The Wild One at Six Flags America in Upper Marlboro, MD
Originally named Giant Coaster, this John Miller creation with construction supervision from William Strickler opened in 1917 as a side-friction wooden coaster at Paragon Park in Massachusetts. After a fire, most of the ride was rebuilt in 1932 with major portions redesigned by Herbert Schmeck and the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, most notably the implementation of under friction wheels. After Paragon Park closed in 1984, the coaster was bought and moved to Wild World (now Six Flags America) in 1986 under the new name The Wild One. Charles Dinn of the Dinn Corporation moved and rebuilt the coaster. Curtis Summers redesigned more sections of the ride, including the reimplementation of a helix finale that was lost during the original fire. The Wild One is 4,000 ft long, stands 98 ft tall with an 88 ft drop, and reaches a top speed of 53 mph. NAPHA commends Six Flags America for providing continuous fun on The Wild One with more than a century of history and thrills.
To learn more about and join the National Amusement Park Historical Association, visit www.napha.org
Footage provided by David Hahner
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10 сен 2024
