Preservation
By the 1960s, attendance at Coney Island had declined. By 1968, the Cyclone was deteriorating and it was shut down in 1969.
In 1971, the Cyclone was bought by the city of New York for one million dollars. Lack of riders hurt profits, and the ride was condemned. In 1972, it was nearly destroyed because the New York Aquarium (which is located adjacent to the ride) wanted to expand. A "Save the Cyclone" campaign ensued, and it was leased to the Astroland amusement park for $57,000 per year. Astroland's owners had it refurbished, and it reopened on July 3, 1975.
In 1978, it was featured in the film version of The Wiz as the home of its version of the Tinman, and its size compared to the rest of Oz raised to enormous proportions. In the 1980s, events like the Mermaid Parade and Sideshows by the Seashore brought visitors back to Coney Island and the Cyclone. Despite the closing of Astroland Park on September 7, 2008, the Cyclone will remain in operation due to its status as a New York City landmark. The ride (75 feet along 834 Surf Avenue and 500 feet (150 m) along West 10th Street, 40°34′30″N 73°58′39″W / 40.575°N 73.9775°W / 40.575; -73.9775) is now owned completely by the Parks Department. The former concession stands, built into the structure of the roller coaster, are now home to the Coney Island History Project, and a stand selling Cyclone based shirts, hats, and on-ride photos.
The Cyclone was declared a city landmark in 1988 and a National Historic Landmark in 1991.
Read more about this topic: Coney Island Cyclone
Famous quotes containing the word preservation:
“It is my hope to be able to prove that television is the greatest step forward we have yet made in the preservation of humanity. It will make of this Earth the paradise we have all envisioned, but have never seen.”
—Joseph O’Donnell. Clifford Sanforth. Professor James Houghland, Murder by Television, just before he demonstrates his new television device (1935)
“The bourgeois treasures nothing more highly than the self.... And so at the cost of intensity he achieves his own preservation and security. His harvest is a quiet mind which he prefers to being possessed by God, as he prefers comfort to pleasure, convenience to liberty, and a pleasant temperature to that deathly inner consuming fire.”
—Hermann Hesse (1877–1962)
“The preservation of health is a duty. Few seem conscious that there is such a thing as physical morality.”
—Herbert Spencer (1820–1903)