Parachute Jump

The Parachute Jump is a 250-foot-tall, 170-short-ton open-frame, steel parachute tower. The ride was built for the 1939 New York World’s Fair at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, also in New York City. Riders were belted into a two-person canvas seat, lifted to the top, and dropped. It ceased operations in the 1960s following the park’s closure, and the frame fell into disrepair.

About Parachute Jump in brief

Summary Parachute JumpThe Parachute Jump is a 250-foot-tall, 170-short-ton open-frame, steel parachute tower. The ride was built for the 1939 New York World’s Fair at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, also in New York City. 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. It ceased operations in the 1960s following the park’s closure, and the frame fell into disrepair. Since the 1990s, it has been renovated several times, both for stability and for aesthetic reasons. The frame also has about 8,000 lighting fixtures, which are used for night-time light shows. It has been lit up in commemoration of events such as the death of Kobe Bryant. It is protected as an official New York city designated landmark and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was originally intended as a landing pad and contained a fenced-off space beneath the boardwalk. The lower floor, below the height of the ride, has red, yellow, and blue walls. The upper floor of the pavilion has six fluted piers divided into six sides by fluting piers. The 4-inch-thick concrete platform is beneath the open-off platform and has several steps beneath the steps. The bottom of the platform has a corrugated galvanized roof toward the corrugate-iron roof of the upper floor, which has red and blue, yellow and red, red, blue walls, and yellow, red and yellow walls.

It’s the only remaining portion of Steeplechase Park, and is in Steeplase Plaza near the B&B Carousell. The Parachue Jump is on the Riegelmann Boardwalk at Coney Island between West 16th and West 19th Streets. It consists of a hexagonal base, upon which stands a six-sided steel structure. The tower’s wide base gives it stability, while the top is tapered off. Twelve drop points are at the top,. marked by structural steel arms, which extend outward 45 feet from the tower’s center, and support octagonal subframes at the far end of each arm. Eight parachute guidelines were suspended from each subframe, which helped keep the parachute open. The parachutes could be stopped at any time during the ascent, but not once they had been released from the top of the tower. There are anti-climbing devices on the frame as well. A ladder is on the north side of the structure, extending from thetop of the base. The ride, which is the only surviving portion of the park, is in SteepleChase Plaza near B&B Carousell in Coney Island, New York. It was the tallest structure at the Fair, having been topped by a 12-foot flagpole, and it was moved to its current location in 1941.