Shoot-the-Chutes: Difference between revisions

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File:Shoot-The-Chutes Photo Facebook.jpg|alt=The Shoot-the-Chutes ride during its construction in 1909.|The Shoot-the-Chutes ride during its construction in 1909.
File:Shoot-The-Chutes Photo Facebook.jpg|alt=The Shoot-the-Chutes ride during its construction in 1909.|The Shoot-the-Chutes ride during its construction in 1909.
File:ParkPano NewspaperPhoto ColumbusEveningDispatch.jpg|alt=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 original Ye Olde Mill and Dancing Pavilion.|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 original [[Ye Olde Mill (First)|Ye Olde Mill]] and second [[Dancing Pavilion (Second)|Dancing Pavilion]].
File:ParkPano NewspaperPhoto ColumbusEveningDispatch.jpg|alt=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 original Ye Olde Mill and Dancing Pavilion.|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 (First)|Ye Olde Mill]], and second [[Dancing Pavilion (Second)|Dancing Pavilion]].
File:WhirlWind Shoot-The-Chutes Postcard Flickr unedited.jpg|alt=A vintage postcard (postmarked 1916) showing the Whirl Wind and Shoot-the-Chutes. Photo from around 1909-1910.|A vintage postcard (postmarked 1916) showing the [[Whirlwind]] and Shoot-the-Chutes. Photo from around 1909-1910.
File:WhirlWind Shoot-The-Chutes Postcard Flickr unedited.jpg|alt=A vintage postcard (postmarked 1916) showing the Whirl Wind and Shoot-the-Chutes. Photo from around 1909-1910.|A vintage postcard (postmarked 1916) showing the [[Whirlwind]] and Shoot-the-Chutes. Photo from around 1909-1910.
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Revision as of 02:25, 10 August 2024

Shoot-the-Chutes
Other Name(s) Chutes
Shoot-the-Shoots
Type Water ride
Track ride
Park Section North
Built 1909
Opened 1909
Closed 1933
Vehicle Type Boat

The Shoot-the-Chutes or Shoot-the-Shoots, sometimes stylized as Chutes, was a water ride installed at the north end of Olentangy Park in 1909.[1][2] The ride was planned for as early as 1905.[3] The zoo elephant, Tandy, was trained to ride the chute.

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.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7][8]

The ride started to suffer from "nonsupport" by 1916,[9] and was operational at least until 1933. Despite its unusable state, the structure remained standing and is visible in a photo about the park's closure in 1937.[10] The pool remained until the park's closure, being used for water bicycles.[11]

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.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Olentangy Park, Founded in 1893, Long Was Amusement Mecca for Central Ohio." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 1 April 1938. pg. 1, 6.
  2. ↑ "Olentangy Park Opens April 25th." The Union County Journal (Marysville, Ohio). 22 April 1909. Pg. 3. Accessed through Newspapers.com https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-union-county-journal-olentangy-park/152965546/
  3. ↑ The Billboard. 7 October 1905. Vol. 17 Iss. 40. Pg. 25.
  4. ↑ Barrett, Richard E. (2002). Columbus Ohio 1898-1950 in Vintage Postcards. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0738519626.
  5. ↑ "Thirty-five Accept." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 9 May 1910. Pg. 10.
  6. ↑ "Plymouth's 'Hell Divers' Will Defy Death to Thrill Crowds at Olentangy." The Columbus Dispatch. 17 June 1934. Pg. 20.
  7. ↑ "Hell Drivers Again to Appear at Park." The Columbus Dispatch. 24 June 1934. Pg. 19.
  8. ↑ Walkmeyer, Gene. "Daredevils Thrill Olentangy Audience." The Columbus Dispatch. 25 June 1934. Pg. 16.
  9. ↑ "Park in Full Operation." The Columbus Evening Dispatch. 1 May 1916. Pg. 16.
  10. ↑ "$2,000,000 Housing Project to Replace Olentangy Park." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 1 April 1938. Pg. 1.
  11. ↑ Barret, Richard E. "Olentangy Park: Four Decades of Fun." Columbus and Central Ohio Historian. Vol. 1. April 1984. Pg. 11.
  12. ↑ "Park Employe Injured." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch. 6 September 1914. Pg. 3.