Steeplechase Park

Steeplechase Park was an amusement park in the Coney Island area of Brooklyn, New York from 1897 to 1964. It was one of the leading attractions of its day and one of the most influential amusement parks of all time.

Beginnings

It was created by George C. Tilyou, who grew up in a family that ran a Coney Island restaurant. While visiting the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, he saw the Ferris wheel and decided to build his own on Coney Island; it immediately became the resort's biggest attraction. He added other rides and attractions, including a mechanical horse race course from which the park derived its name. Tilyou also constructed scale models of world landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and The Palace of Westminster's clocktower, containing Big Ben.

Fire

Steeplechase burned during the 1907 season, destroying most of the park. The morning after the fire Tilyou posted a sign outside the park. It read:

"To enquiring friends: I have troubles today that I had not yesterday. I had troubles yesterday which I have not today. On this site will be built a bigger, better, Steeplechase Park. Admission to the burning ruins -- Ten cents."

The park was rebuilt for the 1908 season, although the new park was not fully open until 1909. It now included a "Pavilion of Fun" in an indoor enclosure covered by steel and glass that covered five acres. [http://history.amusement-parks.com/insidesteeplechase.htm] Steeplechase burned again in less-destructive incidents in 1936 and 1939.

Parachute Jump

At the close of the 1939 World's Fair Tilyou purchased the fair's Parachute Drop and moved it to his park. The ride, which was originally a training device for paratroopers, saw interest during the remainder of World War II, but declined after the end of the war. However, perhaps due to the expense involved in destruction, the ride outlived the remainder of the park, operating until 1964. Still too expensive to tear down, the tower was finally declared a landmark in 1977, (added to the National Register of Historic Places) and the city took the unusual step of declaring it a landmark again in 1988. Today it is the only remaining artifact of Steeplechase. [ [http://northstargallery.com/pages/historyofpara.htm Coney Island Parachute Jump - A Brief History] ]

Downfall

After a downward spiral of accidents, clashes between rival groups within the Tilyou family, and rising crime in the neighborhood of the park, it closed permanently at the end of the 1964 season.

One of its more infamous rides, "The Flopper," was the subject of a famous torts law case, Murphy v. Steeplechase Amusement Park in 1929 where the plaintiff, Murphy, fell and fractured his kneecap. Murphy lost his case, decided by Justice Cardozo, because he legally "assumed the risk" inherent in riding The Flopper, a moving belt run in a groove by an electric motor.

Aftermath

The site was acquired by Fred Trump (father of Donald Trump) in 1965, with the intention of building a low cost housing development. Trump was unable to get a change to the zoning of the area, which required "amusements" only, (largely due to the efforts of the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce) and decided to demolish the park before it could obtain Landmark status. Trump held a "demolition party" in which invited guests threw bricks through the Park's facade. [Denson, Charles, "Coney Island Lost and Found", Ten Speed Press, 2002. Page 139-140] Trump sold the property to the City of New York in 1968. [ [http://mobile.nycgovparks.org/?id=7334 City of New YorkDepartment of Parks & Recreation] ] Today the old site of Steeplechase Park is occupied by KeySpan Park, a Minor league baseball stadium that is home to the New York Mets-affiliated Brooklyn Cyclones of the New York - Penn League. The only structure still standing that was once part of Steeplechase is the tall tower of the Parachute Jump.The park plays an important role in the novel Closing Time by Joseph Heller.

External links

* [http://history.amusement-parks.com/steeplechase.htm Steeplechase Park at amusement-parks.com]
* [http://www.64nywf65.20m.com 1964-65 New York World's Fair Carousel that originated at Coney Island]

References