Parachute Jump - Closure and Restoration

Closure and Restoration

The Pair-O-Chutes – Strong's earlier jump tower built at Riverview Park in Chicago – was demolished in 1968, leaving the Coney Island tower, even if inoperable, as the only such civilian tower in the world. The site barely escaped a condominium development by Fred Trump, but public opposition and the expense of demolition scuttled the project. The City of New York acquired the Steeplechase site in 1969, and control of the Jump passed to the city's parks department, which attempted to sell it in 1971. No buyers were found, and demolition was considered but eventually rejected, due both to the high price to the city that demolition would cost and to a nascent preservation movement. Organizations including the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce and the Gravesend Historical Society made efforts to save the structure, which seemed to bear fruit in July 1977 when, after more than four years of consideration, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the tower a city landmark. The chairwoman of the commission took the opportunity to call it Brooklyn's Eiffel Tower. Hope for the tower's future was short-lived, though: only three months later the city Board of Estimate overturned the landmark designation, citing doubts about the tower's structural integrity. Demolition was again planned but never came to pass.

In 1980, the Parachute Jump was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1989, New York once again recognized it as a city landmark. Beginning in 1993, the City of New York painted and stabilized the structure, painting it in its original colors, but the structure still suffers from rust in the salt air. With Coney Island in a period of revival, including the minor league baseball stadium MCU Park next door, a $5 million restoration plan by the New York City Economic Development Corporation has been underway since 2002; as of 2003, the upper part of the structure was completely dismantled, and steel structural elements were being completely replaced as necessary. There has been serious discussion of making the ride operable. This would require significant redesign to meet modern safety standards, however, and expert amusement-ride consultants wonder whether this would be possible in a modern litigious environment.

The City’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) assumed responsibility for the Jump in 2000 and in 2003 engaged engineering firm STV to rehabilitate the structure. STV in turn in 2004, commissioned Leni Schwendinger Light Projects LTD to develop a lighting concept for the Parachute Jump. Leni Schwendinger Light Projects LTD contracted Phoster Industries for the LED portion of the lighting project. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz’s Office, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the City’s Economic Development Corporation, Leni Schwendinger Light Projects LTD, and STV, comprised a partnership that worked for two years on the project - from inception to completion. On July 7, 2006, the lighting installation designed by Leni Schwendinger made its public debut, showcasing each of its six animated seasonal scenarios (featuring most spectral colors, except for green, which cannot show on the red painted tower). The computer-programmed scenarios reflect a calendar of local significance, such as the Boardwalk season (and non-Boardwalk season), and holidays such as the Mermaid parade, as well as natural phenomena, such as the lunar cycle. A scenario for American patriotic holidays is programmed for said celebrations, and for other holidays there is a sequence entitled "Kaleidoscope".

Officials state that the lights are to be left on from dusk to midnight during summer, and from dusk to 11 p.m. the rest of the year. In observance of the "Lights Out New York" initiative, during the bird migratory seasons the tower lighting goes dark at 11:00.

In 2005, the Parachute Jump was the focus of an architecture competition by the Coney Island Development Corporation and the Van Alen Institute which drew over 800 entries. The 7,800-square-foot (720 m2) Parachute Pavilion, at the base of the Jump, will be an all-season activity center including a souvenir shop, restaurant, bar, and exhibition space. The winning design team was Kevin Carmody,Andrew Groarke, Chris Hardie and Lewis Kinneir, of London. Their design follows strict guidelines to harmonize with the landmark structure, including a maximum height of 30 feet (9.1 m). As of 2006, this scheme has yet to be realized. Sometimes the tower can be seen lighting up rhythmically, sometimes as if in rhythm to the music played in nearby MCU Park.