place

Tornado (Coney Island)

Amusement ride stubsConey IslandDemolished buildings and structures in BrooklynFormer roller coasters in New York (state)Removed roller coasters
Roller coasters introduced in 1926Roller coasters that closed in 1977Wooden roller coasters
Tornado roller coaster Coney Island postcard
Tornado roller coaster Coney Island postcard

Tornado (formerly known as Bobs) was a roller coaster located at Coney Island along Bowery Street in Brooklyn, New York City. Designed by Fred Church and built by the L. A. Thompson Company, the roller coaster cost $250,000 to build and opened in 1926. Much like the neighboring Coney Island Cyclone, it was a hybrid design consisting of a wooden track and steel structure. The coaster's track wrapped around a tower atop which the ride's name was attached. The land under the coaster was narrow, only 70 feet wide at its widest.In 1977, much of the coaster was destroyed by arson. The coaster was completely demolished in April 1978.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Tornado (Coney Island) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Tornado (Coney Island)
West 12th Street, New York Brooklyn

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Phone number Website Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Tornado (Coney Island)Continue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 40.574 ° E -73.979 °
placeShow on map

Address

Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park

West 12th Street 3059
11224 New York, Brooklyn
New York, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

Phone number

call+17183722592

Website
denoswonderwheel.com

linkVisit website

Tornado roller coaster Coney Island postcard
Tornado roller coaster Coney Island postcard
Share experience

Nearby Places

Riegelmann Boardwalk
Riegelmann Boardwalk

The Riegelmann Boardwalk (also known as the Coney Island Boardwalk) is a 2.7-mile-long (4.3 km) boardwalk along the southern shore of the Coney Island peninsula in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, facing the Atlantic Ocean. Opened in 1923, the boardwalk runs between West 37th Street at the edge of the Sea Gate neighborhood to the west and Brighton 15th Street in Brighton Beach to the east. It is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks). The Riegelmann Boardwalk is primarily made of wooden planks arranged in a chevron pattern. It ranges from 50 to 80 feet (15 to 24 m) wide and is raised slightly above sea level. The boardwalk connects several amusement areas and attractions on Coney Island, including the New York Aquarium, Luna Park, Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, and Maimonides Park. It has become an icon of Coney Island, with numerous appearances in the visual arts, music, and film. After its completion, the boardwalk was considered the most important public works project in Brooklyn since the Brooklyn Bridge, with a comparable impact to the Catskill Watershed and Central Park. By the mid-19th century, the Coney Island waterfront was divided among several private entities who erected barriers. Plans for a Coney Island boardwalk were first discussed in the late 1890s as a means of uniting the different sections of Coney Island, and as a revitalization project for these areas. The boardwalk, designed by Philip P. Farley, was named after Brooklyn borough president Edward J. Riegelmann, who led its construction. The Riegelmann Boardwalk's first portion opened in 1923, with further extensions in 1926 and 1941, as well as several modifications and repairs throughout the 20th century. After NYC Parks unsuccessfully attempted to repair the boardwalk with concrete in the early 21st century, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Riegelmann Boardwalk a city landmark in 2018.

Switchback Railway
Switchback Railway

The original Switchback Railway was the first roller coaster at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York City, and one of the earliest designed for amusement in the United States. The 1885 patent states the invention relates to the gravity double track switchback railway, which had predicated the inclined plane railway, patented in 1878 by Richard Knudsen. Coney Island's version was designed by LaMarcus Adna Thompson in 1881 and constructed in 1884. It appears Thompson based his design, at least in part, on the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway which was a coal-mining train that had started carrying passengers as a thrill ride in 1827.For five cents, riders would climb a tower to board the large bench-like car and were pushed off to coast 600 ft (183 m) down the track to another tower. The car went just over 6 mph (9.7 km/h). At the top of the other tower the vehicle was switched to a return track or "switched back" (hence the name). This track design was soon replaced with an oval complete-circuit ride designed by Charles Alcoke and called the Serpentine Railway. In 1885 Phillip Hinkle developed a lift system which appeared in his ride called Gravity Pleasure. The Gravity Pleasure also featured cars in which the passengers could face forward instead of in the awkward bench-like seats of the first two roller coasters. The next year, Thompson patented his design of coasters that included dark tunnels with painted scenery. Thompson built many more roller coasters under the name "The L.A. Thompson Scenic Railway" across the United States. Some of these operated until 1954.