Barker, Half Moon Hotel

John L. Murphy

Object Label

The Half Moon Hotel opened on the boardwalk in 1927. Its name referred to the explorer Henry Hudson’s ship, which anchored off Gravesend Bay on Coney Island in 1609 before continuing toward what would be called Manhattan and the Hudson River. Initially fashionable and well attended, the hotel suffered from the general decline and became a maternity hospital in the late 1940s. A senior citizens’ home was built on the site in the 1970s. This ghostlike image by John L. Murphy captures the memory of time past at Coney Island. Filled with both sadness and nostalgia, it conflates many layers of the site’s history.

Caption

John L. Murphy (American, 1944–2008). Barker, Half Moon Hotel, 1984; printed 1990. Gelatin silver print, sheet: 15 7/8 × 19 3/4 in. (40.3 × 50.2 cm) image: 13 3/4 × 16 3/4 in. (34.9 × 42.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 1991.167.2. © John L. Murphy.

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

Photography

Title

Barker, Half Moon Hotel

Date

1984; printed 1990

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Classification

Photograph

Dimensions

sheet: 15 7/8 × 19 3/4 in. (40.3 × 50.2 cm) image: 13 3/4 × 16 3/4 in. (34.9 × 42.5 cm)

Signatures

Signed verso lower right edge in graphite: "John L. Murphy 1990"

Inscriptions

Inscribed verso left lower corner in graphite "Barker, Half Moon Hotel, Coney Island 1984"

Credit Line

Frank Sherman Benson Fund

Accession Number

1991.167.2

Rights

© John L. Murphy

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