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The Thunderbolt was a wooden roller coaster located at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. Designed by John Miller,[1] it operated from 1925 until 1982 and remained standing until it was demolished in 2000.[2][3] The demolition was controversial, as the property owner Horace Bullard was not notified, nor had any formal inspection been done on the structure.[4]
| Thunderbolt | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The inactive Thunderbolt in 1986 | |
| Coney Island | |
| Location | Coney Island |
| Coordinates | 40°34′26″N 73°58′57″W |
| Status | Removed |
| Opening date | 1925 |
| Closing date | 1982 |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Wood |
| Designer | John A. Miller |
| Height | 86 ft (26 m) |
| Duration | 1:17 |
| Thunderbolt at RCDB | |
In June 2013, it was announced that a new steel roller coaster would be constructed on Coney Island named the Thunderbolt.[5] The steel coaster opened in 2014 and uses a completely different design.[6]
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It was featured briefly in Woody Allen's 1977 film Annie Hall as the boyhood home of Alvy Singer (Allen's character).[2] The house was a real residence, built in 1895 as the Kensington Hotel. The roller coaster was constructed with part of its track scaling the top of the building.[7][8]
The indie rock/slowcore band Red House Painters 1993 album, Red House Painters (Rollercoaster) features a sepia toned photograph of the Thunderbolt as its cover art. The last film to photograph the Thunderbolt was Requiem for a Dream.
In the 1995 IMAX film Across the Sea of Time, the coaster is featured in abandoned condition.
In the 1998 movie He Got Game, Spike Lee features the coaster in its dilapidated state.
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