Long Island Memories

You Must Remember These
For LI boomers, these landmarks are gone, but not forgotten

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More Coverage TV & Radio Heroes: Where Are They Now? Photo Nunley's, Baldwin The Lollipop Farm, Syosset Island Garden, West Hempstead My Father's Place, Roslyn Long Island Arena, Commack Drive-ins Nathan's Famous, Oceanside

Nunley's, Baldwin: This small kiddie amusement park entertained toddlers and their parents from 1939 to 1995. You could go on the Ferris wheel, play miniature golf or enjoy other tame rides. But what most people remember is the carousel: a glorious 1912 Stein & Goldstein model (one of only three intact) that was moved from Brooklyn when Nunley's opened and contained 41 horses, two chariots and a lion. When Nunley's closed, the carousel was bought by Nassau County (which successfully won a court decision blocking an auction). It was put in storage in a hangar at Mitchel Field, awaiting refurbishing and possible relocation to the proposed Nassau County Museum Row. Perhaps soon a new generation will be able to grab the carousel's brass ring. A Pep Boys auto store now occupies the Sunrise Highway site.

The Lollipop Farm, Syosset: This children's zoo, which opened in 1950, was where many of us first got introduced, either with our families or on school trips, to the animal kingdom. It had no ferocious beasts, thus no bars, so you could pet and feed straw and popcorn to the goats, giant tortoises, lambs, ducks, ponies and other animals. And if you didn't feel like walking, a miniature train would whisk you around its five acres. It closed in 1975.

Island Garden, West Hempstead: Another ramshackle multipurpose arena that aspired to be our Madison Square Garden, but was more like an evil twin to the Long Island Arena. It was a drafty, barnlike building where boat enthusiasts browsed, circus elephants pranced, Bruno Sammartino and Bobo Brazil wrestled, Dylan and Cream rocked, and the Rick Barry-era Nets sojourned for a couple of seasons. Unable to compete with the more modern Nassau Coliseum, it was torn down in 1973, 16 years after it opened. The place is now -- what else? -- a shopping center.

My Father's Place, Roslyn: Promoter Michael (Eppy) Epstein converted a former bowling alley into Long Island's premier music club. From 1971 to 1987, the intimate (400 capacity) club was the place to hear live music on the Island -- anything from folk-rock to reggae to blues. You'd sit elbow-to-flannel-shirted elbow at long, family-style tables, guzzling pitchers of beer or sangria, drinking in the sounds of a pre-"Born to Run" Bruce Springsteen or a local kid named Billy Joel. Notable also for being the site of one of Bob Marley's first American concerts -- and for the Long Island debut of Gotham punkers the Ramones, who performed to a nearly empty house.

Long Island Arena, Commack: Home of the late, beloved Ducks of the Eastern Hockey League (1959-73), a minor league squad that made every game seem like "Slap Shot," and briefly, the American Basketball Association's Nets. If it ever was warm there, please let us know. The temperature inside once registered 28 degrees (with the wind chill). Angry Ducks fans once lit a bonfire in the stands, prompting the team's announcer (who was also club owner) to proclaim that the game was being sponsored by the Smithtown Fire Department. The 1972 arrival of the Islanders quacked the Ducks for good, but the ramshackle Arena soldiered on as a flea market and rock concert venue for more than two decades. It was finally demolished in the summer of '96 (along with two neighboring Commack landmarks, a roller rink and drive-in) for a huge King Kullen shopping center.

Drive-ins: Long Island's last remaining outdoor theater, the Westbury (in Jericho), closed last year, and pending a legal challenge, was slated to be demolished. If the wrecker's ball does win, then local passion pits will be pulverized forever. Once Long Island was filled with them: Valley Stream, Long Beach, Massapequa, Bethpage, Copiague, Smithtown, Huntington, Commack, Coram, Bay Shore, Patchogue, Shirley and Greenport were among the communities with drive-ins. The memories remain etched: the tinny speaker attached to the car, the dubious-quality food and the even more dubious-quality films being shown on the giant screen underneath the stars. Long Island had the nation's largest: Copiague's All-Weather Drive-In, which had parking spaces for 2,500 cars, plus an indoor 1,200-seat viewing area, playground, cafeteria, full-service restaurant. To traverse the 28 acres, a shuttle train took customers from their cars to the various areas.

Nathan's Famous, Oceanside: Sure, you can go to the food court versions or even buy Nathan's products in the frozen food department of your grocery store, but they will never recapture the true Nathan's experience. The Coney Island institution opened a branch on Long Beach Road in 1955 on the site of what had been another Long Island landmark, the Roadside Rest. The huge building with picnic-style tables became a destination: to go after high-school football games, after a day at the beach, to celebrate when you first got your drivers' license, or just to people-watch and meet kids from other towns. The food -- 25-cent hot dogs, chow mein sandwiches, frog's legs, the world's best French fries in a cup -- was pretty good, too. The original building, plus the stage-show area and kiddie park, were razed in 1975; the site is now a Waldbaum's shopping center, which contains a much smaller Nathan's.

And let's not forget . . . Dodge City, a late-'50s Patchogue theme park that tried to recreate the Old West ... The Jolly Roger, a 51/2-acre Bethpage amusement park and restaurant complex that at its height would draw up to 4,000 children on a summer's Saturday ... Jahn's Ice Cream Parlours, various locales, home of the kitchen sink, a dessert to die for ... Wetson's, one of the first fast-food burger chains ... Uniondale Mini-Cinema, where a generation learned to love midnight movies ... The Capri, Monaco, Colony and other South Shore beach clubs, captured in the 1984 film "The Flamingo Kid" ... Stock cars, funny cars and demolition derbies at Freeport Stadium, Islip Speedway and Center Moriches' New York National Speedway (with its ear-splitting "Sunday!!!!" radio commercials) ... Battles of the Bands, competitions where teen rockers played their hearts out.