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Coloured Tubes
Mar. 29th, 2007 06:18 pmI watched "Meet Boston Blackie" last night. It's an entertaining B movie about a private detective who breaks up a ring of Nazi spies, but what really fascinated me were the scenes that took place in an un-named beachside Parq d'Abusement. Portions seem to have been shot in Cooney Island, and portions in Luna Park. It's from 1941, and it's fascinating to see the old, pre-war stuff. All of the lighting is incandescent, and compared to modern standards it's kind of sparse. The coloured fluorescent tubes that so fascinated me as a child weren't in use yet, although they were technically available (the '39 World's Fair used them). Those seem to have been a mid-century aberration anyway, and died out sometime in the early 80s, IIRC.
The food dealers had very much the standard setup, except the display case was made of wood rather than metal. Everything had a sort of decrepit, cobbled-together look that you don't see on modern fair stalls. I'm guessing people back then built their own stalls rather than bought them from a company.
I wonder how much of that stuff got carted across town from the World of Tomorrow when it closed in 1940.
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It seems that the Tilt-a-Whirl will now be the Official State Ride of Minnesota. I want the Cone of Tragedy to be Ohio's ride :)
The Tilt-a-Whirl is apparently of interest to mathematicians.
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I end up watching a lot of television when I'm building a fursuit. It's kind of an occupational hazard.
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W on the attorney firings: "You know you've botched it when people sympathize with lawyers."
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The Zipper used to run faster. This reassures me, as I recalled them going faster when I was little. It remains one of the rides that I've never ridden, and probably never shall. When I was ten or so, in 1971, I went to the County Fair with my friend John. The Zipper was new then, and we bought tickets and got in line to ride the thing. We were in the next group to load, watching it spin, when someone shouted and pointed. I looked up in time to see a parabola of puke hanging suspended in the air over the ride. It floated with this terrible slow-motion grace, tan vomit against the milk blue sky, then spattered down on all the screaming people trapped in the little cages. John and I got right the hell out of line, and didn't even ask for refunds on the tickets. Since that day, before riding any amusement park ride, I've always asked myself what would happen if someone puked.
The food dealers had very much the standard setup, except the display case was made of wood rather than metal. Everything had a sort of decrepit, cobbled-together look that you don't see on modern fair stalls. I'm guessing people back then built their own stalls rather than bought them from a company.
I wonder how much of that stuff got carted across town from the World of Tomorrow when it closed in 1940.
*****
It seems that the Tilt-a-Whirl will now be the Official State Ride of Minnesota. I want the Cone of Tragedy to be Ohio's ride :)
The Tilt-a-Whirl is apparently of interest to mathematicians.
*****
I end up watching a lot of television when I'm building a fursuit. It's kind of an occupational hazard.
*****
W on the attorney firings: "You know you've botched it when people sympathize with lawyers."
*****
The Zipper used to run faster. This reassures me, as I recalled them going faster when I was little. It remains one of the rides that I've never ridden, and probably never shall. When I was ten or so, in 1971, I went to the County Fair with my friend John. The Zipper was new then, and we bought tickets and got in line to ride the thing. We were in the next group to load, watching it spin, when someone shouted and pointed. I looked up in time to see a parabola of puke hanging suspended in the air over the ride. It floated with this terrible slow-motion grace, tan vomit against the milk blue sky, then spattered down on all the screaming people trapped in the little cages. John and I got right the hell out of line, and didn't even ask for refunds on the tickets. Since that day, before riding any amusement park ride, I've always asked myself what would happen if someone puked.
