Vernon Keenan
(1886?1964) was an American
roller coaster
designer best known for his involvement with the
Cyclone
at
Coney Island
.
Biography
[
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]
Vernon Keenan was born in
Henry County, Kentucky
, on August 8, 1886. His parents were Andrew J. Keenan and Anna Belle Grigsby, both born in Kentucky. Vernon was the oldest child in a family of seven children. In 1900 Andrew Keenan, Vernon's father, was listed as a lock keeper on the Kentucky River in Clover Bottom, Woodford County, Kentucky. Andrew Keenan worked at various locks along the river, including the ones in
Jessamine County, Kentucky
, and
Henry County, Kentucky
. When Vernon filled out his Military Registration Card in June 1917 for the
World War I
Draft he was living in
Columbus, Ohio
, with his wife Ula (born in
West Virginia
) and one child. "At that time he was employed as a Civil Engineer at the Ingersoll Construction Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Vernon and Ula had four children, three daughters and one son, Vernon Keenan Jr. Vernon Keenan Sr. died in November 1964 and is buried in Oak Park Cemetery,
New Castle, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania
. Vernon's parents, Andrew and Anna Keenan, are buried in the Dutch Track Cemetery, North Pleasureville, Henry County, Kentucky.
Early life
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The earliest coaster to be credited to Keenan is the 1918-built
Giant Roller Coaster
at
Rexford Park
.
[1]
During this time he met
Harry C. Baker
who was the manager of the park. The two would go on to build the Coney Island Cyclone together.
Coney Island Cyclone
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In 1927, Jack and Irving Rosenthal purchased land at the intersection of Surf Avenue and West 10th Street and, with a $100,000 investment, they hired Keenan to design a new coaster. Harry C. Baker supervised the construction, which was done by area companies including National Bridge Company (which supplied the steel) and Cross, Austin, & Ireland (which supplied the lumber). The Cyclone was built on the site of America's first roller coaster, known as Switchback Railway (which opened on January 16, 1884). Its final cost has been reported to be around $146,000 to $175,000. When it opened on June 26, 1927, a ride cost only twenty-five cents (equivalent to $4 in 2023, compared to the $10 fee to ride as of 2019
[update]
).
After the success of this endeavour, Keenan and Baker once again teamed to build one of the most debated roller coasters of the 1920s, the
Blue Streak
at Woodcliffe Pleasure Park.
[2]
Keenan went on to serve as the manager at
Crystal Beach Park
in 1929. According to a letter written in 1974 by Vernon Keenan II, the elder Keenan also designed coasters for
Chicago World's Fair
and the
1939 New York World's Fair
.
[2]
National Amusement Devices
[
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]
Keenan joined
National Amusement Devices
in the late 1930s and served as chief coaster engineer. During this period he designed, among others, the
Atom Smasher
at
Rockaways' Playland
, a coaster featured extensively in the 1952 movie
This Is Cinerama
. He also designed the
Comet
at
Lincoln Park
, which opened in 1946.
[1]
Coasters
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]
Coasters that have been attributed to Keenan include
[1]
- ^
Torn down/Dismantled October 18, 2006
- ^
Torn down/Dismantled November 7, 2012
References
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