Aurel “Dutch” Vaszin (1885–1979) was a carpenter, engineer and roller coaster designer, best known for heading the National Amusement Device company and designing some of the largest roller coasters of his day.

Life and work

Vaszin was born in Romania in April, 1885, and came to the United States in 1904. At that time, he was trained as a cabinet maker, with a sixth grade education. In 1913 he took a job as a craftsman at an amusement park headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut. He worked on assignments for the Lakeside Amusement Park in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

, after which he planned to open his own business in Dayton. Between 1919 and 1920, he opened the Dayton Fun House, an amusement park in Dayton. This was later renamed to National Amusement Devices, and produced trains and other supplies for over 400 amusement parks around the country. He also developed and opened the Forest Park Zoological Gardens on 43 acres of land located off of North Main Street in Dayton; but this was forced to close in 1935 during the Great Depression.

National Amusement Devices

As the Dayton Fun House grew in popularity, it began producing miniature trains and other gear for other amusement parks. After World War II, it was renamed to National Amusement Devices and attracted designer John Miller. They began designing entire roller coasters for other parks, some much larger than they could set up in Dayton. This included a number of international projects, such as a mile-long ravine coaster in a national park in Guatemala, and the "Russian Mountain" in Mexico City's

Chapultepec Park Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is one of the largest city parks in Mexico, measuring in total just over 686 hectares (1,695 acres). Centered on a rock formation called Chapultep ...

. The "Russian Mountain"/"La Montaña Rusa" was billed in 1964 as the largest roller coaster in the world - 110 ft high and 5,000 ft long. As of 2008 it was the oldest roller coaster in Mexico, and one of the only NAD rides still in operation. Vaszin also designed some of NAD's most popular miniature trains, including the " Century Flyer", which was used in around 100 parks. As of 2012, the Century Flyer in

Conway, Arkansas Conway is a city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Faulkner County, located in the state's most populous Metropolitan Statistical Area, Central Arkansas. Although considered a suburb of Little Rock, Conway is unusual in that ...

is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, due to being one of the few remaining NAD trains in operation.

Later life and death

Vaszin retired in 1973, and NAD was sold and renamed International Amusement Devices. He continued to advise the company until his death on May 15, 1979. He was survived by two sisters in Romania. His papers were given to the

Wright State University Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in honor of aviation ...

Archives in 1980 by his friend Eva Berry.Vaszin's letters online
via the Wright State archives.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaszin, Aurel 1885 births 1979 deaths Roller coaster designers Romanian emigrants to the United States