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[8], Functional parachutes dangled from each of the twelve sub-frames and were held open by metal rings. Stuck on Parachute Jump I think it was the 60's. I also remember my dad taking on the Parachute Jump in 1963. The Parachute Jump never operated after the closure of Steeplechase Park on September 19, 1964. In the 2000s, it was restored and fitted with a lighting system. It was designated a city landmark in 1977. Parachute Jump | Coney Island History Project Imagine a carousel for grown-upsit went in Great memories. I rode the parachute jump in the summer of 1959. Sometimes it seemed that the parachute jump was closed more often than it was working due to bad weather, high winds etc. I rode the parachute ride in 1939 as a three year old toddler with my older brothers. I got to ride the parachute jump just once with my father before it closed. Capped by a 12-foot (3.7m) flagpole, it was the tallest structure at the Fair. Vintage color footage of kids and families on various rides, includin. [87] Concurrently, starting in 2011, the 2.2-acre (0.89ha) site around the tower was redeveloped as Steeplechase Plaza. Hope you don't mind, we loved the place so. No wonder almost everyone in this forum who has expressed interest in reviving the Parachute Jump is of my generation or older. The thing was designed and built by human beings. [153] The Parachute Jump has also been lit up in recognition of special causes, such as World Autism Awareness Day[154] and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month,[155] as well as to commemorate notable personalities, such as happened after the 2020 death of retired NBA basketball player Kobe Bryant. When it was windy the operators had to do test rides since the winds at the top could differ from the surface. Standing 250 feet tall and weighing 170 tons, City landmark the Parachute Jump is an impossible-to-miss part of the Coney Island skylineespecially when. [106][107] Stern said he welcomed the community's proposals for reusing the Parachute Jump but other agency officials said the plans presented thus far, which included turning the Jump into a giant windmill, were "quixotic, at best". With our technology now, we cant fix it? The current crime rate is much lower than it was back then. [36] It had twelve 32-foot (9.8m) parachute bays;[33] while five parachutes were operational upon opening,[35] eleven would eventually be used at the Fair. I personally would be happy to see the PD operating again. His name was Timmy and lived across the street from my family on 92nd street in Bay Ridge. Mr. Kernacs said he plans to come to Brooklyn in the second or third week of March to study the ride, free of charge. Why was the parachute jump closed at Coney Island? - Answers They were a helluva more dangerous. Appeared so lone and barren by day, and only comes alive at night with the magnificent lighting effects. The closure of Steeplechase was a very sad day. Roy Omori. [136][138][139], The first night-time light show was held on July 7, 2006. Brooklyn, NY 11224, [email protected](347) 702-8553. [32] Life Savers sponsored the ride, investing $15,000 (equivalent to $292,000 in 2021) and decorated its tower with brightly lit, candy-shaped rings. !coney was never the same.. and sadly to say, never will be again. Its a shame Bloomberg wasted everyones time with the Westside Highway stadium and other Olympic boondoggle accoutrements, instead of actually developing to the needs of a thriving city. an amazing spectacle it must have been. All 864 proposals for design of year-round pavilion at base of Coney Island's landmark Parachute Jump go on display at Van Alen Institute in Manhattan; submissions came from 46 countries and . . I lived in Brooklyn and went to Coney Island frequently, and at the age of 18 was a lifeguard on the beach. [62][63] The fire had destroyed many of the larger attractions, including a Flying Turns roller coaster, whose site stood empty a year after the blaze. [106] Despite its deterioration, it remained a focal point of the community;[106] according to local legend, the tower could be seen from up to 30 miles (48km) away. [19], By the 1930s, parachutists could be trained by jumping from parachute towers rather than from aircraft. [22] The tower, which was designed to train airmen in parachute jumping, was first publicly used on June 2, 1935, when Amelia Earhart jumped from it. mob turncoat was kept for security (as they said when his body was scraped off the sidewalk, he could sing but he couldnt fly). Unfortunately, the garden and building in the photo have been demolished and are being replaced with a high rise residential building. [22], The "parachute device" was patented by retired U.S. What Im saying, he added, is theres a remote, the remotest chance that it could be made a ride again.. [58] After the Fair closed in October 1940,[59] its operators announced that the Parachute Jump would be sent to Coney Island. Besides I've requested of my family for some of my ashes to be spread as close to it as