The Cyclone
834 Surf Avenue | also 817 Boardwalk West | Coney Island | built 1930
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1911
The Giant Racer occupies the lot where the Cyclone will rise
From 1911 to 1926 the Giant Racer occupied the corner of Surf Avenue and West 10th Street, the lot the Cyclone now holds. For the coaster that replaced it, brothers Irving and Jack Rosenthal took a 19-year lease from the Coast Holding Company, a syndicate of Coney Island amusement and business men.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1927
The Cyclone opens for Jack and Irving Rosenthal
Engineer Vernon Keenan designed the coaster, and Harry C. Baker, a leading operator of amusement rides, built it for the Rosenthal brothers. The National Bridge Company of New York installed the steel and Cross, Austin & Ireland of Long Island City supplied the lumber.
- 1927
The Cyclone is a wood-track twister braced with steel
The landmark report classes the ride as a gravity coaster of the wood-track twister type, with steel supports at its center and at each curved end. It lists six fan turns, nine drops and a first plunge of about ninety feet. Each train has three linked cars carrying eight riders apiece, and a chain lifts them to the first plunge, after which they run on their own momentum.
- 1948
A veteran who lost his voice in 1943 speaks again after a ride on the Cyclone
West Virginian Emilio Franco, an Army private, was struck mute by hysteria in 1943. Five years later he rode the Cyclone, and the report says he screamed all the way through. When he stepped off, he spoke, saying that he felt sick. The New York Times reported the episode on August 12, 1948.
“…regained his ability to speak as he rode on the Cyclone five years later. After screaming all through the ride, Franco exited with the words…”
- 1972
Fans organize a 'Save the Cyclone' campaign against demolition for an aquarium swamp
In 1972 the New York Aquarium announced plans to replace the Cyclone with a swamp exhibit, which put it at odds with the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce. Opponents began a 'Save the Cyclone' campaign. Owners of the AstroWorld park in Houston weighed buying the coaster and moving it, but dropped the idea as too costly and built a copy called the Texas Cyclone.
“In 1972, aquarium officials announced that they would replace the Cyclone with a swamp display. Opponents of the plan organized a "Save the Cyclone" campaign…”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1975
The Cyclone reopens under the Astroland lease
After the city invited bids in April 1975, the owners of the adjacent Astroland amusement park won the lease to run the Cyclone, offering $57,000 a year. They spent $60,000 refurbishing it, and the coaster reopened on July 3, 1975. Dewey and Jerome Albert, who owned Astroland, had signed the agreement with the city on June 18.
“After Astroland spent $60,000 to refurbish the Cyclone, the coaster reopened on July 3, 1975.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1988
The Landmarks Preservation Commission designates the Cyclone
The commission designated the Cyclone an individual landmark, citing its speed, fan turns and steep drops. It noted that the coaster was one of about eighty-five wood-track coasters left from 1,500 once built in the country, and that today's building code bars building another timber-supported coaster. The landmark site is part of the lot at 834 Surf Avenue.
- 2011
Luna Park takes over the Cyclone and begins a major refurbishment
Luna Park, the neighboring amusement park, assumed management of the Cyclone in 2011. Nothing had been done to refurbish the ride since the 1970s, and some planks had come loose. Enthusiasts worried that the work by Great Coasters International would smooth out its famously rough ride. The refurbishment was completed in 2016.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- Coney Island CycloneWikipedia
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