page_title: Parachute Jump
section_title: 2002 restoration and first lighting project
hierarchical_section_title: Parachute Jump / Post-closure / Restorations and lighting / 2002 restoration and first lighting project
caption_attribution_description: English: Coney Island Ride lit up at night
context_page_description: The Parachute Jump is a defunct amusement ride and a landmark on the Riegelmann Boardwalk on Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. It consists of a 250-foot-tall, 170-short-ton open-frame, steel parachute tower. It has twelve cantilever steel arms radiating from the top of the tower; when it was in operation, these each supported a parachute attached to a lift rope and a set of guide cables. Riders were belted into a two-person canvas seat, lifted to the top, and dropped; the parachute and shock absorbers at the bottom would slow their descent.
  The ride was built for the 1939 New York World's Fair at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, also in New York City. Capped by a 12-foot flagpole, it was the tallest structure at the Fair. In 1941, after the World's Fair, it was moved to its current location in the Steeplechase amusement park on Coney Island. It ceased operations in the 1960s following the park's closure, and the frame fell into disrepair.
  Despite proposals to either demolish or restore the ride, disputes over its use caused it to remain unused through the 1980s. Since the 1990s, it has been renovated several times, both for stability and for aesthetic reasons.
context_section_description: A $5 million, 18-month restoration by the NYCEDC started in 2002. The NYCEDC contracted engineering firm STV to rehabilitate the structure. The upper part of the tower was dismantled, about two-thirds of the original structure was taken down, some of it replaced, and the structure was painted red. The restoration was completed around July 2003. Upon the completion of the project, Brooklyn Borough president Marty Markowitz started studying proposals to reuse or reopen the structure. In 2004, STV subcontracted Leni Schwendinger Light Projects to develop a night-time lighting concept for the Parachute Jump. Schwendinger contracted Phoster Industries for the LED portion of the lighting project. Markowitz's office, NYC Parks, the NYCEDC, Schwendinger, and STV collaborated for two years on the project, which cost $1.45 million.
  The Coney Island Development Corporation and the Van Alen Institute held an architecture contest in 2004 to determine future uses for the 7,800-square-foot (720 m²) pavilion at the Jump's base. More than 800 competitors from 46 countries participated. The results were announced the following year; there were one winning team, two runners-up with cash prizes, and nine honorable mentions. The winning design outlined a bowtie-shaped pavilion with lighting and an all-season activity center, which included a souvenir shop, restaurant, bar, and exhibition space.
  The first night-time light show was held on July 7, 2006. The installation contained six animations and used most colors except for green, which would not have been visible on the tower's red frame. The animations were based on events in the local calendar, including the boardwalk's operating and non-operating seasons, the lunar cycle, the Coney Island Mermaid Parade, and national holidays such as Memorial Day and Labor Day. There is also a sequence called "Kaleidoscope" for other holidays. Officials said the lights were to be left on from dusk to midnight during summer and from dusk to 11:00 p.m. the rest of the year. In observance of the "Lights Out New York" initiative, which sought to reduce bird deaths from light pollution, the tower lighting went dark at 11:00 p.m. during the bird migratory seasons.
caption: Lighting, seen at night
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