Dreamland was an amusement park at Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, which operated from 1904 to 1911. It was the last of the three original large parks built on Coney Island, along with Steeplechase Park and Luna Park. The park was between Surf Avenue to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It was arranged roughly as a horseshoe, with a pier facing south toward the Atlantic Ocean. Dreamland contained several attractions that were larger versions of those at Luna Park, and it included a human zoo, several early roller coasters, a Shoot the Chutes ride, and a replica of Venice. Dreamland also hosted entertainment and dramatic spectacles based on morality themes. Several buildings, such as the Pompeiian, Electricity, and Submarine Boat buildings, were dedicated to exhibits. Former state senator William H. Reynolds announced plans in July 1903 for an amusement park rivaling Luna Park, originally known as the Hippodrome. The Dreamland Company started constructing the park in December 1903, and the park opened as Dreamland on May 15, 1904. The park operated between May and September of each year, and Reynolds constantly changed Dreamland's shows and attractions every season. Coney Island had reached its peak popularity by the late 1900s, but Dreamland struggled to compete with Luna Park, which was better managed. During the early morning of May 27, 1911, just after the start of Dreamland's eighth season, a worker kicked over a bucket of hot pitch, starting a fire that spread through the park's wooden buildings. Firefighters were unable to control the fire because of low water pressure, and nearly all of the structures were quickly destroyed, although no one was killed. The northern portion of the site, on Surf Avenue, was quickly redeveloped with various concessions. The New York City government acquired the southern portion through condemnation in 1912, but disputes over compensation continued for eight years. The site became a parking lot in 1921 and was redeveloped as a recreation center in 1935; the New York Aquarium was eventually built on the site in 1957. Development Between about 1880 and World War II, Coney Island was the largest amusement area in the United States, attracting several million visitors per year. Sea Lion Park opened in 1895 and was Coney Island's first amusement area to charge entry fees; this in turn spurred the construction of George C. Tilyou's Steeplechase Park in 1897, the neighborhood's