Giant Dipper (Belmont Park)

The Giant Dipper, also known as 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 one whose construction they supervised. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978[2] and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987.[3]

Giant Dipper
Wooden roller coaster in Belmont Park
Belmont Park, San Diego, California
LocationBelmont Park, San Diego, California
Coordinates32°46′18″N 117°15′0″W
Mission Beach Roller Coaster
Giant Dipper (Belmont Park) is located in San Diego
Giant Dipper (Belmont Park)
Site in U.S. state of California
Giant Dipper (Belmont Park) is located in San Diego County, California
Giant Dipper (Belmont Park)
Giant Dipper (Belmont Park) (San Diego County, California)
Giant Dipper (Belmont Park) is located in California
Giant Dipper (Belmont Park)
Giant Dipper (Belmont Park) (California)
Giant Dipper (Belmont Park) is located in the United States
Giant Dipper (Belmont Park)
Giant Dipper (Belmont Park) (the United States)
Location3000 Mission Boulevard, San Diego, California
Coordinates32°46′18″N 117°15′0″W
Area2.8 acres (1.1 ha)
Built1925
ArchitectFrank Prior, Fredrick Church
Architectural style"Bobs"-type coaster
NRHP reference No.78000753[2]
CHISL No.1044[1]
SDHL No.90
Significant dates
Added to NRHPDecember 27, 1978[2]
Designated NHLFebruary 27, 1987[3]
Designated SDHLDecember 7, 1973[4]
StatusOperating
Opening dateJuly 4, 1925
General statistics
TypeWood
ManufacturerFrank Prior, Fredrick Church
DesignerFrank Prior, Fredrick Church
ModelTwister
Track layout8 layers laminated wood strips with 1/4"x3" wide steel rail
Lift/launch systemChain lift hill
Height70 ft (21 m)
Drop60 ft (18 m)
Length2,600 ft (790 m)
Speed48 mph (77 km/h)
Inversions0
Duration1:45
Max vertical angle40 degrees at bottom of first drop°
Height restriction50 in (127 cm)
Giant Dipper at RCDB

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 a 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.

The Giant Dipper and Belmont Park amusement center are included in author Stephen M. Silverman's 2019 book The Amusement Park: 900 Years of Thrills and Spills, and the Dreamers and Schemers Who Built Them.[7]

References
  1. "California Historical Landmark: San Diego County". Office of Historic Preservation. California State Parks. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. "Mission Beach Roller Coaster". National Historic Landmarks Quick Links. National Park Service. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  4. "Historical Landmarks Designated by the San Diego Historical Resources Board" (PDF). City of San Diego.
  5. "NHL nomination for Mission Beach Roller Coaster". National Park Service. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  6. "Company History". Belmont Park Company. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  7. Silverman, Stephen M. (2019). The Amusement Park: 900 Years of Thrills and Spills, and the Dreamers and Schemers Who Built Them. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal. p. 265. ISBN 978-0316416481.
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