Eleven prominent historians of New York City have signed a letter urging the preservation of several historic Coney Island buildings currently threatened with demolition by developer Thor Equities.

Among the endangered buildings are several dating back more than a century, including both the amusement district’s oldest building and the music hall where Harpo Marx first performed with his brothers Groucho and Gummo.

“We believe that these historic buildings should be preserved, restored and reused,” the historians write. “Together, these buildings and other historic structures could serve as a historic core for a new 21st-century amusement district, tying Coney Island’s future to its rich past.”

Signatories to the letter include Pulitzer Prize-winning historians Edwin Burrows and Mike Wallace (“Gotham”), official Brooklyn Borough Historian Ron Schweiger, New York architectural historian Francis Morrone, and leading Coney Island historians Charles Denson, Michael Immerso and John Kasson.

“Coney Island is an American treasure,” the historians conclude. “We must not allow its most valuable asset, its history, to be erased.”

The letter was released last week and sent to the chairman of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, Robert Tierney.

A coalition of Coney Island groups and leading preservationist organizations, including the Historic Districts Council, the New York Landmarks Conservancy, Coney Island USA and Save Coney Island have supported an effort to create a Coney Island Historic District. The Municipal Art Society and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz have also urged the preservation of the buildings now threatened with demolition by Thor.

Despite a recent letter from a staffer at the Landmarks Preservation Committee saying that the proposed historic district would not be referred to the full commission for consideration, Save Coney Island has vowed to continue the fight to protect Coney Island’s endangered heritage.

In recent weeks, Save Coney Island has mounted a sustained effort to protect Coney Island’s endangered historic buildings. On May 29, opening day of the new Luna Park, Save Coney Island led a walking tour highlighting Coney Island’s endangered history. On June 1, Save Coney Island issued renderings of what two of Coney Island’s endangered historic buildings would look like if they were preserved, restored and reused as part of a revitalized, 21st-century Coney Island. On June 2, the Daily News published an op-ed from Save Coney Island arguing that “preservation and redevelopment need not be at odds.”

“The architectural significance of the individual buildings should not be the only criteria for preservation. The surviving buildings along Surf Avenue, including Henderson’s Music Hall and the Grashorn Building embody Coney Island’s rich past.  The design renderings prepared for Save Coney Island demonstrate that these historic structures can be restored in a way that complements Coney Island’s revival,” said historian Michael Immerso, author of “Coney Island: The People’s Playground.”

“For the City’s goal of making Coney Island a year-round tourist destination to succeed, there must authentic landmarks from Coney’s past preserved to anchor the new amusement district,” Immerso added. “Something must be done to prevent the demolition of the buildings.  Mayor Bloomberg should immediately intervene.”

The full text of historians’ letter is after the jump:

Dear Chairman Tierney,

We are writing as historians, scholars and chroniclers of New York City, Brooklyn and Coney Island to urge you to take immediate action to protect and preserve the historic heritage of Coney Island’s amusement district.

Coney Island is a place of great national historic significance. It is the birthplace of the modern American amusement industry. Yet, as Coney Island USA founder Dick Zigun has noted: “There’s more left of ancient Rome than turn-of the century Coney Island.”

Today, many of Coney Island’s few remaining historic buildings are in danger. Developer Thor Equities has announced that it plans to immediately begin demolishing the buildings it owns along the south side of Surf Avenue.

Among the structures believed to be in imminent danger are:

• The Grashorn Building (built in the 1880s), the Coney Island amusement district’s oldest surviving building.
• The Henderson Music Hall Building (built circa 1899), where Harpo Marx first publicly performed with his brothers Groucho and Gummo.
• The Shore Hotel (built in 1903), Coney Island’s last surviving small hotel
• The Bank of Coney Island Building (built in 1923), a classical revival structure that testifies to Coney Island’s past prosperity.

We believe that these historic buildings should be preserved, restored and reused. Together, these buildings and other historic structures could serve as a historic core for a new 21st-century amusement district, tying Coney Island’s future to its rich past.

We urge you to listen to the Municipal Art Society, which recently stated: “…much of the public appeal of Coney Island lies in its heritage, and there is great public support for preserving the best of Coney’s past while building new buildings and rides on the acres of vacant land that currently exist. MAS believes that steps should be taken to protect the historic buildings that remain at Coney, including those that are threatened by demolition this summer.”

We urge you immediately to consider these endangered buildings individually for landmarking. We also urge you to support a Coney Island landmark district that would include these and other historic buildings along the Surf Avenue corridor.

Coney Island is an American treasure. We must not allow its most valuable asset, its history, to be erased.

Thomas Bender

University Professor of the Humanities and Professor of History, New York University

Michele H. Bogart

Professor of Art, SUNY Stony Brook

“Politics of Urban Beauty: New York and Its Art Commission”

Edwin Burrows

Co-author, “Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898”

(Winner of 1999 Pulitzer Prize in History)

Distinguished Professor of History, Brooklyn College

Charles Denson

“Coney Island: Lost and Found”

Richard Haw

“The Brooklyn Bridge: A Cultural History”

Associate Professor of English, John Jay College

Michael Immerso

“Coney Island: The People’s Playground”

John Kasson

“Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century”

Professor of History and American Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Francis Morrone

“An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn”

Barnet Schecter

“The Battle for New York”

Ron Schweiger

Brooklyn Borough Historian

Mike Wallace

Co-author, “Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898”

(Winner of 1999 Pulitzer Prize in History)

Distinguished Professor of History, CUNY Graduate Center

Institution names are for identification purposes only.