Happy National Hot Dog Day! I recently recorded an oral history with Randy Profeta, the great grandson of Coney Island sign painter Harry Wildman (1875-1930). He shares stories of Wildman & Company's work for Feltmans, Nathan's, Steeplechase and other attractions. In this early photo of Nathan's, you can see the store's logo created by Wildman for Nathan Handwerker, and his signature, which we circled in red. Family lore also credits Harry Wildman with the creation of the Steeplechase Face, the park's grinning logo. In addition to newspaper clippings and an interview with his grandmother, "a lot of what we have is, in essence, anecdotal," says Profeta. "I mean it's information that has passed from generation to generation."
You can listen to the full interview in the Coney Island History Project oral history archive.
