Roller Coasters of The Pacific Northwest
Home Page Parks and Coasters Defunct Coasters Gallery Resources Links
Contact
Defunct Coasters Updated: January 17, 2008


Columbia Gardens, Butte, MT
Roller Coaster

Council Crest, Portland, OR
Scenic Railway

Fun Forest, Seattle, WA
Galaxy and Wild Mouse

Happyland, Vancouver, BC
Giant Dipper

Jantzen Beach, Portland, OR
Big Dipper

Luna Park, Seattle, WA
Figure 8

Nat Park, Spokane, WA
Scenic Railway & Jack Rabbit

Oaks Park, Portland, OR
Monster Mouse and Zip coaster

Playland, Coeur d' Alene, ID
Playland Pier amusement rides

Playland, Seattle, WA
Giant Dipper

Playland, Vancouver, BC
Super Big Gulp

White City, Bellingham, WA
Roller Coaster

White City, Seattle, WA
Roller Coaster

Figure 8 Coaster, Luna Park, Seattle, WA

Luna Park thumbnail
Luna Park
Figure 8 thumbnail
Onboard Figure 8
Great Figure 8 Luna Park thumbnail
Great Figure 8 Coaster
Luna Park along pier thumbnail
Luna Park along pier

Above are four photos of the Great Figure 8 Coaster that operated at Luna Park in Seattle, Washington.

Luna park opened in 1905 and was built on the tide flats along Duwamish Head. Proudly hailed as "The Coney Island of The West," the park had promise as being "the greatest amusement park in the Northwest" for a growing metropolis in West Seattle.

Sadly though, Luna had a short life span and ended up closing its doors in 1913 due to some moral controversary amongst local conservatives towards the park's "wild" and "rowdy" presence. The park apparently had the "longest bar on the bay" which brought about scandal and muckraking that agitated the "morals squad" which consisted of prohibitionists called "The Forces of Decency". Once the rides were either taken down or destroyed, and Luna Park was no more, the park's memory faded.

According to HistoryLink.org, "Approximately once a decade, the tides of Elliott Bay fall back to their lowest levels. When they do, the tide flats are exposed and the rows of pilings that once supported Luna Park are brought to light, causing new generations and new residents of the Northwest to gaze and to ponder."

Amazingly, one of the rides that still exists and operates today is the Charles Looff 1906 Carousel. Initially intended to run in San Fransisco, the ride ended up at Luna due to the earthquake and fire. Now it has a permanent home at the Zeum in San Fransisco's Yerba Buena Gardens.

You can learn more about this ride and its history by visiting: The National Carousel Association-USA.org