originally posted on 2/24/2021
Photo: Bill Linkenheimer III. View full-sized image.
Leap The Dips - The World’s Oldest Roller Coaster Rides Again!
Amid all the “bad news” that seemed to permeate throughout 2020, one bright spot for amusement park and roller coaster enthusiasts did occur in a year when many parks could not open or had abbreviated schedules because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lakemont Park in Altoona, Pennsylvania, was actually able to open to the public after being closed for the 2018 and 2019 seasons owing to a restructuring of offerings. Gone were most of the traditional flat rides that Lakemont Park had offered for much of its existence. Most were sold off to other parks or carnival operators. Instead, Lakemont’s focus is now on more family entertainment and picnic-style offerings. A new miniature golf course (in addition to renovating their existing course), batting cages, volleyball and basketball courts and other similar amenities replaced most of the rides. However, not all rides were removed. The Tin Lizzy antique cars, miniature train, go karts and a few kiddie rides (including the park’s Lil’ Leaper kiddie coaster) remained. Also remaining were the park’s two ACE Coaster Classic wooden roller coasters: Skyliner, which was relocated to Lakemont from the defunct Roseland Park in Canandaigua, New York, in 1987, and the world’s oldest roller coaster, Leap The Dips, which dates back to 1902.
Photo: Bill Linkenheimer III. View full-sized image.
The area where the park is located had been a popular swimming and recreational area since the mid-1800s for the Altoona region. In 1893, the Altoona and Logan Valley Electric Railway bought the property to create Lakemont Park, which opened in 1894. The new park included all types of recreation, such as boating and swimming, as well as an amusement area that included the park’s first carousel and the Gravity Road roller coaster that was built by Amadius Sink. Sadly, the park had two major fires at the turn of the 20th century. The first occurred in 1900 and destroyed the park’s carousel. Another fire destroyed the park’s first coaster in 1901. Park management contracted E. Joy Morris of Philadelphia to build three new rides for the park for 1902. These included a new E. Joy Morris carousel, a Shoot the Chutes boat ride and a brand new figure-eight side friction roller coaster, Leap The Dips. The success of these three new rides helped the park to grow, especially during the Roaring 20s.
It was during this boom that the park added a larger and wilder roller coaster called Twister, built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in 1927 and designed by Herbert Schmeck. Unfortunately, Twister was lost in the Great St. Patrick’s Day flood of 1936, which wiped out most of the park. This disaster looked like the possible end for Lakemont Park and Leap The Dips. The park was basically rescued by Blair County, which purchased the park using funds from the national Works Progress Administration program and fundraising by local school children. The county now owned the property, and local residents helped to get the park opened for the 1938 season. Leap The Dips miraculously survived the flood with moderate damage and was repaired along with the park’s Casino and other structures. New attractions such as the large island pool were added, but most of the new rides and attractions were minimal over the next few decades, though crowd size ebbed and flowed each season. Sadly, attendance began to drop off through the middle part of the century as people flocked to other regional parks and found additional forms of entertainment.
Photo: Bill Linkenheimer III. View full-sized image.
By the early 1980s, the park once again faced declining attendance, and the Blair County commissioners decided that operating Lakemont Park was becoming a burden to the taxpayers. The hand-carved E. Joy Morris carousel was sold to help make ends meet in 1982. Finally, in 1985, Boyer Candy Company president Anthony Forgione offered to turn the park into a regional theme park and renamed it Boyertown, U.S.A. Although Boyer met some opposition, the lease to operate the park was approved. Immediately, many of the older buildings and the park’s campground were closed and taken down along with most of the park’s lush trees and greenery. An impressive new “Main Street” shopping area led to the renovated Casino, and a fancy new entrance plaza was built. The relocation of Skyliner was also a part of this new project. Unfortunately, Boyer ran into financial difficulties, and much of what was promised could not be completed. Skyliner sat partially built for the 1986 season. To make matters worse, Leap The Dips was not able to operate under new ownership until some “modernizations” were made to the ride, including a new anti-rollback and braking system. For the first time in the park’s history, an admission fee was required to enter, which turned off longtime parkgoers and residents. Boyertown was a dismal failure that first season. A last minute deal with the bank allowed the park to reopen for the 1987 season and finish the construction of Skyliner. Sadly, this was too little, too late. The bank foreclosed on the park in September, and all of the assets went up for auction in 1988.
Photo: Bill Linkenheimer III. View full-sized image.
Thankfully, Ralph Albarano, a local contractor who helped construct many of the new buildings for Boyertown and was owed several million dollars for his work, was the highest bidder to try to recoup his investment. He renamed the park Lakemont Park and returned it to its traditional amusement park roots. He and his family have owned and operated the park’s assets ever since.
