AstroLand

I for one am not much for roller coasters . . but this does not detract from my appreciation from them. We once again take the blog and visit with my most excellent brother 'DressyMonday' who lives, works and sometimes plays in New York.


DressyMonday sent along an image of his very good friend Tim and himself hurtling towards certain doom on the Cyclone roller coaster on Surf Avenue Brooklyn, and area better known as Coney Island. Apparently, not only did the two loose vertebrae and teeth, there also may be a patch or two of blood / hair somewhere along the 3,000 feet of wooden hell.

It is certainly not the first time this deadly apparatus has tasted blood . . .
A passenger was killed in 1985 and a ride operator fell to his death in 1988 while conducting a safety inspection.


I became interested in Astroland (where Cyclone is located) very recently after reading a fellow bloggers post that the park was soon to close after decades of providing amusement and diversion to New Yorkers.

I have a sort of deep nostalgia for old amusement parks such as Astroland even though I have never visited and most likely will never have the opportunity before it is demolished and the property redeveloped.

As one walks through them, it is not very difficult to see echoes of its former glory. What is now chipped, peeling, or gaudy becomes cool retro through my eyes.




Anywho, I think I have drifter far enough - let's get back to some interesting facts and past.

The Cyclone has been an official New York City Landmark since July 12, 1988, and has been listed in the New York State Register of Historic Places on June 31, 1991.

The roller coaster gained National Historic Landmark status on June 26, 1991.









On April 14, 1992, Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden issued a citation to Jerome Albert and the late Dewey Albert for their operation of both Astroland and the Cyclone, saluting them for being the primary energizing force in the regeneration of the Coney Island Amusement District.

Construction consist of steel track on almost entirely wood structure.

This coaster also has the distinction of being the most copied roller coaster ever built. There are now 7 'clones' currently operating throughout the United States, Europe and Japan.

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I should very much like to photographically explore this space sometime directly after it has closed and before any preparatory work take place for demolition. I will be bothering other urban explorers I know in this state for their images of this beautiful old park.










Until next time, Happy and Safe Exploring.