Frederick Church (engineer)
Frederick Church (1878 - 1936) was an American engineer and early roller coaster designer. He is most famous for his "Bobs" series of Roller Coasters that featured severe banking, steep drops, and nonstop action.
History
Fred Church was often associated with his business partners Tom Prior and, after Tom's death, Frank Prior. Church had met Tom Prior in Chicago when Prior was publicity director at White City and Riverview Park, Chicago's two great amusement parks. Church was born in Ontario Canada, studied mechanical engineering at Tufts University, and landed a job at Webster Manufacturing and Engineering near Chicago. The company designed and fabricated replacement parts for amusement park rides. Church was working on side-friction roller coaster car designs and began developing an interest in inventing new rides. [1]. Later coasters by Prior and Church would be built by Harry Traver, a legendary coaster builder and designer.
Notable roller coasters
Two of Church's coasters are still operating. They are:
- Dragon Coaster, Playland Park, 1929
- Giant Dipper, Belmont Park, 1925
- Giant Dipper, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, 1924 [2]
Additional Church coasters that are well-known, but no longer standing, include:
- Airplane Coaster, Playland Park, 1928 - 1957
- Bobs, Riverview Park, 1924 - 1967
- Cyclone Racer, Queens Pike, 1930 - 1968
- Tornado, Coney Island, 1926 - 1977
References
See Also
Robert Cartmell (1987). "Chapter X. Traver, Prior and Church". The Incredible Scream Machine: A History of the Roller Coaster. Popular Press. pp. 153–166. ISBN 0-87972-342-4. http://www.westland.net/venicehistory/articles/church.htm