Filipino Americans in NY Not-So-Fun Fact: Did you know that Filipinos were put on display as “Sideshows” in Coney Island in 1911?

By Filipino American National Historical Society Metro NY Chapter

In a recent email inquiry about the Filipinos at the Saint Louis Fair in 1904, someone had asked me about the Filipinos in Coney Island.  As I had never heard about this before, I just started to do some research online and found that there was indeed an “Igorot Village” at the amusement park “The Dreamland” in Coney Island circa 1911.  From some preliminary searches, I found that this was documented in the book “Coney Island: The People’s Playground,” as well as this website http://www.coneyislandhistory.org/index.php?g=hall_of_fame&s=gumpertz.

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Sports Illustrated in 1967 even described these Filipino “sideshows”:

Sideshows were another unforgettable aspect of the old Coney, and they proliferated to the extent that they replaced the broad lagoons, esplanades and tree-lined walks. Barking and spieling and ballyhooing became flamboyant, raucous and artful. “Yes, look well upon this group of savages, ladies and gentlemen! They are the dread Igorots, fierce headhunters from the Philippine Islands! And what you see before you is but a miserable tithe of the vast anthropological, educational, thrilling, and altogether unimaginable sights that will unfold before you as you pass through the Igorot Village!”

Read more here: FANHS