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Luna Park at Coney Island evacuated

ECG

ECG

East Coast(er) General
Staff member
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Luna Park and the famous Cyclone coaster in Coney Island were evacuated this evening after the 275 foot tall Astrotower was seen swaying in spite of any wind gusts. The park will remain closed until at least noon tomorrow while authorities investigate.

Here's a written news report: http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/184887/luna-park-closed-early-after-astrotower-seen-swaying

And for those who would rather watch a local news report:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKb6wnBNCeY[/youtube]

I've always wondered why they have kept the tower up all these years since it hasn't been operational since 2008, especially since they removed the rotating gondola after hurricane Sandy.
 
That's pretty scary actually. Hopefully it'll stay up long enough for them to secure it.
 
From a structural stand-point, I'd be worried if it didn't sway.

All large structures are built to sway to a certain extent, rather than stand stiff. Stiffness would result in structural fatigue when hit by wind and uneven force, making the tower far more likely to topple.

Still, it would appear that it is time for Coney Island to take the tower down. The only problem is - how?

Cedar Point did a controlled demolition of the Space Spiral, but Coney Island doesn't have that luxury. This is similar to Knott's, which also has an observation tower, surrounded by rides, that has not been in operation for years. I imagine the costs of trying to disassemble it on the spot are rather high.
 
If it falls, I hope it takes the Volare out with it.
 
Ian said:
If it falls, I hope it takes the Volare out with it.
Click to expand...
FYI - I know it's just a joke (even though Ian probably means it), but the only coasters the tower could hit are Cyclone, the wild mouse spinner or the kiddie cred(s) depending on which direction it toppled. The Volare and the moto coaster are both located in Scream Zone, which wasn't affected.
 
DP :wink:

Luna Park is scrambling to get the park open before tomorrow. The Fourth Of July is one of the park's biggest days of the year, but even if they get it open people will likely still stay away because of the publicity it's gotten over the past two days.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgfB8jzzVM4[/youtube]
 
Triple post. Woo!

They're still working on getting the tower down. Looks like they might be able to open Luna Park and the Cyclone later this afternoon, but it's probably too little too late. At least the holiday weekend should be good to go.

Here's the latest local news report:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVbbMmUi4KQ[/youtube]
 
They have to cut it apart? There's no bolted sections?

Never mind. Figured it out: They couldn't get a big enough crane on such short notice to lift whole sections.
 
Wow! I was at Luna on the 25th, (a week before the swaying report), couldn't have guessed that it would be one of it's last few days being complete! Crazy!

Didn't notice any out-of-the-ordinary swaying when I was there though. It looked pretty unloved though, so I guess it was only a matter of time.

Would also be interested in finding out how much they had to take down!
 
^^They had to cut off the top third of the tower before allowing the park to open again. It took all of the night to cut the red upper section into pieces and dismantle it. Then it took most of the day to cut and remove the upper quarter of the tower before opening the park at about 4pm that afternoon (July 4th).
 
^Yeah, sorry for neglecting to say that the rest of the tower was removed the next day (July 5th) and all that remains is the base. I'm sure that will be gone by next year (if not sooner) and Zamperla will squeeze another kiddie ride in there. :roll:
 
No worries, I like investigating things like this. ;)

I agree. I expect that the "astrostump" as it's been dubbed will disappear too within the next few months or over the winter. Here's to a worthy replacement!
 
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