Playland (San Francisco) - Roller Coasters

Roller Coasters

• Figure-8—Opened 1920, demolished and replaced by the Big Dipper July 1922. A soon-outdated side-friction roller coaster with three levels.
• Bob Sled Dipper—Opened 1921, demolished 1929. The Bob Sled Dipper (or Bobs) was a state-of-the-art toboggan-style coaster ride with rides seated in tandem in two-passenger cars strung eight to a train. It was closed in 1929 after an accident that caused injuries to seven passengers; two were severe. The accident may have precipitated the transfer of the park from John Friedle to the Whitney Brothers. This ride was also called The Grizzly.
• Big Dipper—Opened 1922. It was supposedly a Prior & Church design built by Arthur Looff, and it lasted 33 years, being demolished in 1956. It had a "gut-wrenching 80-foot drop." A man was thrown from this ride and killed.
• Sleigh Ride.
• Alpine Racer—Operative 1959–72. It was situated on the southeast corner of Playland's south block, but the area was closed in 1964 or 1965, and the Racer stood idle for about a year until it was moved to the northwest corner of the main block. This was a German-made wild mouse ride imported by Mack Duce's Export Sales Corporation.