Product Code Database
The Parachute Jump is a defunct amusement ride and a landmark in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, along the Riegelmann Boardwalk at Coney Island. Situated in Steeplechase Plaza near the B&B Carousell, the structure consists of a , open-frame, steel parachute tower. Twelve cantilever steel arms radiate from the top of the tower; when the ride was in operation, each arm supported a parachute attached to a lift rope and a set of guide cables. Riders were belted into a two-person canvas seat, lifted to the top, and dropped. The parachute and shock absorbers at the bottom would slow their descent.
International Parachuting Inc. was selected in May 1938 to operate the Parachute Jump at the 1939 New York World's Fair at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City. Capped by a flagpole, it was the second-tallest structure at the fair. The ride was sponsored by Life Savers during the fair's first season, and it was relocated during the fair's second season to attract more visitors. In 1941, after the World's Fair, it was moved again to the Steeplechase amusement park on Coney Island. It ceased operations in the 1960s following the park's closure, and the frame fell into disrepair.
Despite proposals to either demolish or restore the ride, disputes over its use caused it to remain unused through the 1980s. The Parachute Jump has been renovated several times since the 1990s, both for stability and for aesthetic reasons. In the 2000s, it was restored and fitted with a lighting system. The lights were activated in 2006 and replaced in a subsequent project in 2013. It has been lit up in commemoration of events such as the death of Kobe Bryant. 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.
The Parachute Jump is tall. When the ride operated at the 1939 New York World's Fair, it was tall, since it was topped by a flagpole.; Twelve drop points are at the top, marked by structural steel arms, which extend outward from the tower's center, and support octagonal subframes at the far end of each arm. Eight parachute guidelines were suspended from each subframe, which helped keep the parachute open. A circular structure runs atop the subframes, connecting them to each other. Walkways were above the top of the tower, as well as along each arm.
Functional parachutes dangled from each of the twelve sub-frames and were held open by metal rings. As originally designed, each parachute was in diameter. Each parachute required three cable operators. Riders were belted into two-person canvas seats hanging below the closed parachutes. The parachutes would open as the riders were hoisted to the top of the ride, where release mechanisms would drop them. The parachutes could be stopped at any time during the ascent, but not during the descent. The parachutes slowed the rider's descent, and the seats would be stopped by a brake after they had fallen to above ground level. Shock absorbers at the bottom, consisting of pole-mounted springs, cushioned the landing. The parachutes could accommodate loads of up to .
The base consists of a two-story pavilion. The upper floor housed mechanical structures and hoisting machinery, while the ground floor contained ticket booths and a waiting room. The pavilion has six sides divided by fluted piers which slope upward toward the corrugated galvanized-iron roof. The upper floor of the pavilion has red, yellow, and blue walls. The lower floor, below the height of the boardwalk, contained fenced-off open space. The concrete platform surrounding the pavilion is several steps beneath the boardwalk level. It was originally intended as a landing pad for riders and has a radius of . An access ramp was at the northeast corner of the platform.
The "parachute device" was patented by retired U.S. Naval Commander James H. Strong along with Switlik, inspired by early practice towers Strong had seen in the Soviet Union, where simple wooden towers had been used to train paratroopers since the 1920s. Strong designed a safer version of the tower, which included eight guide wires in a circle surrounding the parachute. Strong filed a patent in 1935 and built several test platforms at his home in Hightstown, New Jersey, in 1936 and 1937. The military platforms suspended a single rider in a harness and offered a few seconds of free fall after the release at the top before the chutes opened to slow the fall. In response to high civilian interest in trying out the ride, Strong modified his invention for non-military use, making some design changes. These included a seat that could hold two people, a larger parachute for a slower drop, a metal ring to hold it open, and shock-absorbing springs to ease the final landing. The modified amusement-ride version was marketed by Miranda Brothers Inc. as a , two-armed parachute jump.;
Strong sold military versions of the tower to the Romanian and U.S. armies, and he installed towers in New Jersey and Fort Benning, Georgia. He converted an existing observation tower in Chicago's Riverview Park into a six-chute amusement ride. This enterprise, the "Pair-O-Chutes", performed well enough that Strong applied to build and operate a jump at the 1939 New York World's Fair.; Another jump, also reportedly designed by Strong, was installed at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne in Paris in 1937.
