Episode 1206
Parachute Jump
Sun, 2020-Aug-23 02:19 UTC
Length - 2:32
Direct Link
Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day.
The featured article for Sunday, 23 August 2020 is Parachute Jump.
The Parachute Jump is a defunct amusement ride and a landmark on the Riegelmann Boardwalk in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. It consists of a 250-foot-tall (76 m), 170-short-ton (150 t) open-frame, steel parachute tower. The ride has twelve cantilever steel arms radiating from the top of the tower; when the ride was in operation, these each 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.
The Parachute Jump was built for the 1939 New York World's Fair at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, also in New York City. Capped by a 12-foot (3.7 m) flagpole, the ride was the tallest structure at the Fair. In 1941, after the World's Fair, the Jump was moved to its current location on Coney Island, in the Steeplechase amusement park. The ride ceased operations in the 1960s following the park's closure.
Despite proposals to either demolish or restore the Parachute Jump, disputes over the tower's use caused it to remain unused through the 1980s. Since the 1990s, it has been renovated several times, both for stability and for aesthetic reasons. Afterward, the frame fell into disrepair until the 2000s, when it was restored and fitted with a lighting system. The lights were activated in 2006 and replaced in a subsequent project in 2013.
The Parachute Jump is the only remaining portion of Steeplechase Park, and as of 2013, it is located in Steeplechase Plaza near the B&B Carousell. The Parachute Jump is protected as an official New York City designated landmark and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 02:19 UTC on Sunday, 23 August 2020.
For the full current version of the article, see Parachute Jump on Wikipedia.
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This has been Matthew Standard. Thank you for listening to featured Wiki of the Day.
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