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Over
more than half a century, Pretzel installed an astounding number
of rides and was represented in virtually every existing park
in America. And they were not limited to permanent amusement
parks; there was a thriving stream of portable rides afoot
in the carnival and fair industries.
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| Left:
Pretzel flat portable tent ride. Specified at under 9
tons, this ride was carried on one 28' semi. Equipped
with full-panel decorated front, platforms, five cars
and "Laugh producers". |
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| Right:
Portable two-story ride mounted on 40' X 8' tandem trailer.
Opened out to a 70' X 30' space. |
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| Left:
Pretzel at the 1950 Canadian National Exposition; rode
10,000 people in a single day. Legendary showman J.W.
(Patty) Conklin put up the buildings for the Pretzel and
a skooter next to it. Pretzel outgrossed all other rides,
including the coaster. The ride's name? Laff In The Dark. |
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| Right:
The popular Pretzel "Laff In The Dark" at the
Pike in California. Building design is virtually identical
to the CNE ride above. It appeared in movies and TV shows,
with the further notoriety of having housed the remains
of real-life outlaw Elmer McCurdy. It is fondly remembered
by many Long Beach residents. |
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For its first three decades, the Pretzel was known as a single-level
ride. That began to change in the late fifties when Pretzel developed
the "Double Decker", a two-level ride in which the cars
were hoisted to the second story by a lift chain. Mr. Cassidy
told us that his father, Leon, was not at all in favor of the
two-story ride concept, always viewing the Pretzel as a flat ride. |
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| First
double-decker installed on Fitzgerald's Casino Pier, Seaside
Heights, NJ in 1959. The pier's miniature train ride passes
under and through the ride's left side. |
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"I
built the building and the whole thing.
I ran it on percentage for eight years. That was a double-decker.
It was the first one we put in. I took that one out of
there and moved it down the boardwalk after we got done
with the contract with them in eight years. Then they
bought the new one from me, the Haunted House." |
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