The Cyclone was a

wooden roller coaster A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also ...

that operated at

Revere Beach Revere Beach is a public beach in Revere, Massachusetts, located about north of downtown Boston. The beach is over long. In 1875, a rail link was constructed to the beach, leading to its increasing popularity as a summer recreation area, and in ...

in Revere,

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, from 1925 until 1969. When Cyclone was constructed, it was the tallest roller coaster ever built, as well as being the first roller coaster in the world to reach in height. In addition to being the tallest roller coaster of its day, some also claim that it was the largest and fastest roller coaster in the world,Revere Beach historical site
with a length of and top speeds between 45 and 50 mph (some dispute the speed record claim and instead award that honor to the

Giant Dipper The Giant Dipper is a historic wooden roller coaster located at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, an amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. The Giant Dipper, which replaced the Thompson's Scenic Railway, took 47 days to build and opened on May 1 ...

). Cyclone held the title of world's tallest roller coaster until 1964 when it was surpassed by Montaña Rusa at La Feria Chapultepec Mágico in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

, Mexico. Given its location near the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, Cyclone would take much damage throughout the years from ocean storms, flooding, and blizzards. Despite the abuse the coaster took from the ocean, however, it was a fire that eventually destroyed the Cyclone. When the Cyclone burned down in 1969, it was an event that signaled the demise of the Revere Beach amusement industry. The coaster's charred ruins were finally torn down in 1974. As with Coney Island in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, Revere Beach's attractions were owned by a variety of amusement operators, with the Cyclone being owned by the Shayeb family. In its heyday, Cyclone was a popular ride, regularly transporting as many as 1,400 riders per hour—a rate which was quickly able to recoup the 125,000

dollar Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, ...

cost of the coaster.

Design and construction

Cyclone was constructed by the notable roller coaster builder and pioneer

Harry Traver Harry Guy Traver (November 25, 1877 – September 27, 1961) was an American engineer and early roller coaster designer. As the founder of the Traver Engineering Company, Traver was responsible for the production of gentle amusement rides like t ...

of Traver Engineering and designed by Frederick Church. It was similar in design to another Traver-built coaster at

Savin Rock Savin Rock is a section of West Haven, Connecticut, named after the rocky outcropping at the shorefront in Bradley Point Park. It was the site of the Savin Rock Amusement Park, which began in the late 19th century as a regionally renowned seaside ...

, the

Thunderbolt A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hel ...

. Cyclone was one of two roller coasters that Traver built at Revere Beach, the other one being the

Lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an avera ...

. Lightning was part of a model line known as "

Giant Cyclone Safety Coaster Giant Cyclone Safety Coasters were a model line of roller coasters designed and marketed by Harry Traver and his company Traver Engineering in the 1920s. Despite their name, they had a reputation of being dangerous and are regarded by many historian ...

s". These coasters were steel-framed coasters, which, ironically enough, had a particularly poor safety record. Because Cyclone predated Lightning at Revere Beach, Lightning was the only Cyclone Safety Coaster to not share the Cyclone name of its sister coasters.

References

{{Revere Coasters Buildings and structures in Suffolk County, Massachusetts Demolished buildings and structures in Massachusetts Revere, Massachusetts Former roller coasters in Massachusetts

Design and construction

See also

References