Way back in the 18th century Russia's Catherine the Great was sitting around one summer wishing it were cold. She missed those days when Slavs could hop into small carts and ride down a 70-foot hill of ice. What was an empress to do when the snow melted? After much thought she had an answer: add wheels.
Fast forward to the heat of today. Somewhere out there people are waiting to ride the descendants of Catherine's coasters. But now those wooden carts are made of steel and carry names like Goliath, Millennium Force, and Alpengeist. People still seek speed but also modern thrills like loops, turns, and drops that make them question that chili dog/cotton candy lunch combo.
From Disneyland to Disneyworld, people are screaming through the loops of old favorites and dropping fast from the even higher hills. In recent years, park owners have spent up to $15 million on new roller coasters that boast the titles of biggest, longest, or fastest.
Coney Island
In 1884 preacher LaMarcus A. Thompson decided to build a new ride at New York's Coney Island to divert attention from the local beer gardens. He built two parallel tracks, with individual cars that climbed 15 feet and zoomed by at 4 miles per hour.
The plan worked. People swarmed to Coney Island to both ride and watch Thompson's "inclined-plane railway." Charging a nickel a ride, Thompson paid for the entire project in just three weeks. And by 1888 he had built nearly 50 roller coasters in the United States and Europe.
The Feel of the Industrial Revolution
"Thompson recognized and exploited all the ingredients of a successful amusement ride," writes Judith A. Adams in The American Amusement Park Industry. "His coasters combined an appearance of danger with actual safety, thrilled riders with exhilarating speed, and allowed the public to intimately experience the Industrial Rovolution's new technologies of gears, steel, and dazzling electric lights."
Thompson's ride also caught the attention of other entrepreneurs. To draw crowds they advertised improvements like larger hills, chain lifts, and oval tracks. By 1900 there were hundreds of roller coasters across the country.
The roller coaster continued to flourish through the 1920s. As speeds increased so did the need for safety features like under-track wheels, lap bars, and "no standing" signs. But the
Great Depression and WWII diverted the public's attention from amusement parks. Money for entertainment was scarce, and wood and rubber were needed for the war effort.
The Real Coaster Boom
Unlike its cousin the carousel, the roller coaster experienced a rebirth when Walt Disney opened the nation's first theme park, Disneyland. In addition to increased speed and new heights, Disney's roller coaster provided a smooth ride using a new tubular steel. It attracted entire families, not just eccentric thrill seekers. Other theme parks would follow Disney's lead, each including new rides with broad appeal. And by the 1970s a "coaster boom" was underway as teams of engineers designed and constructed new rides. Find out more about them at: http://coasterville.com/history.htm
From Disneyland to Disneyworld, people are screaming through the loops of old favorites and dropping fast from the even higher hills. In recent years, park owners have spent up to $15 million on new roller coasters that boast the titles of biggest, longest, or fastest.
Coney Island
In 1884 preacher LaMarcus A. Thompson decided to build a new ride at New York's Coney Island to divert attention from the local beer gardens. He built two parallel tracks, with individual cars that climbed 15 feet and zoomed by at 4 miles per hour.
The plan worked. People swarmed to Coney Island to both ride and watch Thompson's "inclined-plane railway." Charging a nickel a ride, Thompson paid for the entire project in just three weeks. And by 1888 he had built nearly 50 roller coasters in the United States and Europe.
The Feel of the Industrial Revolution
"Thompson recognized and exploited all the ingredients of a successful amusement ride," writes Judith A. Adams in The American Amusement Park Industry. "His coasters combined an appearance of danger with actual safety, thrilled riders with exhilarating speed, and allowed the public to intimately experience the Industrial Rovolution's new technologies of gears, steel, and dazzling electric lights."
Thompson's ride also caught the attention of other entrepreneurs. To draw crowds they advertised improvements like larger hills, chain lifts, and oval tracks. By 1900 there were hundreds of roller coasters across the country.
The roller coaster continued to flourish through the 1920s. As speeds increased so did the need for safety features like under-track wheels, lap bars, and "no standing" signs. But the
Great Depression and WWII diverted the public's attention from amusement parks. Money for entertainment was scarce, and wood and rubber were needed for the war effort.
The Real Coaster Boom
Unlike its cousin the carousel, the roller coaster experienced a rebirth when Walt Disney opened the nation's first theme park, Disneyland. In addition to increased speed and new heights, Disney's roller coaster provided a smooth ride using a new tubular steel. It attracted entire families, not just eccentric thrill seekers. Other theme parks would follow Disney's lead, each including new rides with broad appeal. And by the 1970s a "coaster boom" was underway as teams of engineers designed and constructed new rides. Find out more about them at: http://coasterville.com/history.htm
Research info gathered from: www.wikipedia.org
Now, here's a poem for thrill seekers:
Or A Definition, Beyond Rescue
Almost anything on the horizon.
Now, here's a poem for thrill seekers:
Or A Definition, Beyond Rescue
Almost anything on the horizon.
Smells from a bakery shop. Leaves
that shade us. Wild deer bedding
down for the night. Dust on a window
sill. Vegetable stands on the roadside.
Sunday afternoons in the garden.
Rowing on a lake in the woods. Grass
growing to the waters edge. A car
speeding by in the diamond lane. A
Rococo boulevard. Sewage plants.
Green stems. Slaughter houses.
Boards for roof or floor. Under an ad
on the subway. Iron locomotives. Tin
on the subway. Iron locomotives. Tin
boxes. Scattering earth with a plow.
Idle cylinders. A plume of steam. The
red green blue of lips laughing. Or
perhaps several harbors that pierce
all that. Patiently waiting in his raincoat.
Poem first published at: http://www.arbutus.net/
Visit my ezine at: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and music blog: http://www.medleymakersant.blogspot.com/
Copyright 2007 by Maurice Oliver. All Rights Reserved.
Poem first published at: http://www.arbutus.net/
Visit my ezine at: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and music blog: http://www.medleymakersant.blogspot.com/
Copyright 2007 by Maurice Oliver. All Rights Reserved.
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