Parachute Jump, the Red Tower Over the Coney Island Boardwalk
The Parachute Jump is a retired amusement ride and a New York City landmark on the Riegelmann Boardwalk at Coney Island, in Brooklyn. Built for the 1939 World’s Fair and moved to Steeplechase Park in 1941, the tower is the only part of that park still standing. You cannot ride it, but you can see it for free from the boardwalk, and it is lit at night.
This 250-foot steel tower once dropped riders on parachutes at the 1939 World’s Fair, then spent over two decades at Coney Island. Now it no longer runs, yet it lights up the Brooklyn skyline every night.
The history of the Parachute Jump, from World’s Fair to Coney Island
The ride grew out of military training towers. In the 1930s parachutists could learn on towers instead of planes, and in 1935 Amelia Earhart jumped from one on a farm in New Jersey. Retired Navy commander James H. Strong patented a safer “parachute device,” inspired by wooden training towers he had seen in the Soviet Union, and then adapted it for the public with a two-person seat, a larger parachute, a metal ring to hold it open and springs to cushion the landing.
In May 1938 International Parachuting Inc. was chosen to run a parachute drop at the 1939 New York World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, in Queens. Construction began on December 11, 1938. Life Savers sponsored the ride, and the Parachute Jump opened on May 27, 1939, with twelve parachute bays. A 12-foot flagpole was added to the top within days so that it would stand higher than a statue on the Soviet pavilion. It was the second-tallest structure at the fair after the Perisphere. In its first season, which ended on November 1, 1939, it recorded 551,960 visitors. On July 12, 1939, entangled cables left a married couple stuck high up for five hours, and the next day they returned to ride again.
Its location at the fair was secluded, so for 1940 it was moved near the subway station, and it reopened on June 22, 1940. It became the fair’s second most popular amusement attraction, after Billy Rose’s Aquacade. After the fair closed, the owners of Steeplechase Park on Coney Island, Frank and George Tilyou Jr., bought it. It was taken apart in January 1941 and rebuilt next to the boardwalk, on the site of a Flying Turns roller coaster destroyed by fire, with deeper foundations to withstand the wind. It reopened in May 1941.
At Coney Island the jump drew up to half a million riders a season. It needed at least fifteen people to run, shut down in strong winds and was popular with off-duty soldiers. During the World War II blackout a beacon at its top stayed lit. Steeplechase Park closed on September 20, 1964, and the ride stopped working then, although some sources give 1968. A developer bought the park land in 1965. In 1968 the city voted to buy the site, and an attempt to sell the tower at auction in 1971 drew no bids.
The tower then stood abandoned for decades. The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated it in 1977, though the Board of Estimate declined to certify the designation, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. In 1989 the commission restored the city landmark status. Work to stabilize it came in 1993, and in 2002 a renovation took down about two-thirds of the structure and painted it red, finishing around July 2003. A lighting system with 450 LEDs and 17 floodlamps was switched on on July 7, 2006, and was replaced in 2013.
Little-known facts about the Parachute Jump
- The tower is 250 feet tall and weighs about 170 short tons; at the 1939 World’s Fair it was 262 feet tall because of the added flagpole.
- The flagpole was added after people objected that a Soviet statue would stand higher than the American flag.
- Each of the twelve arms reaches 45 feet out from the center and held a 32-foot parachute, with two riders sitting in a canvas seat.
- A couple was married on the ride in 1940, which a newspaper described as the first “parachute ceremony.”
- A local legend says the tower can be seen from up to 30 miles away.
- A 1966 plan to restore Steeplechase Park once proposed turning the tower into the world’s largest bird feeding station. Today the frame holds about 8,000 lighting fixtures, and it has been lit in tribute to events such as the death of Kobe Bryant.
Tours near Parachute Jump
Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:
Visiting the Parachute Jump: what you can and cannot do
- The Parachute Jump is a retired ride. It does not operate, and there are anti-climbing devices on the frame, so it can only be viewed.
- You can see it from the public Riegelmann Boardwalk at Coney Island, in Steeplechase Plaza, between West 16th and West 19th Streets. It stands near the B&B Carousell.
- The tower is lit with LEDs after dark, so it is worth seeing in the evening.
- Coney Island has other attractions, so you can combine the tower with a boardwalk walk.
- Check the current access rules and any events at Coney Island before you go.
Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.
Map: where Parachute Jump is
Photos of Parachute Jump
Where to stay near Parachute Jump
Hotels close by, with ratings and current availability.
Hotel Le Bleu
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EVEN Hotel Brooklyn by IHG
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Ace Hotel Brooklyn
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Questions
What is the Parachute Jump at Coney Island?
It is a retired amusement ride, a 250-foot steel tower on the Riegelmann Boardwalk in Brooklyn, and a New York City landmark. It was originally built for the 1939 World’s Fair.
Can you ride the Parachute Jump?
No. It stopped operating in the 1960s and today it is a landmark that is lit at night. Riders once sat in two-person seats and dropped under parachutes.
When did the Parachute Jump close?
Sources disagree. Several say it closed in 1964 with Steeplechase Park, while others say it ran until 1968.
How tall is the Parachute Jump?
The tower is 250 feet tall. At the 1939 World’s Fair it was 262 feet because of a flagpole on top.
Where is the Parachute Jump?
It is on the Riegelmann Boardwalk at Coney Island in Brooklyn, between West 16th and West 19th Streets.
Is the Parachute Jump lit at night?
Yes. A lighting system was first switched on in 2006 and replaced in 2013. The tower shows light animations after dark.
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