Climbing the Parachute Jump

In 1962 I rode the Coney Island Parachute Jump with my father when I was nine years old. It was an experience I will never forget. The ride closed in 1964 and my childhood dream was to once again see the view from the top. I first attempted to climb the Parachute Jump in 1973, when it was a rusting, abandoned ruin. It was too dangerous. In 2002 I finally realized my childhood dream and got to climb to the top of the tower. The Jump was a nature preserve. The motor room base was filled with pigeon nests and covered with muddy footprints of the raccoons who fed on the eggs. A raptor circled us at the top as we disturbed its perch, and the feet of the many small birds it had caught and devoured were spread out across the catwalks. I grew up a few blocks from the Jump and have documented it since it closed. When the city decided to dismantle and renovate the Jump ten years ago, my engineer friend Seth Kaufman had the only copy of the original plans. The city needed them so we made a deal: We got to climb it legally. Do NOT try this on your own. It is extremely dangerous and chances are that you will die. -- Charles Denson

[@glennpaull903]

Thanks for posting - The last time I saw this Landmark was in 1964 - I'm glad it is being preserved - Coney Island would not be the same without it,

[@debramaldonado4595]

My mom (born 1935) was a real coney island girl! Raised on surf and mermaid aves... i wish i could have rode on the parachute jump ride, but alas, i was only 3 when it closed!

[@JoshDone]

Charles, you are the best resource of knowledge on Coney. Your book, CI: Then and Now should be required reading for every native New Yorker. I met you through Philomena Marano recently, whose abstract piece of the parachute jump is tattoed on my arm. Thanks for all the knowledge you've shared. great video. My brother Robert Greenberg (and David Greenberg) grew up in Seagate around the same time you did. Perhaps you remember him.

[@josephandnevaehlauriano8491]

I remember when I was a little boy and it was open I always wanted to go on it until I heard all the reports on deaths from the ride you bring the memories back to my old brain

[@LivingWithTheGuzmans]

Great video i grew up there. Thanks

[@robfassi3297]

I went to Coney Island and there are still raccoons chilling there in the bottom

[@markbender49]

What a treat!