Change Comes Once Again for Coney Island`s Thunderbolt

Change Comes Once Again for Coney Island's Thunderbolt
Thursday, June 5, 2014, by Nathan Kensinger
Welcome back to Camera Obscura <http://ny.curbed.com/tags/camera-obscura> , Curbed's series of photo essays by Nathan Kensinger
<http://kensinger.blogspot.com/> . This week, Kensinger explores the past, present, and future of Coney Island's Thunderbolt.
[A new Thunderbolt roller coaster will soon open in Coney Island, located in the same block
where the original Thunderbolt once stood. All photos by Nathan Kensinger
<http://kensinger.blogspot.com/> .]
Coney Island's perpetually transforming landscape is
undergoing yet another renewal and rebirth, with a series
of rides and concessions opening in boardwalk locations
CONEY ISLAND
CAMERA OBSCURA
CONEY ISLAND
CURBED FEATURES
unused for decades. This summer, the new main
LILA PLACE
attraction is the Thunderbolt, a $9 million roller coaster
LONGFORM
which was scheduled to open on Memorial Day. Neighbors
NATHAN KENSINGER
and tourists alike are eagerly awaiting the ride, which was
THUNDERBOLT
built on an empty lot owned by the city. A team of workers
is now at the site, completing wiring and inspecting the
track. "Give us another week or two to run these tests," a
worker on the boardwalk told curious onlookers. "We
want to make the ride safe for you." However, as at least
one Coney Island resident has noted, "they haven't even
run the crash test dummies yet!"
While the anticipation for this new coaster grows, the
history of the original Thunderbolt looms in the shadows.
A true Coney Island landmark, the first Thunderbolt stood
3 COMMENTS
on this same block for over 70 years before being
bulldozed by the city. Built in 1925 by George H. Moran for
$170,000, this classic wooden coaster was situated above
an even older structure from Coney Island's past—the
Kensington Hotel, which was built in 1895. Both the
coaster and the hotel underneath gained a place in pop
culture history after being featured
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMbJuZKQztI> in
Woody Allen's film "Annie Hall."
The colorful story of the original Thunderbolt was explored in depth by
filmmaker Lila Place <http://www.lilaplace.com/Lila_Place/Home.html> for
her 2005 documentary "Under The Roller Coaster
<http://www.lilaplace.com/Lila_Place/Under.html> ." The film chronicles
the life of Mae Timpano, who lived in the house under the Thunderbolt for
many years with its owner Fred Moran. Their six-room home included a
grand piano and wall-to-wall carpets, and despite the constant rumble of
coaster cars, Timpano compared it to living in the countryside. "The film is
very nostalgic," said Lila Place. "It's tinged with this feeling that there were
better times that have been lost."
Under The Roller Coaster <http://vimeo.com/11978465> from Lila Place
<http://vimeo.com/user825887> on Vimeo <https://vimeo.com> .
The Thunderbolt was closed down when Fred Moran died in 1982
<http://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/10/obituaries/fred-moran-owner-ofthunderbolt-ride-at-coney-island-park.html> , and it soon fell into
disrepair. The house under the coaster was badly damaged by a fire
<http://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/16/nyregion/fire-guts-house-on-coneyi-was-in-77-woody-allen-film.html> in 1991. But both structures remained
standing for another nine years, protected by a caretaker. "That roller
coaster was shut down as long as I can remember. It was always such a
beautiful decrepit thing to look at," said Brooklyn resident Athena Brown,
who now works on the Coney Island boardwalk. "I used to wish I could go
inside but there were dogs in there."
In November 2000, the Thunderbolt was destroyed by Mayor Rudy Giuliani
"without any legal right," according to the Times
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/04/nyregion/about-new-york-giulianirazed-roller-coaster-and-the-law.html> . The demolition was "a surprise
attack on one of Coney Island's few remaining monuments," according to
the Journal of New York Folklore
<http://www.nyfolklore.org/pubs/voicjl27/dnstate.html> . "The house and
coaster were both slated for a secret demolition by the mayor, whose
waterfront development plans for a new, more profitable Coney Island will
sever all ties to its glamorous past." After the destruction, all that remained
on the Thunderbolt lot was the abandoned 1935 Playland Arcade building
<http://kensinger.blogspot.com/2011/01/coney-island-abandonedplayland.html> , which was left to collapse slowly, a haven for raccoons and
feral cats, before being demolished in 2013
<http://amusingthezillion.com/2012/10/23/playland-arcade-demolitionunder-way-in-coney-island/> .
