Hordes of Coney Island tourists no longer have to fear getting crushed by our very own Swaying Tower of Pisa, the Coney Island Astrotower, thanks to the partial dismantling of the half-century-old structure this week. It's really quite sad for the gyro tower, in the course of two days having gone from being an impressive 275 feet to a mere 92 feet. O, how the giants fall!
Construction crews have been working on dismantling part of the gyro tower since Wednesday night, after officials became concerned that the tower was swaying excessively. And the tower's just going to get smaller and smaller, probably, since crews will continue to work on it today, and no one knows how much shorter it's going to get. A spokesperson for Luna Park told NBC News he didn't know if the tower would be removed completely or eventually restored, so future generations of Nathan's pilgrims may get a view of an Astrostump from now on instead.
"It’s been here all my life. I’ve seen it all my life growing up, playing in this park," one frequent Coney Island visitor told CBS News. "Sure, I miss this thing." Meanwhile, the rest of Luna Park—which was shuttered when people started calling 911 to complain about the swaying tower on Tuesday—has been reopened, so you can fete the Astrotower's memory by puking your guts out on the Cyclone this weekend.
