Photo via kittenclaw's flickr
On June 26th, 1927—85 years ago this past Wednesday—the Cyclone opened in Coney Island by Jack and Irving Rosenthal—who bought land at the intersection of Surf Avenue and West 10th Street and laid down a $100,000 investment to have their coaster built (on the site of America's first rollercoaster, 1884's Switchback Railway).These days it's operated by Central Amusement International.
They'll be celebrating tomorrow old school-style, with 25 cent rides on the wooden thrill machine, but you'll need to get there early—the discount only lasts the first 85 minutes after their noon opening (after that it's the standard 8 bucks).
The AP calls the landmark "over the hill," noting that to keep things on track, "each morning beginning at 7, maintenance workers hike the coaster's tracks along the walk boards in search of damaged wood and loose bolts. The cars, which are originals from 1927, are dismantled every winter before they undergo nondestructive testing and are reassembled."
In the below video, you'll see that people lose a lot on the coaster: from underwear to dentures!
