The Wonderful world of Rockaway’s Playland

For all who grew up in the Rockaways remember Playland. Whether you were  very young with all your families your first time.  One can never forget this wonderful place. As  we grew older many of us went there to hang out as they use to say and just be there on a saturday with our own friends. Again it was a simpler time. For a few dollars we could be with our friends or by ourselves. Remembering All the smells and the grit of the place is another feeling of home.  I have been collecting photograph and postcards for over 30 years now . Its fun to put them all together for all to see this wonderful place. I hope you enjoy all your own memories.

Bruce Baumwoll

Click the photograph and it shall take you to a little film I did on Playland a few years ago

Click here to see my photographs of Rockaways Playland gallery.

Photo by Julie Wilson

Woody Allens : Radio Days

Click here to see my photographs of Rockaways Playland gallery.

The Iconic Photographs of Margaret Bourke-White

Below are a few of the iconic photographs of the great Margaret Bourke-White. I’ve always loved her photographs but when I came upon the aerial photograph of the Boardwalk of Edgemere – Far Rockaway Long Island from a 1954 Life Magazine,it set me on a course of discovery. I was amazed to learn that she began her photographic career in Cleveland, taking many photographs of my great city, from the steel mills to the gardens, bridges and buildings. I went deeper and discovered her lifetime of work which I fell in love with and now share with you.

The photos here and on my online archive are courtesy from the following books:

  • Margaret Bourke-White, The Photography of Design 1927-1936, Stephen Bennet Phillips
  • Margaret Bourke-White, Photographs 1904-1971, Introduction by Terrence Heath
  • Margaret Bourke-White, The Cleveland Years  1927-1930 , The New Gallery of Contemporary Art – Cleveland Ohio


Note: all captions are for photos from left to right
Oliver Chilled Plow
, Plow Blades 1930
Royal Typewriter 1932
Otis Steel, 200 Tons, Ladle 1928
Industrial Cable 1930

        

Lincoln Electric, Sparks 1929
International Harvester, Welding Parts 1933
Chesterfield Cigarette, Barrels, early 1930’s

New York City Archives 2

Here are some more of the photos from the New York Archives along with other  photographers photos. Each one of them will take you back to a place that once was filled with many of our memories. Time does not stand still.  Many of these places are still there . The times have changed and some of the views are new, but many are the same. The  part of the Rockaway’s that was destroyed by Robert Moses and  left to die is finding new life with new families as they discover the wonder of the sea and the wonderful  boardwalk. I still say there is no place like home. 

Photo By: Todd Berkun