Elwyn E. Seelye & Co. designed the steelwork, Bethlehem Steel manufactured the tower pieces, and Skinner, Cook & Babcock assembled the pieces onsite. The construction cost about $99,000 (). Life Savers sponsored the ride, investing $15,000 () and decorated its tower with brightly lit, candy-shaped rings. Although the fair opened April 28, 1939, the Parachute Jump's aerial elevators had not been completed at that time. By late May 1939, just before the ride opened, Life Savers had begun installing billboards at the ride's base.
The ride accommodated 4,500 passengers on its first two half-days of operation. Several incidents occurred within the first few months of the Parachute Jump's opening. On July 12, 1939, entangled cables left a married couple aloft for five hours in the middle of the night.; ; 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.; At least two other groups of people became stuck on the Parachute Jump in its first year: a deputy sheriff and his sister-in-law later in July 1939, and two female friends that September. Despite a decrease in fairground visitors during mid-1939, the Parachute Jump was one of the few attractions at the fair to remain profitable. The jump earned $119,524 in its first three months of operation (). At the end of the first season on November 1, 1939, the jump had recorded 551,960 visitors.
The ride was originally supposed to be completed by May 8, 1940. The chutes were installed on May 1, and the guide wires were still being installed when the fair reopened on May 11. The reopening was delayed by disagreements between International Parachuting Inc. and James Strong.; International Parachuting sued Strong to prevent him from selling the rights to the ride to third parties, though they ultimately reached a settlement that June. The Parachute Jump reopened on June 22, 1940,; over a month after the fair's reopening. The ride initially retained its original ticket prices of 40 cents for adults and 25 cents for children. In July 1940, in response to the implementation of a federal amusement tax, the ride's operators reduced the ticket prices to for adults and for children. During the fair's second season, a couple was married on the Parachute Jump in what one newspaper described as the first-ever "parachute ceremony".
The relocation of the Parachute Jump, and the consolidation of concessions in the amusement area, helped improve business for the 1940 season. The Parachute Jump ultimately was the fair's second-most popular amusement attraction, behind the Billy Rose's Aquacade stage show. A half-million guests had jumped from the tower before the end of the World's Fair. The Parachute Jump was slated to be sent to either Coney Island in Brooklyn or Palisades Amusement Park in New Jersey following the fair. Relocation to Coney Island was considered as early as August 1940; both Luna Park and Steeplechase Park were interested in purchasing the ride during this time. After the fair closed in October 1940, its operators announced that the Parachute Jump would be sent to Coney Island. The New York Times wrote that the Parachute Jump "outdid all rivals in old-fashioned thrills", especially when the parachutes got stuck.
The jump reopened in May 1941.; Unlimited rides on the Parachute Jump were initially included within Steeplechase Park's single admission fee, which cost at the time of the ride's relocation. Later, the brothers introduced "combination tickets", which included the park admission fee and a predetermined number of ride experiences on any of the attractions in the park. During World War II, when much of the city was subject to a military blackout, a navigational beacon atop the ride stayed lit. The Parachute Jump originally used the multicolored chutes from the World's Fair; by the mid-1940s, these had been replaced with white chutes. According to Jim McCollough, a business partner and nephew of the Tilyou brothers, the frame was repainted every year.
The Parachute Jump attracted up to half a million riders during each annual operating season. Most riders reached the tower's pinnacle in just under a minute and descended within 11–15 seconds.; The experience was described as similar to "flying in a free fall". The Parachute Jump was popular among off-duty military personnel, who took their friends and loved ones to the ride. Occasionally, riders became stuck mid-jump or were tangled within the cables. The ride was subject to shutdowns on windy days, especially when breezes exceeded . Furthermore, at least fifteen people were required to operate the Parachute Jump, making it unprofitable.
By 1964, the ride was charging on weekends but was still operating mostly the same way as it had during the 1939 World's Fair. Coney Island's popularity had receded during the 1960s because of increased crime, insufficient parking facilities, and patterns of bad weather. These difficulties were exacerbated by competition from the 1964 New York World's Fair, also in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, which led to a record low patronage at Steeplechase Park. On September 20, 1964, Steeplechase Park closed for the last time, and the next year, the property was sold to developer Fred Trump.; On the site of Steeplechase Park, Trump proposed building a enclosed dome with recreational facilities and a convention center.
Several sources state that the jump operated until 1968. According to a press release in 1965, when the Parachute Jump was ostensibly still operating, it attracted half a million visitors per year. A Daily News article from 1973 states the ride closed in 1968. Consulting engineer Helen Harrison and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation's website also cite a closure date of 1968, saying it was one of several small rides that were operated by concessionaires on the site of Steeplechase Park. According to Harrison, the last documented incident on the ride was on May 30, 1968, when a young girl was reported to have gotten stuck halfway through the drop.
