Chippewa Lake Park

Rockets

 

1970s rocket picture

Rockets

Situated on the shore of the lake sat the Harry Traver engineered AeroPlanes. More commonly known as rocket ships at most parks, the ride was a very early amusement ride made by the Traver Company of Beaver Falls PA. I don't know exactly what year the ships arrived at the park, but I do know that they were advertised as early as the late 1920's and they were still standing during the closing years of the park. It is assumed that the ride was auctioned off in the days after the park closed for good, but as of this writing, the building that provided the platform for the rocket cars still stands. What happened to the actual rocket cars is not known to me, but if you know, please drop me a line below. There was a day when nearly every major park had a Traver Swing Ride of some sort, but very few if any of the rocket ship rides still stand today. Many are in storage around the world, and I'd like to think that maybe the Chippewa Lake Park AeroPlane ride is one of them.

 

Pictures of The Rocket Building
Click any picture to see a full sized
Overview of the rocket cars building. Taken on an early trip.
As you can see the interior is crumbling.
The building in winter 2005, in much worse condition.
The walkway that took you to the top to board the ride.
The building in winter 05, with the putt putt boats sign in front.
The cement foundations that actually held the ride.

 

To see the entire unlabeled gallery of all of my current Rocket Building pictures, click HERE

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