of the United States . There are four quite distinctly marked districts . At the extreme western extremity, Norton's Point, is the district known as Sea Gate, lying between Gravesend Bay and Lower New York Bay . It is an exclusively residential section, has a fine light-house, a large number of summer homes and the handsome club-house of the Atlantic Yacht Club . A broad shore drive connects it on the E. with West Brighton, the most popular amusement centre, to which the name Coney Island has come to be more especially applied . Its great scenic and spectacular features, " side-shows," booths, cafes and dancing halls, have made " Coney Island " a well-known resort . There are bathing beaches, two immense iron piers, observation towers, scenic railways, " Ferris " wheels, and the two amusement reservations known as " Luna Park " and " Dreamland." From West Brighton a broad parkway known as " the Concourse " connects with Brighton Beach, 4 m. to the E., passing the large bathing establishments maintained by the city of New York .

At Brighton Beach there are a large hotel, a

theatre and the Brighton Race Track . Still farther to the E., and extending to the eastern extremity of the island, lies Manhattan Beach, with hotels, a theatre and baths, and patronized more largely by a wealthier class of visitors . Adjacent to Manhattan Beach on the mainland, and separated from it by a narrow neck of Sheepshead Bay, lies the village of Sheepshead Bay, in which is the famous race track of the Coney Island Jockey Club .