Anyone heard of A cyclone at the old puritas park in cleveland?

I was talking with my friend at work who is much older than me. 30 years or so if your asking. So he was telling me that on the West Side of Cleveland there was an old park called Puritas Park. He also mentioned that the park had a terrain built cyclone that dropped off the edge of the hill. He said that there was still track there in what is now a metro park. Has anyone else heard of this and how far was the drop. I might go over there some time and check to see if track is still there.

Any help would be appreciated.

http://www.rcdb.com/id2077.htm

:)

Thanks for the help Gator. That also gave me a few extra stats on this thing.I found something else here so ill try and link it. Supposedly it went down the revine quite a ways. Also someone died on this thing.

http://www.negative-g.com/NoLimits/No%20Limits%20Defunct%20Coasters%20Page%20Two.htm

There are also stories of other defunc rides. SOme have a few pictures. Amazing what you can find on the internet. The only thing is you cant really be for sure if that was what the ride looked like without diagrams from the actual building of such coasters. Any how i think id let you have a look at a sad world where some coasters dont get a second life.

*** Edited 7/27/2005 5:11:49 AM UTC by MagnunBarrel*** *** Edited 7/27/2005 5:15:34 AM UTC by MagnunBarrel***

I have also been told that there is still pieces of track there but it is behind the apartment complex that is there now and the track is on the side of the hill. If you are over there, visit the Puritas nursery that is located over there and there are old pictures of the park with the Cyclone. If you see the owner he will tell you stories of the park if you ask about it. My friends Dad was once able to ride the Cyclone and told some wicked stories about it. He said it was one wild ride.

Yes, there are pieces of the ride still there. I think around here though, that area is best known for the road washing out and being closed for several years in the late 70's/early 80's.

Wasn't the ride also a jack-hammer? I heard the drops on the ride were basically V-shaped and produced a lot of postitive G's. That must have been one heck of a ride!

Heck, a lot of the rides from the past seem to be that way!

~Rob Willi

There are some more pictures of and information about the Cyclone and Puritas Springs in the book "Cleveland Amusement Park Memories."

Here is a interesting story I found about the Cyclone in the Cleveland Plain Dealer from 1946. Was the Puritas Springs Cyclone Dangerous?
The article reproduced below appeared in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on July 26, 1946.

Park Ride Closed After 3 Are Hurt
by Walter Lerch
Shutdown of the Cyclone, high-speed roller coaster at Puritas Springs Park, was ordered today by the Cleveland Police Department following serious injury there of three young women riders within a one-month period.

Latest victims, now confined in Lakewood Hospital with fractured spines, are Miss Dorothy Kazmer, 19, of 16003 Saranac Rd., and Mrs. Margaret Lucas, 24, of 6216 Wakefield Ave.

Third casualty attributed to the steep dip in the amusement park thrill ride is Miss Mary Slaminka, 23, of 9917 Dunlap Ave. She still is under a physician's care after spending nine days in Lakewood Hospital.

Capt. John L. Palker of the Lorain Ave.-Triskett Rd. Precinct put the "stop" order on the roller coaster ride as a safety measure when told by the writer of the two latest mishaps.

He previously had received a report only on the Slaminka accident. Reports on the two other accidents had been given to the Lakewood police accident squad and relayed to Central Police Station. They never reached Capt. Palker at the Lorain Ave.-Triskett Rd. station, according to the captain.

Other injuries to Cyclone riders have been reported over a period of years, including a serious mishap in August, 1942, which nearly cost the life of Daniel Schroeder, then living at 3445 E. 65th St.

Schroeder was catapulted out of his seat as the car swung around a sharp curve and he plunged 40 feet to the ground.

Both Miss Kazmer and Mrs. Lucas were injured on the first sharp drop of the Cyclone. Medical men reported the force of gravity jammed their spines as the roller coaster car whipped upward at the bottom of the V-shaped dip.

Injured Saturday

Miss Kazmer was injured last Saturday evening. She is employed at Central Press Association. Mrs. Lucas was hurt the previous Sunday while visiting the park with her husband.

Miss Slaminka was hurt on June 23.

All of the victims had difficulty in getting out of their seats at the end of their rides and were rushed to Lakewood Hospital.

Medical men said it may be a "matter of months" before Miss Kazmer and Mrs. Lucas are able to leave the hospital. Both will have to wear a brace to support their backs for a long period of time.

A. J. Ilg, secretary of the Puritas Springs Co., operators of the amusement park, said the ride was "safe," and had the "best mechanical inspection available."

