Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Is Tillie A Symbol Of Our Times???????????????????????


                                        I have to wonder, darlings, because, looking at Tillie he seems both welcoming and sinister, which is emblematic of our times.



                                         When Steeplechase Park was in vogue, back in the early days of Coney Island, in Brooklyn, Tillie was its symbol.  When the amusement area was redesigned and reconfigured, Tillie became the official symbol of Coney Island itself.  And he still is.



                                              But let me tell you something, girls.  I have seen his face on lampposts here in Bay Ridge, as well as on fire call phone booths, out here.  And years ago, when I was a child in New Jersey, and we would go to Asbury Park, there was this sea green arcade painted with designs on it, and I recognized the face, years later.  Tillie had made it all the way to Asbury Park.  Unfortunately, that building, like all my childhood memories of Asbury Park, has been demolished.



                                                But Tilly reigns supreme at Coney Island,


                                               And we even have a Tillie image in our apartment..



                                               But look closely at that face.  Times being what they are, it makes me wonder.



                                                Though I, of course, prefer the cheerful Tillie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2 comments:

  1. haha you’re not wrong, he somehow manages to be both welcoming AND sinister!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Victoria,
    From countless to Coney Island, I have always thought that, but only recnetly did I cnsider him a reflection on our times.

    ReplyDelete