Cinn. Zoo PTC Coaster?

[TOPGUN1993]

I was looking at this site and it shows a Junior PTC coaster at the Cincinnati Zoo. Was there really one there? Theirs no record of this coaster on RCDB

http://soaphs.com/czindex.htm

In 1926, the “Kiddies Electric Playground” debuted with a new PTC junior roller coaster.

[DropZone99]

That's cool, I wish The Indianapolis Zoo had a good coaster...

[coaster_junky]

at least they have one, the louisville zoo and the cincinnati zoo, niether have a roller coaster

[DropZone99]

at least they have one, the louisville zoo and the cincinnati zoo, niether have a roller coaster

True, but remember Louisville has a fun, safe train!

[CoastersRZ]

Yes, the Cincinnati Zoo did have some amusement park rides, and a coaster.

According to Amusement Parks of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky by Robert J. Wimberg, the zoo`s wooden coaster opened in 1926. It was designed by Herbert P. Schmeck (Philadelphia Toboggan Company). The only details the book lists about the ride is that it was a "junior roller coaster." I don`t know much more than that, I`m afraid.

Other amusement rides at the zoo included a whip, a Ferris wheel, and a PTC Carousel. A train would join the line up of rides in the amusement area at the zoo, which was dubbed "Kiddieland" and later renamed "Playland." The zoo closed Playland in 1978 to make room for the new ape display. See below for an expanded history on the PTC Carousel.

The PTC Carousel opened at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1918. It was PTC #49, and predates PTC #79 which opened at Coney and now runs at Kings Island by eight years. The carousel features three rows of horses, with 28 jumping horses, 20 stationary horses and two chariots. The zoo sold the Carousel in 1974 to the Marriott Corporation for use at Great America, in Santa Clara, California. It opened there in the County Fair area under the name Ameri-go-round in 1975. It would run at Great America until 1995 when it was put into storage at the park. It was then sold to Tom and Linda Allen, of Seattle, in 1999 who in turn donated the Carousel to the Woodland Park Zoo also in Seattle. It reopened in a new carousel pavilion at the Woodland Park Zoo in 2006, where it continues to operate today.

Here is a link to some photos of PTC #49 at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, featured on the National Carousel Association website: http://www.nca-usa.org/psp/WoodlandParkZoo/#

Some other notable Cincinnati Zoo facts:

*It is the second oldest zoo in the country, behind only the Philadelphia Zoo, which opened 14 months earlier.

*The Zoo was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987.

*On September 1st, 1914 "Martha" the last passenger pigeon in the world, died at the Cincinnati Zoo, meaning that the passenger pigeon became extinct after her death.

*Ironically, the zoo added a Chance Carousel in 2003.

*The Reptile House at the zoo is the oldest zoo building in the United States.

*Architect James W. McLaughlin (who designed the Shillito`s building downtown (which was the name of the department store before it was rebranded, Macys and Lazarus before that)) designed many of the original zoo buildings. You knew I HAD to include a tidbit on an architect, since I am graduating with my Masters of Architecture in less than a week.

*Mary Emery was a philanthropist that helped finance the zoo through difficult times in the early 1900s. Mary Emery is also the person that commissioned the planned community of Mariemont on the east side of Cincinnati. Mariemont is one of the first planned communities in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2007.

[coaster_junky]

does anyone on here have some pictures of the old elephant house at the cinci zoo? i can't remember what it looked like when i was little, i just remember seeing the elephants, hippos, and giraffis from my stroller.