possible. In 1941, after the World's Fair, it was moved to its current location in the Steeplechase amusement park on Coney Island. According to The New York Times, a 17-year-old girl was riding the park's Super Himalaya ride when suddenly, a coupling that binds the ride's cars together snapped. A girlie show I never saw, always a few cops Reviving a Coney Island Ride: Ready, Set, Jump! The 262-foot-high Parachute Jump at Coney Island was created by Strong purely as a ride for the World's Fair. I was lucky enough to ride it when I was about 12yrs old (Im 52 now) it was thrilling to say the least. Its boss (although not as exciting as the parachute which I hope to be able to try sometime). My favorite ride ever!! Great ride that came from the 1939 worlds fair was disassembled and then reassembled by the boardwalk. [119], In 1987, the LPC hosted meetings to determine the feasibility of granting landmark status to the Parachute Jump, Wonder Wheel, and Coney Island Cyclone. [100] By the late 1970s, the city government wanted to build an amusement park on the land. I did ride it once in the 50s with my grammar school friends and fortunately it went well. [16] The 4-inch-thick (10cm) concrete platform surrounding the pavilion is several steps beneath the boardwalk level. We went on all the rides. The cost of restoration might prove to be prohibitively expensive, as the ride would require a highly trained and experienced crew to maintain it in the manner that the Tilyou family did until its closure in 1964. Fortunately, it was a nice day, and we were too young to be worried so we just waited until it finally began to run. The trick, he said, should involve very little change to the rides outward appearance, but a substantial overhaul of its inner structure. Your public is not going to wait much longer!!!!! Your information will never be shared with other organizations. He said, in fact, that he recently spoke with someone, a representative of a European company that has offices in the United States, who said the [20] The official 1939 Fair guidebook described the Parachute Jump as "one of the most spectacular features of the Amusement Area", calling the attraction "similar to that which the armies of the world use in early stages of training for actual parachute jumping". My recollection of that incident was imprinted in my brain because our chute got stuck at the top of the structure for a time that seemed like an eternity. Even the voluntary assumption of risk is gradually being legislated away. And yet no one I knew was This ride will probably be as safe as any of the myriad of roller coasters. [114] The cheapest option, simply maintaining the structure, would have cost $10,000 a year (equivalent to $28,000 in 2021). I live in California now, but miss New York. Rode the Steeplechase 3 or 4 times; to get themselves into and out of trouble, and to learn from those experiences. the top and went into that momentary free fall I thought it was all over for me! [47][48] The relocation was announced in December 1939 and was scheduled to take about three months. [68][69] Unlimited rides on the Parachute Jump were initially included within Steeplechase Park's single admission fee, which cost $0.25 (equivalent to $4.61 in 2021) at the time of the ride's relocation. [147], A $2million renovation was completed in 2013, after which it contained 8,000 LED lights, in comparison with the 450 total after the first installation. The parachutes would open as the riders were hoisted to the top of the ride, where release mechanisms would drop them. What a crying shame!! An access ramp was at the northeast corner of the platform. [87] A New York Daily News article in 1965 said the Parachute Jump was nonoperational and had "been stripped of its wires and chutes". Coney Island still doesnt realize that reviving the amazing one and only refurbished, thrilling Parachute Jump would really jumpstart the revitalization. as insanity. The awe I felt as we slowly floated down through the darkness, hearing the faraway sounds of the amusement park in the distance, floating slowly Each parachute had a seat for two hanging beneath it; riders were lifted by a cable to the top of the tower, then dropped, floating gently to the ground. After you would get off the horses, you had to get past a couple of characters dressed as clowns and they had slapsticks that would try to avoid and also a clown who was a midget wielding a eletric wand that would give you a harmless zap. realistic goal., But talk of reviving the jump, closed since 1968, as a working ride has been hard to quash over the years, and great fun but the creme de la creme was our last ride: The Parachute Drop. Construction cost about $99,000 (equivalent to $1,929,000 in 2021). It was in fact the Life Saver candy ride. exists to restore it as a parachute jump attraction.. [74] The Parachute Jump was popular among off-duty military personnel, who took their friends and loved ones to the ride. Dramatic news stories have been spun about a declining Jump falling into disrepair, including detailed