Although some new ride investments were made over the years, Leap The Dips was still not able to reopen and fell into serious disrepair after not operating for 14 years. A tree was literally growing through a portion of its lift hill, and much of the structure was beginning to deteriorate and rot. With the help of local citizens and amusement organizations such as ACE, fundraising began to help renovate the classic ride. The Leap the Dips Preservation Fund was started in 1993 to help raise the estimated $1 million to renovate the ride. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1998 with the help of former ACE President Ray Ueberroth and was recognized as the world’s oldest roller coaster, eligible for federal funding. Finally, renovation began in 1997 on the nearly 100-year-old roller coaster. A local furniture maker, Ashley Rishel, was brought in to help rebuild the ride. Rishel and his team used similar steam box techniques to bend and ply the wood that was used when Leap The Dips was originally built in 1902. After two painstaking years of renovation and several years of fundraising, Leap The Dips was ready to reopen on Memorial Day, May 31, 1999. Lakemont Park regained ownership of the ride in 2003, and it once again became a major operational asset for the park.
Photo: Bill Linkenheimer III. View full-sized image.
In May 2002, American Coaster Enthusiasts designated Leap The Dips as the first ACE Roller Coaster Landmark to help celebrate the ride’s centennial anniversary. When it was built in 1902, Leap The Dips was just another figure-eight, toboggan-style, side friction roller coaster, one of the type that was found in almost all corners of the world. Today, it is the last of its kind as well as the oldest roller coaster in the world, making a ride on Leap The Dips that much more special. Unlike modern wooden roller coasters, side friction designs use large wooden guide rails on the sides of the track that side rollers on the cars use to guide the car around the track safely. There is no underlocking mechanism such as upstop wheels that are found on modern underfriction wooden roller coasters, which keeps the hills of side friction coasters more modest in size and steepness. The largest drop is just a mere 9 feet, and the top speed is only about 10 to 15 mph, offering a more genteel coaster experience than that of its modern descendants. A ride on Leap The Dips is truly like taking a ride back in history to a different era. The big comfy cushioned seats seem more reminiscent of a sofa than a roller coaster vehicle, and there are no restraints at all used on the cars. What it lacks in speed and daring thrills, Leap The Dips surely makes up for in grace and charm.
When Lakemont Park closed in 2017 as part of its restructuring, the future of the ride became uncertain. Thankfully, after Lakemont Park’s reorganization and reopening in 2020, Leap The Dips was once again given a new lease on life when it reopened to the public on July 2, 2020. What is more amazing is that Lakemont Park was able to successfully achieve this and open the rest of the redesigned park during the height of the pandemic. ACE wishes Lakemont Park continued success and hopes that Leap The Dips (as well as Skyliner) can continue thrilling riders with its nostalgic appeal and old-fashioned excitement for many more generations to come!
— Dave Hahner, ACE Historian
Special memories from our members:
Photo: Courtesy Ringas Family. View full-sized image.
A dream come true to finally ride this coaster that has been on my bucket list forever! The trip was never an easy one to plan because it was a bit too far for a day trip, but didn't fit into any of our overnight trips. No more procrastinating and excuses, we were about an hour and a half away on vacation this summer, so we extended the route to take us through Altoona. What a treat — an experience like I have never had! The best part was that I had not oversold the experience to my kids. They really appreciated its uniqueness and place in history. Grateful to have had the opportunity to experience this piece of history!
— Elizabeth Ringas, Glen Allen, Virginia
Photo: Jes Niemiec. View full-sized image.
This summer my husband, Kyle, and I drove three hours so he could ride Leap The Dips. My brother, Jeff, and I had ridden years earlier, but Kyle hadn't, and we thought a Wednesday wouldn't be too busy, while we were avoiding crowds this summer. We checked the website to see the hours, and drove to Altoona. Once we got there, we found out that the rides are only open Thursday-Sunday! We drove three hours to play a game of mini golf. Kyle still hasn't gotten to ride this one, but we took a photo to commemorate the trip. We especially liked that there was an ACE logo in the background.
— Jes Niemiec, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
American Coaster Enthusiasts is a nonprofit, volunteer organization dedicated to the preservation, promotion, appreciation and safe enjoyment of roller coasters. With 6,000 members worldwide, ACE is the largest and longest-running enthusiast organization in the world. Members of ACE receive exclusive park benefits, newsletters, magazines and the opportunity to attend national, local and even international tours at parks. You can enjoy the benefits of members today! Join at join.aceonline.org.
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