Talk:Steeplechase Park

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The reference to "the Ferris Wheel" sounds odd today, since today "Ferris Wheel" is a generic term. However, at the time there was only one, so the article's use of the definite article is correct - it wasn't "a" Ferris Wheel, it was "the" Ferris Wheel. Merenta 15:39, 29 Oct 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Segregation

I removed this paragraph, entered by an anon:

The amusement park was always advertised as "George C. Tilyou's Steeplechase Park" even after Tilyou's death, and it retained his personal stamp. Tilyou had always maintained Steeplechase as a racially segregated attraction, refusing to admit any customers who were not Caucasian. This policy of segregation was deemed perfectly reasonable when the attraction first opened in 1897, but in the ensuing decades Tilyou's heirs found it increasingly difficult to justify the exclusion of non-white customers. The closure of Steeplechase came shortly after passage of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, requiring integration of all public attractions.

This is a rather remarkable charge. This is unsourced and I can find no source (including newspaper search) that says that Steeplechase ever had a policy of segregration as opposed to other public accomodation in New York City or Coney Island. I can say for a fact that there were no exclusions at the time of Steeplechase's closing, and the implication that Steeplechase closed because of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a remarkable piece of original research. -- Cecropia 06:44, 15 February 2006 (UTC)