Wanted   Do you have a passion for antiques and collectibles - and writing?   The Wayback Times invites you to submit freelance articles for use in print and on our new web site.   E-mail your text submissions to The Wayback Times.   Articles published in the Wayback Times since 1995 have covered a wide range of interests, from Golliwoggs to toy VW collecting, and from collecting insulators to hunting old books.   Most authors of our online selection of articles have included their e-mail addresses and they are always delighted to hear from other collectors.

Inside Antiques, by Robert Reed   Inside Antiques: Ferris wheels, roller coasters were moving sights   By Robert Reed Across the landscape of North America’s amusement parks Ferris wheels and roller coasters have served as historic landmarks.   Not surprisingly, such ‘big rides’ were featured on postcards in the United States and in other parts of the world.   Generally the evolution of such amusement rides as the Ferris Wheel and the roller coaster was a part of the working class public’s growing interest in mechanized entertainment.   “Simply constructed rides, such as swings, soon gave way to merry-go-rounds, bump-the-bumps, Ferris wheels, whips and roller coasters,” observed the United States Encyclopedia of History. “Picnic baskets and band concerts were gradually replaced by the more profitable hot-dog stands and honky-tonk dances.”   Historically, the roller coaster would predate the Ferris wheel.   Most accounts place the first American roller coaster in the mountains of Pennsylvania. During the latter 19th century, it was known as the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway. By the 1880s, a version of the Switchback Railway was operating at Coney Island in New York. Its enterprising operator was charging five cents a ride and collecting prosperous amounts every day.   The 1890s saw the development of two different things which in turn enhanced one another. By that grand decade, the electric trolley was made to order for transporting good folks to amusement parks, which were usually located just outside major cities.   Some notable sites at the time included The Chutes in San Francisco, Paragon Park in Boston, Forest Park in St. Louis, and both Sea Lion Park and Steeple Chase Park on New York’s Coney Island.   Meanwhile, the Ferris wheel was nearing reality as the amusement parks bustled.   The economic recession of 1892 slowed the plans of George Washington Gale Ferris to develop and construct his idea of the greatest giant wheel ride ever. The idea was to build the ride as a major attraction of the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Since the gold standard of the time was the 1,000-foot Eiffel Tower built for the 1889 Paris Exposition, the Ferris wheel was to be more impressive.   Ferris was a civil engineer who had graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and had become a bridge builder. It was not bridges, however, that would make the man famous.   By 1893, Ferris had raised the needed $380,000 for the most unusual job. The great wheel ride weighted 1,200 tons and stood 264 feet tall. Each of its 36 very large cars provided 40 revolving chairs and could ultimately accommodate up to 60 people. All together, over 2,100 passengers could be thrilled with a ride at the same time. For the 20-minute two revolution trip riders paid 50 cents each.   As it turned out, the gala ride rolled up more than $700,000 sales that first year, making it a big midway hit as well as a financial success.   Soon there were other similar ‘wheeled’ rides. The Great Wheel opened to the public in England in July of 1895. At 310 feet, it was the world’s tallest. Built for the Empire of India Exhibition at Earls Court in London, it continued to attract tourists well into the 20th century.   By 1900, the Grande Roue de Paris had become the world’s tallest Ferris wheel. It stood at 330 feet in height at Paris, France.   After the Chicago Exposition, the original Ferris wheel was put into storage before being reconstructed near Lincoln Park in Chicago. Later it was hauled by railway and reassembled for the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. Ultimately, it was demolished by dynamite in 1906.   Roller coasters were rolling along as well.   There were trolley parks and at least one roller coaster in nearly every major city in the United States during the early 1900s. They ranged from Leap-The-Dips at Lakemont Park in Altoona, Pennsylvania, to Drop-The-Dips in Coney Island, New York.   It was estimated that by 1910, a busy Sunday on Coney Island alone would draw a crowd of one million people to ride the rides like the roller coaster and generally enjoy the sights.   Other trolley parks with amusement sites fresh to the 20th century included Camden Park in Huntington, West Virginia; Canobie Lake Park in Salem, New Hampshire; Dorney Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania; Oaks Amusement Park in Portland, Oregon; and Quassy Amusement Park in Middlebury, Connecticut. Most all of them featured a roller coaster-type of attraction along with other exotic mechanical rides.   Forest Park Amusement Park, with a name similar to an earlier park in St. Louis, opened near Chicago in 1907. It featured a giant ‘safety’ coaster which was billed as the highest ride in the nation at the time. Other top attractions at site included a fun house, beer garden, casino, swimming pool, and skating rink. The elaborate operation continued to entertain the masses until 1922.     The 1920s were considered by many to have the golden age for both the roller coaster and the Ferris wheel. It has been estimated there were 2,000 roller coaster rides operational around the United States during the 1920s. The number of Ferris wheels or related wheel-rotating rides undoubtedly rivaled that number as well.   While the arrival of widespread automobile ownership during that Roaring Twenties decade enabled amusement parks to prosper, it likewise threatened them. The car could take tourists too many different locations. Passengers would not be limited to the trolley car tracks of the past, but could be driven in all sorts of locations.   By the late 1920s, the slowing economy and the limits on hourly income began to have an effect on existing amusement parks around the U.S. The Great Depression of the 1930s had a final chilling effect on such parks causing widespread closings.   Amusement parks, complete with their roller coasters and accompanying Ferris wheels, enjoyed something of a renaissance during the 1970s. It included the arrival of Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in Florida, among many others.   Photos:   1 - The Great Wheel, London, England   2 - The Great Wheel, Paris, France   3 - Forest Park Giant Safety Coaster in Missouri   Robert Reed has written on antiques and collectibles for more than two decades. He has also authored 15 books, including his recently released Antiques and Collectible Dictionary, available from www.collectorbooks.com     Return to top of page   This Is Livin' Publishing © 2011 581 8th Line West, RR1 Hastings, ON, K0L 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 705-696-1833   webmaster