The History of Cyclone

Long before Cedar Point had any of its record-breaking coasters, it had the Cyclone, a fast and fierce wooden ride designed by one of the most famous engineers of the golden age. It stood from 1929 to 1951.

A Traver coaster

The Cyclone opened in 1929, designed by Harry Traver, an engineer celebrated and a little feared for building some of the wildest wooden coasters of the era. With a lift hill around seventy feet and steep, punishing drops, it had a reputation as a genuinely aggressive ride for its day, at a time when Cedar Point was one of the great lake resorts of the Midwest.

The slow end

Through the 1930s and into the 1940s the Cyclone was a headline attraction, but wooden coasters demand constant care. By the end of the Second World War, with materials and labor scarce, its structure had been left to decay. The park even tried to sell it rather than lose it, but no buyer came, and in 1951 the rotting Cyclone was torn down. That left Cedar Point without a roller coaster at all, a gap that lasted until Blue Streak opened in 1964.

One thing to know

Cedar Point tried to sell the Cyclone instead of scrapping it. A 1950 advertisement offered the aging coaster as a profitable ride in the best location in the park, with no reasonable offer refused, before it was finally demolished the next year.

Cyclone is one chapter in the history of Cedar Point.

Cyclone at a glance