Astroland | Amusing the Zillion

Posts Tagged ‘Astroland’

Astrotower Lit for 1st Time Since Astroland Closed in 2008

Posted in amusement park, News, Photography, tagged Astroland, Astrotower, Bruce Handy, Coney Island, Luna Park on September 28, 2012 | 3 Comments »

Illuminated Astrotower and Luna Park Gate, Coney Island. September 27, 2012. Photo © Bruce Handy

Last night, Coney Island photographer Bruce Handy was surprised to see a sight that hasn’t been seen since Astroland Park closed forever on September 7, 2008. The Astrotower, which has been standing but not operating since before the park closed, was illuminated. It makes us happy to see it lit! Bruce speculates that Luna Park technicians were testing the electrical hookup for future lighting of the tower. We wonder if they will light it for the park’s Halloween Horror Nights, which begin in mid-October. In the close-up shot below you can see they are using the bare bulbs that originally lit the tower and have not installed LEDs. Why has it taken so long?

Closeup of illuminated Astrotower. September 27, 2012. Photo © Bruce Handy

Ever since Luna Park was built on the former Astroland site in April 2010, there’s been talk of Zamperla repurposing the tower as signage or possibly restoring it as a ride. Since nothing was done, the 270-foot observation tower got rusty and started to look like a neglected stepchild amid the glittering new rides on the skyline. Earlier this month, when a similar tower at Cedar Point was imploded, a fan on Luna Park’s Facebook page asked if the Astrotower would have the same fate. The answer was reassuring: “The Astrotower is going to stay up for posterity,” according to an official post on Luna Park’s Facebook. “It’s an historic ride. Luna Park will re-paint the ride, but it will no longer take guests up to give them views of Coney Island.”

According to the Coney Island History Project, the $1.7 million Astrotower was manufactured by the Swiss company Von Roll and installed in 1964. “It required a foundation of 1,100 tons of concrete and 13 tons of steel reinforcing bars. Like Astroland’s other space-age themed rides, the tower was built specifically for the park.” The Municipal Art Society and Save Coney Island have said the structure is eligible for the State and National Registers. We’d love to be able to ride the Astrotower once again. If that’s not in the stars, let’s hope it will be refurbished and illuminated like Steeplechase Park survivor the Parachute Jump.

UPDATE September 29, 2012

This evening, Luna Park confirmed on their Facebook page that the tower will be illuminated, but not reactivated as a ride. “Our electricians are testing the lighting system as we finalize plans to paint and rewire parts of the tower. The Astrotower will not operate as a ride – instead it will provide Coney Island with a spectacular, night-time extravaganza. Look to the Coney Island skies for some exciting new developments in 2013…”

It’s great news that the once proud and now forlorn looking tower will be a bright spot on the skyline of the new Coney Island. The painted and illuminated Astrotower will compliment the bling-y lights promised for the Parachute Jump in Steeplechase Plaza, which is set to open next season.

At the same time, we’re not buying the statement that “The Astrotower will not operate as a ride.” Perhaps it should be qualified with the two words “in 2013″? It’s hard to believe that Zamperla, one of the world’s largest ride manufacturers, can’t come up with a plan to reactivate the tower as a ride. Is it a matter of money or current priorities? In 2014, the tower will be 50 years old. The only question is when the Luna Park Astrotower opens, will the Zamperlas be serving bagels and lox as Jerry Albert did when the ride known as the bagel in the sky because of its circular car debuted in Astroland?

Astrotower and landmark Wonder Wheel, Coney Island. September 27, 2012. Photo © Bruce Handy

Video of the Day: Raw Footage of 1960s Coney Island

Posted in Coney Island, film, video, tagged Anthology Film Archives, Astroland, Bob Parent Collection, Charles Denson, McCullough, Nathan's, raw footage, silent film, Steeplechase Carousel on August 27, 2012 | 7 Comments »

Oh joy! Oh bliss, wait till you see this! We just happened to come across raw footage shot in 1960s ~~and perhaps 1950s~~ Coney Island from the collection of Anthology Film Archives. The first clip titled “Coney Island – Night – Silent work-print” has atmospheric scenes of a grand carousel, amusement games and Nathan’s packed with people. Based on the signage and prizes–games where you can win teddy bears and table lamps for a quarter–the era is the late 1950s or early ’60s. Frankfurters cost 20 cents and knishes and chow mein are 15 cents.

Do you remember the carousel in the clip? It’s not the B&B Carousell, which is returning to Coney Island next year. Historian Charles Denson tells ATZ it looks like a carousel on the Boardwalk at 16th Street that was operated by the McCullough family. It was called the Steeplechase Carousel. In the film, you can actually see “Steeplechase Carousel” lettered on the back of the ride attendant’s shirt. He’s one of the guys with a cigarette dangling from his lips as he straps kids on the horses. Before you say eeewww, remember this was back in the “good old days,” when it was normal for people, especially James Dean-esque ride boys, to chain-smoke. Other clues to the carousel’s identity are the mesmerizing animated figures on the band organ and a bell inscribed 1943.

In the Nathan’s scene, men in white paper hats flip a dozen hot dogs at once and neatly place each order on a silver pedestal cake stand. Condiments are served in a communal bowl! Besides hot dogs, Nathan’s had roast beef, barbecue, chow mein and “crispy pizza.” Are you ready for lunch yet?

The second Coney Island clip is described as unsplit 8mm, color, silent, Summer 1969, from the Bob Parent Collection. We were excited to find rare footage of what appears to be the Flying Saucer in action at Astroland’s Kiddie Park. It was among the first rides in the park, which was “Born at the Dawn of the Space Age.”

The AFA has a large uncatalogued collection of unedited amateur films from Parent, a famed photographer of jazz musicians who also made 8MM films and wrote a column for the movie magazine Take One. What other gems will be discovered in the collection?

Astroland Bumper Cars Return Home to Coney Island

Posted in Amusement ride, tagged 50th Anniversary, Astroland, Bumper Cars, Deno's Wonder Wheel Park on April 14, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Easter Bunny rides former Astroland Bumper Cars at Deno's Wonder Wheel Park. April 8, 2012. Photo © me-myself-i/Tricia Vita via flickr

On Coney Island’s Opening Day, while others were lining up for the first ride of 2012 on the landmark Cyclone and Wonder Wheel, we went for our first spin in a long time on Astroland’s Bumper Cars! Last time we drove one of these sparkly cars was on September 7, 2008 when Astroland closed forever. Astro fans will be happy to know that the ride, along with its psychedelic artwork and rainbow-trimmed pavilion, has come back to Coney Island. The refurbished Barbieri bumper cars have found a new home next to the Wonder Wheel in Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park.

We happened to be walking by the ride on Coney Island’s Opening Day as it was about to go for its inaugural spin in Wonder Wheel Park and jumped aboard. With 24 cars and a huge floor, it’s the largest bumper car ride in Coney. Totally appreciated how big it was when a bunch of kids who didn’t know how to steer immediately created a major traffic jam. Since there’s no central island, we were able to spin around and drive at full speed until the bumping and thumping resumed.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of Astroland, Coney’s Space-Age theme park. The iconic Astrotower remains a part of Coney Island’s skyline, but is no longer operable. The Astroland Rocket, the very first ride to arrive at the park, was donated to the City of New York in 2009 and is in storage. The Bumper Cars at Wonder Wheel Park are the soul survivors of Astroland that you can ride today at Coney Island. Here’s a video from 2008…