Coney Coaster Was a First

We all know that Coney Island is home to the famous Cyclone rollercoaster, thrilling passengers since 1927. But Coney is also home to a more substantial rollercoaster history - it was where the very first one was built, according to an Eagle article.

The thrill ride was patented by LaMarcus Adna (L.A.) Thompson in 1885. Thompson’s ride was patterned after the 1878 patent of another Brooklynite, Richard Knudsen, who fashioned an “inclined-plane railway.”

Thompson made a pretty penny off of his "switchback railway" on the Coney shore and went on to build many similar rides in Europe and the U.S., and to patent 30 different improvements to the ride, such as a connected train of cars on which to ride the track.