For almost 50 years, AstroLand in Coney Island has been a symbol of our optimism about the Space Age and the conquest of the final frontier. But the park is closing this coming Sunday, a victim of a different vision of the future. Developers failed to reach an agreement with the park's owner, Carol Albert, over a new two-year lease of the property, presumably because Thor Equities saw a brighter future in condos or some other tower-block development. It's especially sad because AstroLand appears to be still popular — and wonderfully garish — judging from these AP photos. Click through to see pictures of the endangered alien monsters and spacecraft. Photos by AP/Seth Wenig