While the Coney Island perched along the banks of the Ohio River is nowhere near as famous as the park in New York, it is still filled with a great deal of history. What was once a farmer's pasture that was used for picnics on day trips up the river, Coney grew into one of the bigger amusement parks in the country prior to World War II era. Though floods kept washing away the rides and stands, it continued to be re-built and kept growing each year. (There is a huge pole near the river that marks off the height of each massive flood.) By the late 1960s the owners knew that having to re-build the rides was growing too expensive and moved them north, away from the river and started Kings Island.
Coney battled on, using its swimming pool, the largest recirculating pool in the country, as its centerpiece. That pool, Sunlight, is famous not only for its size but for the fact that it was the first public pool to be fully integrated. Now, with just a handful of rides, the park is filled with people swimming in the pool and those attending various festivals and shows throughout the summer. Coney has also become a place where both of my sons have enjoyed summer jobs.
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