Jackman's Shooting the Rapids Roller Coaster (c. 1900)
Jackman, always one to improvise, may have thought he had hit the jackpot when he combined the concepts of a roller coaster and a shooting-the-chutes to create Shooting the Rapids, a ride where the roller coaster ended in a chute. Instead, it turned out to make both the roller coaster and chute experience quite sub-standard. Predictably, he rolled out his marketing playbook to make the best of the situation by adding some Oriental-style scenery (at least to the ticket... a pagoda was just about all there actually was) and advertising some "grand free attractions" (just like he did with his equally lame County Fair & Musical Railway). Who knows what these grand attractions were or if they even existed, judging from the photograph.
This ticket is remarkable both because of its condition and also because it highlights the country's fascination with everything Oriental circa 1900, particularly Japanese. The Orient was hugely popular at the turn of the century throughout the United States and Western Europe. In the 1905-6 map, check out the Japanese Tea House at Dreamland and the Japanese Gardens at Steeplechase Park. In Europe, Japan art heavily influenced the aesthetics of the Art Nouveau movement, with its curved and asymmetric style of architecture, furniture and art. |
Return to Roller Coasters and Rides