Giant Dipper (Belmont Park)

Giant Dipper
Wooden roller coaster in Belmont Park
Belmont Park, San Diego, California
Coordinates

32°46′18″N 117°15′0″W / 32.77167°N 117.25000°W / 32.77167; -117.25000Coordinates: 32°46′18″N 117°15′0″W / 32.77167°N 117.25000°W / 32.77167; -117.25000

Mission Beach Roller Coaster
Site in U.S. state of California
Giant Dipper (Belmont Park) (San Diego County, California)
Giant Dipper (Belmont Park) (California)
Giant Dipper (Belmont Park) (the US)
Location 3000 Mission Boulevard, San Diego, California
Coordinates 32°46′18″N 117°15′0″W / 32.77167°N 117.25000°W / 32.77167; -117.25000
Area 2.8 acres (1.1 ha)
Built 1925
Architect Frank Prior, Fredrick Church
Architectural style "Bobs"-type coaster
NRHP reference # 78000753[2]
CHISL # 1044[1]
SDHL # 90
Significant dates
Added to NRHP December 27, 1978[2]
Designated NHL February 27, 1987[3]
Designated SDHL December 7, 1973[4]
Status Operating
Opening date July 4, 1925
General statistics
Type Wood
Manufacturer Frank Prior, Fredrick Church
Designer Frank Prior, Fredrick Church
Model Twister
Track layout 8 layers laminated wood strips with 1/4"x3" wide steel rail
Lift/launch system Chain lift hill
Height 70 ft (21 m)
Drop 60 ft (18 m)
Length 2,600 ft (790 m)
Speed 48 mph (77 km/h)
Inversions 0
Duration 1:45
Max vertical angle 40 degrees at bottom of first drop°
Height restriction 50 in (127 cm)
Giant Dipper at RCDB
Pictures of Giant Dipper at RCDB

The Giant Dipper, also known as the Mission Beach Roller Coaster and historically by other names, is a historical wooden roller coaster located in Belmont Park, a small amusement park in the Mission Beach area of San Diego, California. Built in 1925, it and its namesake at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk are the only remaining wooden roller coasters on the West Coast designed by noted roller coaster designers Frank Prior and Frederick Church, and the only whose construction they supervised. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978.[2]

Description

The Giant Dipper is located at the northeast corner of Belmont Park, a waterfront amusement park at the junction of Mission Boulevard and West Mission Bay Drive. The coaster occupies an irregular area about 100 by 500 feet (30 m × 152 m) in size, and is accessed via a terminal structure on its west side. It has a track length of 2,800 feet (850 m), and its highest hills, located roughly at opposite ends of the area, reach 75 feet (23 m) in height. A sign with the name "Belmont" is affixed to the wooden trestle structure at its northeast edge.[5]

History

The coaster was built in 1925 as part of a major real estate development led by John D. and Adolph Spreckels to attract visitors and residents to the Mission Beach area. The Mission Beach Amusement Center was built at a cost of $2.5 million and opened in 1925, with this roller coaster as one of its main attractions. It was designed by Church and Prior, coaster designers based in Venice, California, who also oversaw its construction. The Spreckelses bequeathed the attraction to the city, which in 1954 was leased to Jack Ray. He renamed the park Belmont Park, after another park in Montreal. The roller coaster was severely damaged by fire in 1955, and Ray subsequently declared bankruptcy.[5]

Threatened with demolition by the city in 1978, local citizens banded together to rescue it and a few surviving attractions of the defunct park.[5] It underwent a full restoration in 1989–90.[6]

Events

In 1997, the Giant Dipper held a coaster–riding marathon sponsored by local radio station, Star 100.7. The marathon consisted of eleven consecutive days riding the coaster for more than 12 hours per day. The radio station arranged a second marathon in 1998, which was eventually won by contestants who split a check for $50,000 in cash prize after riding the coaster for 70 days.

References

  1. 1 2 "California Historical Landmark: San Diego County". Office of Historic Preservation. California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
  2. 1 2 3 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  3. ↑ "Mission Beach Roller Coaster". National Historic Landmarks Quick Links. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2012-10-08. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
  4. ↑ "Historical Landmarks Designated by the San Diego Historical Resources Board" (PDF). City of San Diego.
  5. 1 2 3 "NHL nomination for Mission Beach Roller Coaster". National Park Service. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  6. ↑ "Company History". Belmont Park Company. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
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