Why did the Coney Island parachute ride close down?

Answer 1

The Parachute Ride in Coney Island closed down with the rest of the park in 1964. It was designated a city landmark in 1977. Then the city changed its mind about the status, and talked about demolishing it again. But in 1989, the city again made it a city landmark. In 1993, it was repainted. The city talked about remodeling the ride and did add lighting to the tower.

Answer 2

The Parachute Ride in Coney Island closed down with the rest of the park in 1964. It was designated a city landmark in 1977. Then the city changed its mind about the status, and talked about demolishing it again. But in 1989, the city again made it a city landmark. In 1993, it was repainted. The city talked about remodeling the ride and did add lighting to the tower.

Answer 3

The Pair-O-Chutes - Strong's earlier jump tower built at Riverview Park in Chicago - was demolished in 1968, leaving the Coney Island tower, even if inoperable, as the only such civilian tower in the world. The site barely escaped a condominium development by Fred Trump but public opposition and the expense of demolition scuttled the project. The City of New York acquired the Steeplechase site in 1969, and control of the Jump passed to the city's parks department, which attempted to sell it in 1971. No buyers were found, and demolition was considered but eventually rejected, due both to the high price to the city that demolition would cost and to a nascent preservation movement. Organizations including the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce and the Gravesend Historical Society made efforts to save the structure, which seemed to bear fruit in July 1977 when, after more than four years of consideration, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the tower a city landmark. The chairwoman of the commission took the opportunity to call it Brooklyn's Eiffel Tower. Hope for the tower's future was short-lived, though: only three months later the city Board of Estimate overturned the landmark designation, citing doubts about the tower's structural integrity. Demolition was again planned but never came to pass. The Pair-O-Chutes - Strong's earlier jump tower built at Riverview Park in Chicago - was demolished in 1968, leaving the Coney Island tower, even if inoperable, as the only such civilian tower in the world. The site barely escaped a condominium development by Fred Trump but public opposition and the expense of demolition scuttled the project. The City of New York acquired the Steeplechase site in 1969, and control of the Jump passed to the city's parks department, which attempted to sell it in 1971. No buyers were found, and demolition was considered but eventually rejected, due both to the high price to the city that demolition would cost and to a nascent preservation movement. Organizations including the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce and the Gravesend Historical Society made efforts to save the structure, which seemed to bear fruit in July 1977 when, after more than four years of consideration, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the tower a city landmark. The chairwoman of the commission took the opportunity to call it Brooklyn's Eiffel Tower. Hope for the tower's future was short-lived, though: only three months later the city Board of Estimate overturned the landmark designation, citing doubts about the tower's structural integrity. Demolition was again planned but never came to pass.