Coney Island Cyclone

The Coney Island Cyclone (better known as simply the Cyclone) is a historic hybrid roller coaster in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, New York City. On June 18, 1975, Dewey and Jerome Albert, owners of Astroland Park, contracted to operate the Cyclone under an agreement with New York City. The roller coaster was completely rehabilitated and opened to enthusiastic crowds on July 1, 1975. Since that time, Astroland Park and the Albert family has invested millions of dollars in the upkeep of the Cyclone.^[2] Since Astroland closed in 2008, Carol Hill Albert, president of Cyclone Coasters, continues to operate the Cyclone under a lease agreement with the City.^[3][4][5] The Cyclone was declared a New York City landmark on July 12, 1988, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 26, 1991.

Early history

The success of 1925's Thunderbolt and 1926's Tornado led Jack and Irving Rosenthal to buy land at the intersection of Surf Avenue and West 10th Street for a coaster of their own. With a $100,000 investment, they hired Vernan Keenan to design a new coaster. A man named Harry C. Baker supervised the construction, which was done by area companies including National Bridge Company (which supplied the steel) and Cross, Austin, & Ireland (which supplied the lumber). The Cyclone was built on the site of America's first roller coaster, known as Switchback Railway(which opened on January 16, 1884). The final cost of the Cyclone has been reported to be around $146,000 to $175,000. When the Cyclone opened on June 26, 1927, a ride cost only twenty-five cents^[6] compared to the $8 in the 2011 Season.

In 1935, the Rosenthals took over management of Palisades Park. The Cyclone was put under the supervision of Christopher Feucht, a Coney Island veteran who had built a ride called Drop the Dips in 1907, and then doing minor retracking work on the Cyclone. The ride continued to be extremely popular; one of its many stories is from 1948, when a coal miner with aphonia visited Coney Island. According to legend, he had not spoken in years but screamed while going down the Cyclone's first drop, saying "I feel sick" as his train returned to the station. He prompty fainted after realizing he had just spoken.^[7]

Accidents

On July 31, 2007, a 53-year old man broke several vertebrae, while riding the Cyclone. He died four days later.^[8][9] This is the only time in the Cyclone's history that a person died after sustaining injuries from the ride.

Preservation

By the 1960s, attendance at Coney Island had lowered. By 1968, the Cyclone was deteriorating and it was shut down in 1969.

In 1971, the Cyclone was bought by the city of New York for one million dollars. Lack of riders hurt profits, and the ride was condemned. In 1972, it was nearly destroyed because the New York Aquarium (which is located adjacent to the ride) wanted to expand.^[10] A "Save the Cyclone" campaign ensued, and the coaster was leased to the Astroland amusement park for $57,000 per year. Astroland's owners had the ride refurbished, and it reopened on July 3, 1975.

In 1978, it was featured in the film version of The Wiz as the home of its version of the Tinman, and its size compared to the rest of Oz raised to enormous proportions. In the 1980s, events like the Mermaid Parade and Sideshows by the Seashore brought visitors back to Coney Island and the Cyclone. Despite the closing of Astroland Park on September 7, 2008, the Cyclone will remain in operation due to its status as a New York City landmark.^[11][12] The ride (75 feet along 834 Surf Avenue and 500 feet (150 m) along West 10th Street, ) is now owned completely by the Parks Department. The former concession stands, built into the structure of the roller coaster, are now home to the Coney Island History Project,^[13] and a stand selling Cyclone based shirts, hats, and on-ride photos.

The Cyclone was declared a city landmark in 1988 and a National Historic Landmark in 1991.^[14]

Legacy

In 1977, Richard Rodriguez, (USA) set a marathon record of 104 hours. Richard was only age 19 when he broke the record. Today, he currently holds the record for the longest marathon on a roller coaster with 104 hours on the Pepsi Max Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in England.

The roller coaster's 70th birthday was celebrated in 1997 with a tightrope walk by Tino Wallenda between the ride's two highest points; that year, a single ride cost four dollars. The track today is 2,650 feet (810 m) long (including six fan turns and nine drops) and a 85-foot (26 m) drop at its highest point; the first drop is at a 58.1 degree angle. Each of the three trains is made up of three eight-person cars, but only one train can run at a time. The ride's top speed is 60 miles per hour and it takes about one minute and fifty seconds. As of June 28, 2008, the current cost was eight dollars with a five dollar "reride" option. The "re-ride" option also gives riders the ability to choose their seats. In addition, a souvenir booth located near the exit sells photos of passengers taken at the first drop. The Coney Island Cyclone is an ACE Coaster Classic and Coaster Landmark;^[15][16] it has also been honored by baseball's Brooklyn Cyclones as the source for their team name.

In the movie The Sting II, with Jackie Gleason, a chase scene is used on the loading dock and ride of the Cyclone, which is seen in its near original condition.

The roller coaster was used in the 1988 action movie Shakedown (film) were Richie Marks (played by Sam Elliott) fights with a hitman on it.

Awards

Replications

The popularity of the Cyclone has inspired several replica coasters that share a similar (though not exact) layout (or a mirror version of it). Until 2005, there were four replicas of the Cyclone at Six Flags parks. Two of these have been demolished: the Psyclone at Six Flags Magic Mountain and the Texas Cyclone at Six Flags Astroworld. Two replicas still run, however, the Georgia Cyclone at Six Flags Over Georgia and Viper at Six Flags Great America, both of which are mirror replicas. Overseas, replicas of the Coney Island Cyclone include the Bandit at Movie Park Germany, the White Canyon at Yomiuriland (located in Japan), and the Aska at Nara Dreamland (demolished in 2006), which was also in Japan.

The game Grand Theft Auto IV features a roller coaster called "The Screamer", with heavy resemblance to Cyclone.

References

External links

• Official site of the Cyclone