Parachute Jump

About

The Parachute Jump is a defunct amusement ride and a landmark in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, along the Riegelmann Boardwalk at Coney Island. Situated in Steeplechase Plaza near the B&B Carousell, the structure consists of a 250-foot-tall (76 m), 170-short-ton (150 t) open-frame, steel parachute tower. Twelve cantilever steel arms radiate from the top of the tower; when the ride was in operation, each arm supported a parachute attached to a lift rope and a set of guide cables. Riders were belted into a two-person canvas seat, lifted to the top, and dropped. The parachute and shock absorbers at the bottom would slow their descent.

International Parachuting Inc. was selected in May 1938 to operate the Parachute Jump at the 1939 New York World's Fair at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City. Capped by a 12-foot (3.7 m) flagpole, it was the second-tallest structure at the fair. The ride was sponsored by Life Savers during the fair's first season, and it was relocated during the fair's second season to attract more visitors. In 1941, after the World's Fair, it was moved again to the Steeplechase amusement park on Coney Island. It ceased operations in the 1960s following the park's closure, and the frame fell into disrepair.