Coney Island real estate baron Horace Bullard passed away earlier this month of Lou Gehrig's disease. Not everyone loved Bullard, who operated the Thunderbolt roller coaster (later torn down by the city) and the landmarked, decaying yellow Shore Theater (said to be intentionally left empty for years out of spite that he wasn't allowed to rebuild an amusement park on the Steeplechase site), but Coney Island History Project head Charles Denson published a redemptive ode in memory of the controversial figure. "Bullard's grand amusement scheme was bold, audacious and fantastic. Back in the 80s he had investors lined up and the support of the public, the media, and elected officials," Denson writes. "He had everything he needed except luck." [Coney Island History Project; previously]
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