descriptions of the rickety ride finally being forced to close in 1968. Recently, though, city officials reached out to him anew, and he met Local Coney Island historian Charles Denson explained that the Jump closed in 1964 but that many publications give an erroneous date of 1968. Leaps of Imagination for the Parachute Jump - New York Times Play-dates have replaced pick-up stickball games; and GPS tracking of children by helicopter parents has made independent exploration Death and Injury in Coney Island: A 100-Year History [133] In 2004, STV subcontracted Leni Schwendinger Light Projects to develop a night-time lighting concept for the Parachute Jump. I dont know why they just dont operate but all those afternoons spent staring up at it and waving to his friends made an impression. Horace Bullard obtained a 99-year lease on the Steeplechase site and Roller coaster enthusiast John Hunt has been buildingscale models of coasters and amusement parkattractions since he was a boyand has turned his hobby into a business. sorts of food at bargain basement prices, an incredible boardwalk with its own miles of attractions (including a silent movie theater), penny arcades that took pennies, not quarters, the Half-Moon hotel where There were never any accidents during the entire time the parachute jump was in operation, it did however require three cable operators per parachute. I Rode the Parachute Jump as a child in the late '50s. They were great times with the best memories real people not some bullshit Woody Allen portrayal. Pedro Ortiz was drunk had a fight with my Mother. The information in the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission Designation Report, claiming that the Jump operated until 1968, is inaccurate and is based on a newspaper article that the commission's researcher read about an accident at the site. The Parachute Jump stopped operating as part of Steeplechase Park upon the latter's closure in 1964. It was scary! Some quick stops at the Coney Island attractions - Rides on the Parachute Jump, The Whip, The Magic Carpet (I think.) [34] Schwendinger contracted Phoster Industries for the LED portion of the lighting project. This is the Coney Island Parachute Jump lit up on a great summer night when I was at the Coney Island Cyclones Game. Being the youngest guess who got stuck more often than not. As it turned out [40][41][42] The couple returned to ride again the next day, having been congratulated for their courage by New York City mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia, who had been at the World's Fair when they got stuck. I worked as an operator on the Parachute Jump for two seasons, 1961-62, when 16 and 17 yrs old. In 1941, after the World's Fair, it was moved to its current location in the . However, most of my family has moved or passed. Besides the obvious insurance and liability concerns is another factor to consider: the Parachute Jump never made money for the Tilyous. Artist Ita Bullard worked for years with her husbandHoraceto build a world-class amusement park in Coney Island, only to have the project destroyed by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. He says one of the chutes broke away from the tower and floated down into the water by the beach below where the passengers had to be rescued. The ride, the only remaining portion of Steeplechase Park, is a New York City designated landmark and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But I would also like to be able to see who is in the park and on the street too. The Jump was well-maintained. [11][34], The Jump opened on May27,1939(1939-05-27),[35] a month after the Fair's official opening. the streets at breakneck speeds, even *gasp* drinking water out of public drinking fountains. as well as my grandchildren to this wonderful experience. [20] Most riders reached the top of the tower in just under a minute, whereas their descent took 1115 seconds. [93][96], Control of the Jump passed to NYC Parks, the municipal government agency tasked with maintaining recreational facilities in New York City. I remember myself standing in front of the superstructure with my eyes and mouth wide open. The plans fell apart after years of negotiations, and Mr. Bullard later sued the city after the Thunderbolt, another famous old ride on his property, was deemed unsound and demolished. I still remember at the end of the evening when we climbed onto the chairs. Went to Coney Island about 40 or 50 times. These difficulties were exacerbated by competition from the 1964 New York World's Fair, also in Flushing MeadowsCorona Park, which led to a record low patronage at Steeplechase Park. Parachute Jump | Coney Island Fun At the risk of sounding stupid, why is so hard to get the Parachute ride to work again? I remember it all too well. [50] The reopening was delayed by disagreements between operator International Parachuting Inc. and James Strong. Every year on the Sunday before Steeplechase opened he would take my sister and I and two of our friends to go on the new rides of the season for publicity photos.