Puritas Mineral Spring Company bottled and sold mineral water from
the natural springs in the area. In 1894, the Cleveland and Berea
Street Railway bought Puritas Springs and expanded the area into
a picnic grove with a dance hall and pavilion to increase passenger
traffic on the inter-urban line. Puritas Springs Park opened June 10,
1900—the first day the railway operated all the way to the entrance
gates. John E. Gooding bought Puritas Springs in June 1915 and added
an indoor roller rink,
amusement rides,
and the mighty Cyclone
roller coaster. Labor Day 1958 the park closed,
and on May 9,
1959
a fire destroyed many parts of the abandoned park.
The Cyclone Roller Coaster. In 1927, John A. Miller, famed roller coaster designer,
built an unrivaled coaster at Puritas Springs Park which
took advantage of its location at the edge of the Rocky
River Valley. Opening June 10, 1928, the Cyclone was
seen by patrons as one of the tallest and fastest coasters
in Northern Ohio. Riders plunged 87 feet into the ravine on a winding
course, careening through the trees and around the cliff's edge, which
intensified the hills, turns, and dips. Reports that many were killed
on the Cyclone are false, although one inebriated rider fell from the
coaster in 1953 and died. The high cost of maintenance forced the
closing
of the Cyclone in 1956 and it is on the Smithsonian Institution's
list of Great Lost Roller Coasters.
Comments 0 comments