"The women that were hurt had weak backs," he added.

Following notification of the police department order, representatives of the park said their insurance company had recommended that the speed of Cyclone cars on the drop be slowed down. This will be done immediately, they said.

The park carries a $50,000 maximum insurance coverage on each accident, it was reported.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lots of good pics of the PS Cyclone here:

http://home.nyc.rr.com/johnmiller/Cyclone_photos.html

and here:

http://home.nyc.rr.com/johnmiller/ps_cycl.html

with a virtual tour starting here:

http://home.nyc.rr.com/johnmiller/part1.html

*** Edited 7/27/2005 3:22:31 PM UTC by Mamoosh***

and a nice aerial view of the park here:

http://members.aol.com/y2coasters/puritasprings.html

My daughter and I hiked through the area where the coaster was. There are still pieces, but you have to seriously look for them.
It's a good hike over the hill and into the valley.
We parked at the golf course at the base.
As jeff said, the valley area is prone to flooding and wash-outs, so if you hike through the inner valley, be careful.

Thanks for all that good stuff, im thinking about checking out that area friday. That might make for an interesting look at some history.

By the way my friend said that he lived in those apartments up there, and he said in 93 it was alot easier to see where the coaster was. Apparently it hasnt been given much of a thought lately. Ill be sure to spy for certain indications of the coaster. This should be really fun, to see if there is anything left.

Scooter how long was it since you last went.

We lived in Cleveland from 1962 to 69. Our house was across the Metro park from Puritas Road and we would take a shortcut down through the park (we called it "the valley") to get over there. I would always make my dad slow down so I could see the old abandoned roller coaster track at the bottom of the valley. I remember it well and how scary it looked.

I would not recommend a special trip to look for it now, though. I went through there last summer and was disappointed to not be able to find a trace. One thing that happened was the road up the hill to Puritas has been redirected somewhat and the walls have been reinforced, unfortunately right into the former coaster's path. I can imagine that 40 some years of weather and neglect left very little to see anyway, it wasn't great in 1969.

Thanks for the photo links, Mamoosh. Fabulous. I've never known till now what the Cyclone was actually like.

MagnumBarrel: sorry for the late response.
The last time we checked was about 2-3 yrs ago.
Due to the constant overgrowth, serious looking is required.
Keep this in mind, there is poison ivy everywhere in that valley. (i'm lucky and not alergic to it.) There are plenty of raccoons and other animals to avoid. Deer are everywhere in the Metro's.
if i wasn't busy tonight, i'd meet you up there.
Good weather for hiking today.
Have a safe coaster hunt!

I found this board while doing a search on this coaster because there was a rumor of a haunting on the grounds.

Well, I found no deaths or hauntings, but what an awesome-looking layout for a coaster. *** Edited 7/26/2006 6:33:36 PM UTC by Sunday Silence***

That is one I haven't heard yet. i don't know of any deaths at Puritas Springs, but the Cyclone did injure a few people.

i agree, great layout on that one. Great use of terrain.

How is it such great amusement parks and rides go under?

A bad fire killed Puritas Springs.
Back then, I don't think any one amusement park was ever considered great. Each region had their favorite.
There are many dead-parks in Ohio, most closed for economic reasons.

http://www.coasterglobe.com/features/lostlegends-puritasspringscyclone/index.cfm

hope this helps. *** Edited 7/26/2006 6:49:18 PM UTC by FLYINGSCOOTER***

I kinda disagree somewhat about the "one amusement park" being that major of a thing...although I see your point that most every community had their "local park".

Palisades, from the other thread, and Riverview in Chicago were certainly known FAR from their respective locales...people didn't TRAVEl then the way we do now, though.

Also, MANY many parks died from the autmobile becoming a major form of transportation, since a LOT (most, even) of the older parks resided at the end of a trolley line. Kept the trolleys operational 7 days, used up the excess power on weekends by running rides, AND brought in some cash to the trolley-park operators..."community" in those days meant VERY different things than it does now.

edit: Good resource for info on bygone parks... http://www.defunctparks.com/ *** Edited 7/26/2006 7:11:31 PM UTC by rollergator***

Aerial photo of Puritas Springs Park 1952.

http://members.aol.com/y2coasters/puritasprings.html

I visited the site with a friend back in the 80's and he took this picture of one of the hills. The hill didn't actually curve like that though. It was warped from the years of harsh weather. Still an awesome photo though.

http://members.aol.com/k9660r/purita2z.jpg