Roller coasters were first built in the Russian Mountains near towns in the 15th and 16th centuries (Source A). The coasters were ice sleds and some were as tall as 70 feet in the air (Source A).The sleds had seats of straw which were stuffed into chiseled hollows (Source A). In 1784, the first wheeled roller coaster was invented in Saint Petersburg, Russia (Source A). The rides spread all the way to Paris, France by 1804 (Source A). In 1817, Paris opened their first ride, Aerial Walks< which consisted of 2 separate, continuous tracks which reached a top speed of 40 miles per hour (Source A). But a problem struck the riders. The wheels kept falling off the cars, and the car didn’t always …show more content…
America’s first roller coaster like rides, were gravity powered mine trains which carried coal through mountains (Source A). In 1884, the first roller coaster which the public had to pay for was built at Coney Island, New York (Source B). In 1885, San Francisco built the first roller coaster using chain lifts (Source B). The first ride with a Figure 8 layout open at Haverhill, MA (Source B). The people in Atlantic City, New Jersey opened the first scenic railway (Source B). In 1891, The first ride with a vertical loop is built and open at Blackpool Pleasure Beach (Source B). Between the 1900’s and 1920’s, the “Golden Age” of roller coasters took place (Source E). From the 1920’s to the 1930’s, the popularity of the roller coaster started to decline (Source E). In that time, over 2000 roller coasters and parks closed (Source E). After roller coasters lost their popularity, the wooden roller coasters were demolished and due to economical hardships (Source