7. Technically the Cyclone is an Irreplaceable Wood-twister Gravity Ride.

From the 2016 opening day of Luna Park.

In the same campaign to make make the Cyclone a historical landmark, it was clarified that the Cyclone technically falls under the category of “wood-twister gravity ride.” At the time of the public hearing in the ’80s, this type of coaster was already locked down as a dying breed.

Here’s what the Historical Preservation Commission’s analysis of the Cyclone laid out:

“Nationally, the Cylcone belongs to an increasingly rare group of wood-track coasters, there being only about eighty-five extant from the more than 1,500 that once thrilled America. The special qualities of wood are its natural resilience, the distinctive sound it makes, its unique aesthetic as a structural frame, and the relative ease of replacing parts. Today the Building Code of the City of New York prohibits the construction of timber-supported roller coasters; thus the Cyclone is irreplaceable.”

Join us for our tour of the Secrets of Coney Island on Saturday!

Tour the Secrets of Coney Island: Past, Present, Future, & Unknown