The Thunderbolt 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 ...

located at 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. Designed by John Miller,Rutherford, Scott (2000) ''The American Roller Coaster'', MBI Publishing Company, Wisconsin. . it operated from 1925 until 1982 and remained standing until it was demolished in 2000. The demolition was controversial, as the property owner Horace Bullard was not notified, nor had any formal inspection been done on the structure. In June 2013, it was announced that a new steel roller coaster would be constructed on Coney Island named 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 ...

. The steel coaster opened in 2014 and uses a completely different design.

In popular culture

It was featured briefly in

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

's 1977 film ''

Annie Hall ''Annie Hall'' is a 1977 American satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen from a screenplay written by him and Marshall Brickman, and produced by Allen's manager, Charles H. Joffe. The film stars Allen as Alvy Singer, w ...

'' as the boyhood home of

Alvy Singer ''Annie Hall'' is a 1977 American satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen from a screenplay written by him and Marshall Brickman, and produced by Allen's manager, Charles H. Joffe. The film stars Allen as Alvy Singer, ...

(Allen's character). The house was a real residence, built in 1895 as the Kensington Hotel. The roller coaster was constructed with part of its track scaling the top of the building. The

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

slowcore Slowcore is a subgenre of alternative rock and indie rock. The music of slowcore artists is generally characterized by bleak lyrics, downbeat melodies, slower tempos and minimalist arrangements. Slowcore is often used interchangeably with the ...

band Red House Painters 1993 album, '' Red House Painters (Rollercoaster)'' features a sepia toned photograph of the Thunderbolt as its cover art. The last film to photograph the Thunderbolt was ''

Requiem for a Dream ''Requiem for a Dream'' is a 2000 American psychological drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher McDonald and Marlon Wayans. It is based on the 1978 novel of the same na ...

''. In the 1995 IMAX film '' Across the Sea of Time'', the coaster is featured in abandoned condition. In the 1998 movie '' He Got Game'',

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

features the coaster in its dilapidated state.

References

Coney Island Former roller coasters in New York (state) 1925 establishments in New York City 1982 disestablishments in New York (state) Demolished buildings and structures in Brooklyn {{Brooklyn-struct-stub