The last couple of weeks have brought all sorts of grim news on the nostalgia front. Killer Kowalski, a superstar of the Saturday morning wrestling broadcasts of my childhood, died. The bakery that makes Hostess Twinkies and Drake's Devil Dogs may go bankrupt. And Coney Island's Astroland is closing.
Not that I ever actually made it to Astroland, or Coney Island for that matter, but that doesn't stop me from pining for it.
Astroland is a theme park of sorts and, given that it opened in 1962, no one will be surprised to learn that it has a space theme. This was, after all, the year of John Glenn's historic flight in which he orbited the earth three times.
And now, alas, I have missed my chance to visit, as Astroland went dark last Sunday.
According to The NY Times article that announced Astroland's demise, the owners had sold the property - for a cool $30M (that's an awful lot of caramel corn and cotton candy) - a couple of years ago, and haven't been able to work out a lease deal with the owners. Thor Equities has said that they're interested in keeping an amusement park on the location, but a lot of folks suspect that there will be condos rather than Caterpillars and Tilt-a-Whirls going up there.
Fortunately, Coney Island's Cyclone wooden roller coaster has landmark status and will continue to run, as will a few other rides.
Of the amusement parks of my youth, nothing survives of White City, which was razed for - what else - a shopping plaza. White City was a tawdry little park on the shores of Lake Quinsigamond. My clearest memory there was falling in the barrel of fun (hah!), and being helped out by an older boy.
Then there was Paragon Park at Nantasket Beach, which was part of the whole package: a day at the beach; salt water taffy; and an amusement park. My main Nantasket memory is finding a starfish on the beach and being yucked out by it. I threw it blindly away, and hit some old geezer in the back of the neck. Ooops!
Paragon Park is all gone now, although the wonderful carousel is still there. And Nantasket Beach itself is eroding - it's down to nothingness at high tide.
Until I saw The Times article, however, I had never wondered where the old rides go when amusement parks shut down.
Well, you can actually buy them at Rides4U, where twenty Astroland rides are up for bid - along with a lot of other neat stuff. Located in New Jersey:
Rides-4-U, Inc., founded in 1995 has emerged as an industry leader in both new and used amusement equipment. Through consistent performance, attention to detail, a customer service approach, and the creativity to get the deal done, our company is the one-authority for all of you ride needs.
If you want a piece of Astroland, you can get the Kiddie Boats for the low-low price of $15K. I rather like the Tea Cups for $39K. But the Water Flume ($199K), Dante's Inferno ($225K), and Break Dance ($299K) are, I'm afraid, way out of my league.
I've always been partial to Tilt-a-Whirls, and they have quite a price range: $16.5K to $199K - no indication of what the difference is, but I'm sure those in the know can read between those lines.
Rides4U also sells new rides. I like the sound of the Apache Helicopter Dactylus and the Energy Rush. And what's the difference between the Family Tower and the Gravity Tower?
In any case, here's another wonderful business that I didn't even know existed. I have been so limited by my career in high tech.
When someone is looking for a merry-go-round or a wheelborrow, and opens your page, you have about 5 seconds to capture his interst. And, 6 paragraphs of horse shit itn'g going to do it. Don't try to put us in school, we don't have time to read 6 fucking pages of how wonderful you are. Here' how it works stupid: 1) Pictures, 2) Specs, 3) Price, 4) 800 no contact..... Wake out of your stupidity! And..... don't pump us for tons of information.
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