Control of the jump passed to New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks), the municipal government agency tasked with maintaining the city's recreational facilities. The agency attempted to sell the jump at auction in 1971 but received no bids.; NYC Parks had planned to demolish the Parachute Jump if no one was willing to buy it. A study conducted in 1972 found the jump was structurally sound. At the time, there were proposals to give the tower landmark status and install a light show on it.
The city government unsuccessfully attempted to redevelop the Steeplechase site as a state park. By the late 1970s, the city government wanted to build an amusement park on the land. Norman Kaufman, who had run a small collection of fairground amusements on the Steeplechase site since the 1960s, was interested in reopening the Parachute Jump. Kaufman was evicted from the site in 1981, ending discussion of that plan.
The city government questioned the tower's safety. A 1982 survey concluded the tower would need a $500,000 renovation to stabilize the ground underneath (equivalent to $million in ) and another $1 million to restore it to operating condition (about $million in ). The survey estimated it would cost at least $300,000 to demolish the structure (), making demolition too costly an option. The cheapest option, simply maintaining the structure, would have cost $10,000 a year (). The local community board recommended that the Parachute Jump be demolished if it could not be fixed, but NYC Parks commissioner Henry Stern said in January 1984 that his department had "decided to let it stand".
Stern dismissed the possibility of making the Parachute Jump operational again, calling it a "totally useless structure" and saying that even the Eiffel Tower had a restaurant. 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". In the mid-1980s, restaurant mogul Horace Bullard proposed rebuilding Steeplechase Park; his plans included making the Parachute Jump operational again. At the time, the Parachute Jump was described as a "symbol of despair" because no real effort had been made to restore or clean up the structure.
In 1987, the LPC hosted meetings to determine the feasibility of granting landmark status to the Parachute Jump, Wonder Wheel, and Coney Island Cyclone. Two years later, on May 23, 1989, the LPC restored city landmark status to the Parachute Jump. Following this, the Board of Estimate granted permission for Bullard to develop his amusement park on the Steeplechase site, including reopening the Parachute Jump. These plans were delayed because of a lack of funds.
The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) assumed responsibility for the tower in 2000. Originally, the city government wanted to reopen it as a functioning ride. The project was originally budgeted at , but the cost ultimately increased to , excluding the high insurance premiums that would need to be paid on the attraction. Because the cost of bringing the jump to safety standards would have been excessively high, the renovation was abandoned.
The Coney Island Development Corporation and the Van Alen Institute held an architecture contest in 2004 to determine future uses for the pavilion at the jump's base. More than 800 competitors from 46 countries participated. The results were announced the following year; there were one winning team, two runners-up with cash prizes, and nine honorable mentions. The winning design outlined a bowtie-shaped pavilion with lighting and an all-season activity center, which included a souvenir shop, restaurant, bar, and exhibition space.;
Schwendinger's lighting system consisted of 450 LEDs and 17 floodlamps. The first night-time light show was held on July 7, 2006. The installation contained six animations and used most colors except for green, which would not have been visible on the tower's red frame. The animations were based on events in the local calendar, including the boardwalk's operating and non-operating seasons, the lunar cycle, the Coney Island Mermaid Parade, and national holidays such as Memorial Day and Labor Day. There is also a sequence called "Kaleidoscope" for other holidays.; ; Officials said the lights were to be left on from dusk to midnight during summer and from dusk to 11:00 p.m. the rest of the year. In observance of the "Lights Out New York" initiative, which sought to reduce bird deaths from light pollution, the tower lighting went dark at 11:00 p.m. during the bird migratory seasons.
A $2 million renovation was completed in 2013, after which it contained 8,000 LED lights, in comparison with the 450 total after the first installation. The B&B Carousell, an early-20th-century carousel that had become part of Luna Park, was relocated to Steeplechase Plaza east of the Parachute Jump in 2013.; ; The tower was lit up for its first New Year's Eve Ball drop at the end of 2014, and since then, the Parachute Jump has been lit for New Year's Eve each year. The Parachute Jump has also been lit up in recognition of special causes, such as World Autism Awareness Day and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, as well as to commemorate notable personalities, such as happened after the 2020 death of retired NBA basketball player Kobe Bryant.
Similar attractions:
|
|
