Giant Dipper - San Diego Edition Monopoly (USAopoly)
N 32° 46.295 W 117° 15.100
11S E 476429 N 3625992
The Giant Dipper is one of the Railroad Stations in the San Diego Edition of Monopoly.
Waymark Code: WMA5HH
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 11/20/2010
Views: 18
The Giant Dipper, also known as the Mission Beach Roller Coaster, is a wooden roller coaster, built in 1925. The Giant Dipper is in Belmont Park, right on Mission Beach in San Diego. It is one of the only remaining coaster built by noted coaster builders Prior and Church on the West Coast.
Originally the idea of John D. Spreckels, the original coaster was built by a crew of 100 to 150 people in two weeks. The coaster became very popular in the 1940s and '50s but by the late '60s, it had fallen into disrepair. It closed in 1976.
In the early 1980s, people began calling for the demolition of the coaster, as it had been in disrepair and became a home for local transients. A date for the demolition was set, but a group of citizens calling themselves the "Save the Coaster Committee" headed by Tom Cole intervened and had the Giant Dipper designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1987.
A few years later, the San Diego Seaside company was officially formed to restore the coaster to operation. $2 million was spent on the restoration. The new coaster contained six four-person cars. On August 11, 1990, the Giant Dipper was reopened to the public. The response was so strong that a second train was eventually added to the coaster.
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Add the Color Location on the Board: Railway Stations (Railroads): Reading Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad, B&O Railroad, Short Line
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