Giant Dipper (San Diego)

Giant Dipper
Location	Belmont Park
Coordinates	32°46′18″N 117°15′0″W / 32.77167°N 117.25°W / 32.77167; -117.25Coordinates: 32°46′18″N 117°15′0″W / 32.77167°N 117.25°W / 32.77167; -117.25
Status	Operating
Opened	July 4, 1925
Type	Wood
Designer	Frank Prior, Fredrick Church
Track layout	Double Out and Back
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	73 ft (22 m)
Drop	73 ft (22 m)
Length	2,600 ft (790 m)
Max speed	55 mph (89 km/h)
Inversions	0
Duration	1:45
Height restriction	4 ft 2 in (127 cm)
Giant Dipper at RCDB
Pictures of Giant Dipper at RCDB
Amusement Parks Portal

Mission Beach Roller Coaster
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Location:	3000 Mission Boulevard, San Diego, California
Coordinates:	32°46′18″N 117°15′0″W / 32.77167°N 117.25°W / 32.77167; -117.25Coordinates: 32°46′18″N 117°15′0″W / 32.77167°N 117.25°W / 32.77167; -117.25
Built:	1925
Architect:	Thomas Frank Prior, Fredrick A. Church
Governing body:	Local
NRHP Reference#:	78000753[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	December 27, 1978
Designated NHL:	February 27, 1987[2]

The Giant Dipper, also known as the Mission Beach Roller Coaster,^[3] is a wooden roller coaster, built in 1925. The Giant Dipper is in Belmont Park, right on Mission Beach in San Diego. The coaster along with it's near twin at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk are the only remaining coasters on the West Coast built by noted coaster builders Prior and Church.^[4]

History

Originally the idea of John D. Spreckels, the original coaster was built by a crew of 100 to 150 people in two weeks as the centerpiece of the Mission Beach Amusement Center (now known as Belmont Park). It reportedly cost $50,000 to build including the two 18 passenger trains and featured 2,600 feet of track. It opened for business on July 4, 1925.^[5] The coaster became very popular in the 1940s and '50s but by the late '60s it had fallen into disrepair. It closed in 1976.

In the early 1980s, people began calling for the demolition of the coaster, as it had been in disrepair and became a home for local transients. A date for the demolition was set, but a group of citizens calling themselves the "Save the Coaster Committee" headed by Tim Cole^[6] intervened and had the Giant Dipper designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1987 (National Register Number 78000753). Also known as the "Earthquake", it is one of two large wooden scaffolded roller coasters with structural integrity that remain on the West Coast.^[7]

A few years later, the San Diego Seaside Company was formed to restore the coaster to operation. $2 million was spent on the restoration. New trains, manufactured by Morgan Manufacturing, seated 24 riders per cycle in six four-person cars. On August 11, 1990, the Giant Dipper was reopened to the public. The response was so strong that a second train was eventually added to the coaster.

References

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ NPS Summary
3. ^ NHL Writeup^{[dead link]}
4. ^ NHL Summary
5. ^ History: Giant Dipper Belmontpark.com.
6. ^ http://manchesterhistory.net/bellevue/church.html
7. ^ National Park Service website

External links

• Official website