bid for publicity, Reynolds awarded a concession for the park's peanut-and-popcorn stands to Broadway actress Marie Dressler, with young boys dressed as imps in red flannel acting as salesmen. Dressler was said to be in love with Captain Jack Bonavita, who was Dreamland's one-armed lion tamer. Bonavita, who commanded lions in the Bostock animal arena, had one arm amputated when his hand was severely clawed by one of the lions, and a blood infection spread through that hand. Impact When Dreamland first opened, the New-York Tribune wrote: "Nothing but a personal visit and inspection can do anything like justice to the subject." A writer for The Brooklyn Daily Eagle called Dreamland "a city of amusement in itself", which was successful because of "the intelligent use of unlimited money expended for the best interest of unnumbered patrons in search of innocent amusement". During its last full season of operation, in 1910, a writer for Billboard said: "It's a great big Dreamland this year, and it's good clean through". The design of Dreamland also inspired the creation of similar amusement parks around the world, such as Magic-City in Paris. The park has been depicted in various works of popular culture. Artist Philomena Marano created a body of work inspired by the park in the papier collé method, American Dream-Land. Brian Carpenter wrote a play treatment which he used as a springboard for lyrics and compositions behind his second studio album for Beat Circus entitled Dreamland. The album featured Todd Robbins, alumnus of Coney Island, and its booklet includes historical images of Dreamland donated by the Coney Island Museum. The Public Theater also staged the play Fire in Dreamland in 2018, which is based on the park's 1911 conflagration. See also Rockaways' Playland List of abandoned amusement parks References Notes Citations Sources External links Dreamland at amusement-parks.com Maps and postcards of Dreamland Dreamland Park History Dreamland and William Reynolds at Heart of Coney Island Panoramic photo, "Destruction of Dreamland", 1911, from the Library of Congress Oral histories about Dreamland (1904-1911) collected by the Coney Island History Project Amusement parks opened in 1904 Amusement parks closed in 1911 Coney Island 1911 fires in the United States Cultural history of New York City Defunct amusement parks in New York (state) 1904 establishments in New York City 1911 disestablishments in New York (state)