William F. Mangels: Amusing the Masses on Coney Island and Beyond

William F. Mangels: Amusing the Masses on Coney Island and Beyond

Speaker: Jeff Richman
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
6:30 p.m.

Mechanic and inventor, William F. Mangels rose from teenage immigrant to the leading manufacturer of amusement park rides in the U.S. in the early 20th century. His original rides are legendary — The Whip, The Tickler, The Wave Pool. Even a ride called, amazingly, The Human Roulette Wheel. Mangels’ imagination was unmatched, and he had the mechanical prowess to not only dream up these amusements, but make them a reality, too. And his tweaks of existing rides — like the carousel horse, which he transformed from a static statue into a galloping horse — were marked by genius. Lecturer Jeff Richman, Green-Wood’s Historian, is the curator of William F. Mangels: Amusing the Masses on Coney Island and Beyond, an exhibition on view from September 7 through October 26, 2014 at Green-Wood.

LOCATION: Dominican Academy, 44 East 68th Street, New York, NY 10065
ADMISSION: Free; no reservations required. Seating is limited and early arrival is recommended. The Victorian Society New York cannot guarantee seating after 6:30 p.m.