The Giant Dipper, also known as the Mission Beach Roller Coaster, and historically by other names, is a historical

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 be ...

located in

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...

, a small amusement park in the Mission Beach area of

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California. Built-in 1925, it and its namesake at the

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is an oceanfront amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. Founded in 1907, it is California's oldest surviving amusement park and one of the few seaside parks on the West Coast of the United States. Description ...

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 The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1978 and designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1987.

Description

The Giant Dipper is located at the northeast corner of

, a waterfront amusement park at the junction of Mission Boulevard and West Mission Bay Drive. The coaster occupies an irregular area about in size, and is accessed via a terminal structure on its west side. It has a track length of , and its highest hills, located roughly at opposite ends of the area, reach in height. A sign with the name "Belmont" is affixed to the wooden trestle structure at its northeast edge.

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 for $2.5 million and opened in 1925, with the coaster as one of its main attractions. It was designed by Frank Prior and Frederick Church, coaster designers based in

Venice, California Venice is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, whe ...

, who also oversaw its construction. The Spreckels' 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 Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. The roller coaster was severely damaged by fire in 1955, and Ray subsequently declared bankruptcy. Threatened with demolition by the city in 1978, local citizens banded together to rescue it and a few surviving attractions of the defunct park. It underwent a full restoration in 1989–90.

Events

In 1997, the Giant Dipper held a coaster–riding marathon sponsored by a local radio station, Star 100.7. The marathon consisted of 11 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 prizes after riding the coaster for 70 days.

Popular culture

The Giant Dipper and

are included in author

Stephen M. Silverman Stephen Meredith Silverman (November 22, 1951 – July 6, 2023) was an American biographer, journalist, and editor. He was chief entertainment correspondent for the ''New York Post'' from 1977 to 1988,Amusement rides on the National Register of Historic Places List of amusement rides, Amusement rides currently and previously listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) are located throughout the United States. These ride listings consist mainly of 54 carousels (49 listed and 5 deli ...

References

External links

* * {{National Register of Historic Places Amusement-related National Historic Landmarks Buildings and structures in San Diego National Historic Landmarks in California National Register of Historic Places in San Diego Roller coasters introduced in 1925 Tourist attractions in San Diego Wooden roller coasters 1925 establishments in California