Coney Island Boardwalk

The erection of the Coney Island Boardwalk in 1923 was precipitated by the rapid influx of visitors by subway three years earlier. A three million dollar wooden structure, eighty feet wide and half the length of the resort, it became the perfect promenade from which to see and be seen.

It also proved to be a valuable observation deck for Walker Evans, who photographed this smartly dressed woman leaning over the rail watching the throngs on the beach below. The patterned fabric of her two-piece ensemble looks like clusters of balloons, providing a joyous anchor for the image.