The Mermaid Parade Photographed Through The Decades

NEW YORK, NY — Brooklyn born photographer Larry Racioppo first attended Coney Island's Mermaid Parade in 1992. In the 27 years since, Racioppo, and many other photographers over the years, has captured countless people and moments from the nations largest art parade.

"The Mermaid Parade became a mecca for photographers," he wrote in a blog for the Brooklyn Public Library. "The costumed participants were not only great subjects; they were willing subjects. No one asked the question dreaded by street photographers everywhere: “ Why did you take my picture?"

This year's 37th Annual Mermaid Parade will take place this Saturday, June 22, and it seems like the perfect excuse to go back and examine the many fantastic photos Racioppo has taken in his time attending the event.

Racioppo first started taking photos in 1971 as an aspiring 21-year-old in his native Park Slope. His work was most recently published in his collection, "Brooklyn Before," a set of pictures focusing on Brooklyn before gentrification from the years of 1971-1983.

The Mermaid Parade is an undoubted cornerstone of Brooklyn culture today, and Racioppo's blog on his experience attending the event throughout the years can be found here.

Photos contributed and taken by Larry Racioppo