Shoot-the-Chutes
| Other Name(s) | Chutes Shoot-the-Shoots |
|---|---|
| Type | Water ride Track ride |
| Park Section | North |
| Built | 1909 |
| Opened | 1909 |
| Closed | 1924 |
| Vehicle Type | Boat |
The Shoot-the-Chutes, sometimes stylized as Chutes, was a water ride installed at the north end of Olentangy Park in 1909.[1][2][3] The ride was planned for as early as 1905.[4] The zoo elephant, Tandy, was trained to ride the chute.
Invented by Paul Boyton,[5] the ride took riders in a flat-bottomed boat up an incline pulled by a belt, rotated at the top, where the boat was allowed to slide down the other side of the incline to splash in the pond at the bottom.[6]
The ride started to suffer from "nonsupport" by 1916.[7] The last Dispatch ad for the normal use of the ride was in June 1924. The lagoon, also known as a "lake" or "pool,"[8][3] remained until the park's closure, being used for water bicycles,[9], tug-of-war, and automobile events. Despite its unusable state, the structure remained standing and is visible in a photo about the park's closure in 1937.[10]
Notable Events
There was a contest for automobile owners to climb the ride's incline during the 1910 North Side Chamber of Commerce outing, but no one signed up for it.[11]
For the Buckeye Republican Club outing on August 26, 1911, and the three weeks following, Professor S. B. Erieg performed "Slide for Life," where he slid while on fire down a wire strung from the Shoot-the-Chutes flagstaff to the lagoon.[12][13]
Desperate Desmond performed the "Slide for Life" from the head to the foot of the Shoot-the-Chutes ride during July and August 1912.[14]
After Ride Closure
On 1934, on a day dubbed Plymouth Day, "Lucky" Teter and his troupe of "Hell Drivers" put on a show at the park. A driver drove at least one car down the Shoot-the-Chutes into the lagoon during a $100,000 (over $2.3 million in 2024) show of Chrysler products at the park.[15] Starting at 60 mph, the car leaped and hit the water at 90 mph, leaped a two-foot embankment, and purposely turned the car over in the dirt, going 20 mph.[16][17]
Injuries
Joseph Valkno, 17, was hit by a boat on the chute while working on the ride in September 1914. He broke his leg while trying to leap over the boat as it was diving into the pond.[18]
Gallery
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The Shoot-the-Chutes ride during its construction in 1909.
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A panoramic photo of new rides nearing completion in the Columbus Sunday Dispatch on March 28, 1909. Rides and attractions shown: Whirlwind, Shoot-the-Chutes, the Midway including the Temple of Mirth, original Ye Olde Mill, and second Dancing Pavilion.
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A vintage postcard (postmarked 1916) showing the Whirlwind and Shoot-the-Chutes. Photo from around 1909-1910.
References
- ↑ "Olentangy Park, Founded in 1893, Long Was Amusement Mecca for Central Ohio." Columbus Evening Dispatch, April 1, 1938. Pages 1, 6.
- ↑ "Olentangy Park Opens April 25th." The Union County Journal (Marysville, Ohio), April 22, 1909. Page 3. Accessed through Newspapers.com https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-union-county-journal-olentangy-park/152965546/
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio. Sanborn Map Company, - 1922 Vol. 3, 1922, 1922. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn06656_008/.
- ↑ The Billboard, October 7, 1905. Vol. 17. Issue 40. Page 25.
- ↑ "Francis, David W. 2002. Ohio's Amusement Parks in Vintage Postcards. Page 42.
- ↑ Barrett, Richard E. 2002. Columbus Ohio 1898-1950 in Vintage Postcards, Arcadia Publishing. Accessed through Google Books https://www.google.com/books/edition/Columbus_Ohio/dl9ANHu511sC?hl=en&gbpv=0
- ↑ "Park in Full Operation." The Columbus Evening Dispatch, May 1, 1916. Page 16.
- ↑ Franklin Survey Co. 1937. Map. City of Columbus, Franklin Co., Ohio, Vol. 1. Accessed through Ebay.com https://www.ebay.com/itm/235251834706
- ↑ Barret, Richard E. 1984. "Olentangy Park: Four Decades of Fun." Columbus and Central Ohio Historian No. 1, April 1984. Page 11.
- ↑ "$2,000,000 Housing Project to Replace Olentangy Park." Columbus Evening Dispatch, April 1, 1938. Page 1.
- ↑ "Thirty-five Accept." Columbus Evening Dispatch, May 9, 1910. Page 10.
- ↑ "Olentangy." Columbus Evening Dispatch, August 24, 1911. Page 16.
- ↑ "Olentangy." Columbus Evening Dispatch, August 25, 1911. Page 14.
- ↑ "Olentangy Park." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch, August 4, 1912. Page 5.
- ↑ "Plymouth's 'Hell Divers' Will Defy Death to Thrill Crowds at Olentangy." The Columbus Dispatch, June 17, 1934. Page 20.
- ↑ "Hell Drivers Again to Appear at Park." The Columbus Dispatch, June 24, 1934. Page 19.
- ↑ Walkmeyer, Gene. 1934. "Daredevils Thrill Olentangy Audience." The Columbus Dispatch, June 25, 1934. Page 16.
- ↑ "Park Employe Injured." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch, September 6, 1914. Page 3.