This island located in Brooklyn, NY became the most famous and popular resort in America. It allowed Americans to escape the noise, smells, heat, and stress of the urban world. It consisted of amusement parks, horse racing, boxing, gambling casinos, saloons, brothels, etc. It gave people who had few opportunities to travel a simulated glimpse of exotic places. For immigrants, this place provided a way of experiencing American mass culture on an equal footing with people of backgrounds different from their own.