Epidural Injections in Midland Beach

Midland Beach became a resort by the 1890s when the Staten Island Railway’s South Beach Branch came to nearby Wentworth Avenue, where there were transfers to trolleys serving the area. It contained a 1,700-foot (520 m) pier jutting into the Atlantic Ocean, where visitors could catch the steamboat William Story to the Battery at the tip of Lower Manhattan. The pier was so long that the Midland Beach Railway Company operated a miniature railroad to take fishermen and other visitors to the end of the pier. Around 1900, there was a disagreement between operators of Midland Beach and the town to the south, Woodland Beach, due to the pier’s location close to the border between the towns. A fence along the beach was repeatedly erected and torn down, and the dispute was only resolved several years later.

Nevertheless, Midland Beach became a popular destination, easily visible from Coney Island across the Lower New York Bay, and fireworks from Coney Island could be seen from Midland Beach at night. Like South Beach, it offered theater performances, a beach, picnicking areas, snack kiosks, an “Aquarama” panorama, and numerous hotels and bungalows. The attractions were also similar: they included Japanese bowling, a Thompson scenic railway, a dance pavilion, a carousel, a circle swing, and a theater. The beach also contained a boardwalk. Three separate wooden coasters were constructed along Midland Beach. Normally, no admission was charged, but the first admission fee was instituted at a carnival in June 1918, whereupon revenue from the 10-cent charge was donated to the American Red Cross. A saltwater swimming pool was added in 1924.

Midland Beach, like its northern neighbor South Beach, also saw several large fires and other severe incidents. For instance, a conflagration in 1916 damaged large portions of the resort. Rider incidents included a 1917 accident where a patron was left dangling from a roller coaster by his leg, and a miniature train derailment in 1918 that injured 12 people. An extreme thunderstorm in 1923 resulted in several buildings being set on fire by lightning, as well as trolley tracks being washed away by storm surges.