The Plea To Save The Icon Of Coney's Last Amusement Park

With death to Coney Island's last complete amusement park, which held the fabled place intact for almost four decades comes the plea to save one of its iconic symbol: the Astroland Rocket.

The long-time unused vessel that has stood proudly on top of the Gregory & Paul's food stand on the boardwalk may be sold for scrap unless it finds a new home, preferably in Coney Island. As the Coney Island History Project has stated, the ship, which was originally a ride was first built as the "Star Flyer" in 1962. It rocked and shook its passengers as a film that ran about three minutes showed space shots of trips through space. It was later re-christened the "Astroland Space Rocket" a year later and continued to thrill riders all through the 70's.

Now an urgency to save the rocket has started. In an e-mail release from the Save Coney Island Group they plea states:

Help us Save The Astroland Rocket!! We have to find a new location for the Astroland Rocket soon or it will be sold for scrap metal!! Astroland will pay to relocate the rocket if we find a space for it!! It has to be somewhere secure, where people can't vandalize it. Any ideas??

Astroland owners Carol and Jerry Albert have indicated that they would be willing to donate the structure to the Coney Island History Project but curator and custodian of the rocket itself said they would love to receive it but with their limited space there simply isn't enough to park a rocket in it Representatives of Astroland and the CIHP are seeking out other for a possible home. A few on the Coney Island USA message board feel it should belong on top of the CIUSA building. One good use for it, as a poster mentioned, would be to screen short films in it during the Coney festival.

At any rate this matter is rather urgent since Astroland has to vacate the premises by January 31st. The CIHP has sent out information for anyone who knows of a good place for the rocket.

If you know of a good home for the Astroland Rocket, please contact Lois Colin at lscastroland@aol.com or 718 265 2100 ext. 13 or Charles Denson at the Coney Island History Project at info@coneyislandhistory.org

Here's a press release by the Coney Island History Project on Saving the Astroland Rocket which was posted on the Coney Island USA message board.