Paul Boyton achieved international notice with various demonstrations of a rubber suit, which was a life saving device, similar to a type of kayak, for example, by crossing the English Channel.

He then decided to settle in Coney Island and purchased the land behind the Elephant Hotel as a permanent location for his aquatic show featuring 40 sea lions.

[3] The park also included the infamous Flip Flap Railway, which was a roller coaster ride, designed by Lina Beecher, that inverted the riders in a loop after fall from a height of 20m.

Boyton also added an old mill style ride called Cages of Wild Wolves, and a ballroom (1899).

[1] Boyton tried to keep the public interested by investing $100,000 in a revamp of Sea Lion Park during the winter of 1901, and he also purchased Topsy, a well-known elephant, early in the spring of 1902 from Forepaugh's Circus.