Dodgem

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Dodgem
Type Other
Park Section Center
Built 1922
Opened 1922
Closed 1937 (park closure)
Manufacturer Stoehrer & Pratt Dodgem Corporation
Architect Miller, Baker & McKee
Vehicle Type Car
Number of Vehicles 15
Riders per Vehicle 2

Dodgem was an amusement ride that opened at Olentangy Park in 1922.[1][2][3] It was a ride that later became known as a "bumper car" ride consisting of electrically-propelled cars that riders would ride around with the intent to dodge other cars but usually would bump them intentionally instead. It was north of the entrance to the Red Devil roller coaster.[4] The patents for the Dodgem were secured only the season before, and the first one opened in Atlantic City. The one at Olentangy Park was the second in the country.[3] The attraction was improved in 1927[5] and in 1930, front-wheel dodgem cars were added.[6][7] The ride remained operational until the park closed in 1937.[8] Despite being listed for sale in The Billboard,[9] it was moved to the Haenlein Brothers' new Zoo Amusement Park across from the Columbus Zoo.[10][11][12]

Description

The ride was described as a set of small circular electric motor-propelled cars, guided by shifting the trolley pole from one trolley wire to another, and riders could control them by turning the motor forward or backward. The cars were on swiveled casters,[13] and each held up to two people.[1][14]

The original design of the car by J. J. Stock was unsuccessful, so the Stoehrer brothers modified it to hold two riders. They made the cars seem to be steerable by riders, but the mechanism moved in random directions. The electric for the motors was supplied through a ceiling-to-floor pole.[13]

Gallery

  • 1936 photo of the Dodgem ride at Olentangy Park.

    1936 photo of the Dodgem ride at Olentangy Park.

  • 1936 photo of the Dodgem and Red Devil rides at Olentangy Park.

    1936 photo of the Dodgem and Red Devil rides at Olentangy Park.

Related Patents

  • Amusement device. (May 4, 1920) U.S. Patent No. 1,339,299 PDF[15]
  • Amusement apparatus. (March 29, 1921) U.S. Patent No. 1,373,108 PDF[16]
  • Amusement device. (September 11, 1923) U.S. Patent No. 1,467,959 PDF[17]
  • Amusement apparatus. (December 25, 1923) U.S. Patent No. 1,478,979 PDF[18]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Park Opens Today." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch, April 16, 1922. Page 68.
  2. ↑ "New Restaurant Open." Columbus Evening Dispatch, June 4, 1922.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Olentangy Park." The News Gazette (Reynoldsburg, Ohio), July 1922. Vol. 15. Issue 27.6. Page 2. Accessed through the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/newsgazette1920000news/page/n869/
  4. ↑ General Map, The Olentangy Amusement Co., Columbus, Ohio, 1924.
  5. ↑ "Amusement News." The Columbus Dispatch, April 13, 1927. Page 34.
  6. ↑ Cherrington, H. E. 1930. "Looking Backward at Park and Forward to Film Season." The Columbus Dispatch, November 9, 1930. Page 6-F.
  7. ↑ "Olentangy Receipts Almost Up to 1929." The Billboard, November 1, 1930. Vol. 42. Issue 44. Page 61. Accessed through the Internet Archive.
  8. ↑ Franklin Survey Co. 1937. Map. City of Columbus, Franklin Co., Ohio, Vol. 1. Accessed through Ebay.com https://www.ebay.com/itm/235251834706
  9. ↑ Advertisement. 1983. The Billboard. April 16, 1938. Page 41. Accessed through the Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/sim_billboard_1938-04-16_50_16/page/40
  10. ↑ Barrett, Richard E. 1984. "Olentangy Park: Four Decades of Fun." Columbus and Central Ohio Historian No. 1, April 1984. Page 17.
  11. ↑ "Zoo Amusement Park Has Established Its Popularity." Columbus Dispatch, June 2, 1929. Page 14-A.
  12. ↑ "Marysville Family Picnics Arranged for Columbus Zoo." Marysville Journal-Tribune (Marysville, Ohio), August 16, 1939. Pages 1-2. Accessed through Newspapers.com Clip 1, Clip 2
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Stoehrer & Pratt Dodgem Corp. v. Lusse Bros. 282 Pa. 166, 127 A. 473. Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1925. CourtListener, https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/6934162/stoehrer-pratt-dodgem-corp-v-lusse-bros.
  14. ↑ Greenburg v. Stoehrer & Pratt Dodgem Corp. 1927 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1234. United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1927. CourtListener, https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/6563085/greenburg-v-stoehrer-pratt-dodgem-corp/.
  15. ↑ Stock, J. J. 1920. "Amusement device." U.S. Patent No. 1,339,299. Accessed through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office PDF
  16. ↑ Stoehrer, M. and H. 1921. "Amusement apparatus." U.S. Patent No. 1,373,108. Accessed through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office PDF
  17. ↑ Stoehrer, H. et al. 1923. "Amusement device." U.S. Patent No. 1,467,959. Accessed through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office PDF
  18. ↑ Stoehrer, M. et al. 1923. "Amusement apparatus." U.S. Patent No. 1,478,979. Accessed through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office PDF


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