Mission Beach Roller Coaster

A National Historic Landmark
Date of Designation: February 27, 1987
National Register Number: 78000753

Common Name: "Giant Dipper"
Location: Belmont Park, 3000 Mission Boulevard, San Diego, California.
Geographic Coordinates: 32.7713N 117.2517W

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE (as of designation - February 27, 1987):
Constructed in 1925, this is one of two large wooden scaffolded roller coasters with structural integrity that remain on the West Coast. The "Earthquake" roller coaster, as it is also called, is the only one on the West Coast by noted coaster builders Prior and Church. It is the prime survivor and most visible symbol of the Mission Beach Amusement Center, the centerpiece of sugar-heir John D. Spreckels' ambitious early 20th-century recreational development.

Links: Official Home Page of the Mission Beach Giant Dipper, Belmont Park and Wikipedia.

Friday August 22, 2008

Image from Google Earth.