The lot where this trio of Coney Island landmarks once stood—the
Thunderbolt, the Kensington Hotel, and the Playland Arcade—remains
empty today. It is owned by the family of Horace Bullard, a real estate
investor whose grand dreams for reinventing the neighborhood were never
realized <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/19/realestate/commercial/asconey-island-stirs-one-mans-vision-is-unbuilt.html?_r=0> before he died
in 2013. His family may now be preparing to build a waterpark
<http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/37/11/all-coney-waterpark-201403-14-bk_37_11.html> on the site, which is immediately adjacent to the
narrow swath of city land that holds the latest Thunderbolt. For many in the
neighborhood, though, these new developments are all part of an old cycle.
"Coney Island has been lost and rebuilt so many times. It was this very fancy
playground at one time, and then it went down, and then it went up," said
Lila Place. "This is just a new chapter."
The new Thunderbolt roller coaster is now being inspected by workers, in
preparation for its launch later this summer. The coaster has 2,000 feet of
steel track.
Facing the Coney Island boardwalk, the coaster is located alongside West
15th street. Its signage was inspired by the original Thunderbolt roller
coaster.
The original Thunderbolt and Kensington Hotel, as seen from the Coney
Island boardwalk in March 2000, just eight months before they were
destroyed.
The majestic ruins of the coaster were surrounded by chain link fences and
overgrown weeds and protected by a pack of guard dogs.
The old signage of the Thunderbolt, fenced off and rusting, near the Playland
Arcade building. The coaster had been closed for 18 years before it was
destroyed.
The interior of the Playland Arcade
<http://kensinger.blogspot.com/2011/01/coney-island-abandonedplayland.html> , seen here in 2011, was covered in hand painted murals
created by artist Larry Millard. The building was abandoned in 1981. Left
exposed to the elements, many of the murals had been damaged beyond
repair.
The exterior of the old Playland Arcade, which was built in 1935. The arcade
was finally demolished in 2013, after Hurricane Sandy flooded the area.
A construction worker on the site of the old arcade building. A new water
park may be constructed on the property and operated by Zamperla, the
same company that operates the new Thunderbolt, according to the Brooklyn
Paper <http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/37/11/all-coney-waterpark2014-03-14-bk_37_11.html> .
The empty parcels of land that are owned by the Bullard family, situated
between the new Thunderbolt and the Brooklyn Cyclones stadium.
The new Thunderbolt rises above the empty land that held its predecessor.
The cyclical nature of change in Coney Island appears to be at a high point.
"Coney Island was reinvented so many times," said Lila Place. "It feels like
it's a whole new world."
· Nathan Kensinger <http://kensinger.blogspot.com/> [Official]
· Coney Island coverage <http://ny.curbed.com/tags/coney-island> [Curbed]
· Camera Obscura archive <http://ny.curbed.com/tags/camera-obscura>
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755
looks good. hopefully they'll have some hotels on Coney in the not
for you
#1. 06/05/14 05:27 PM
too distant future as the area continues to re-brand itself.
RE
409
A correction is in order. While the original Thunderbolt was built on
#2. 06/06/14 12:52 AM
a wooden roadbed, much of the structure (as your own photos show)
was steel. It would best be called a "hybrid" coaster.
BklynScribe
The most common explanation of the city's demolition of the
coaster, without so much as a moment's notice to the owner, is that
Rudy wanted to improve views from the baseball stadium. I'm not
sure if that made much difference to Brooklyn fans, who have
mobbed the park and its souvenir shop. The Mets management has
negotiated a deal to sell Brooklyn Dodges gear, as well as Cyclones
and Mets merchandise. I've read that it's the most profitable
franchise in minor-league baseball. Kudos to the Mets (whose future
players appear in Brooklyn) for keeping prices affordable.
37
My favorite ride was the Bobsled. Man, now that's a coaster that
should be resurrected at Coney Island.
paul orofino
#3. 06/07/14 09:39 AM