Frederick Ingersoll
| Frederick Ingersoll | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1876 |
| Died | 1927 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Inventor, Designer and Builder |
Frederick Ingersoll (1876 – October 23, 1927) was an American inventor, designer, and builder who created the world's first chain of amusement parks (known collectively as "Luna Parks" regardless of their actual name) and whose manufacturing company built 277 roller coasters, fueling the popularity of trolley parks in the first third of the twentieth century. Some of these parks and roller coasters are still existing today.
Ingersoll was born in New Jersey, one of five brothers. By 1900, he had moved to Glenfield, Pennsylvania, a community on the Ohio River near Pittsburgh. His 1900 United States census form described his occupation as a "coin machine proprietor," but his manufacturing company did more than just sell vending machines: they made them and amusement park rides as well.
In the 1890s, he designed (and the Ingersoll Construction Company built) roller coasters - mainly the type now known as "figure eight" coasters like the first one to be installed in Kennywood Park (1902) - and scenic railroads (originally called "Russian Mountains" as the type originated in Europe). Ingersoll also designed and built another ride that many parks presented as their signature attraction, the Shoot-the-Chutes water ride, a type that has since evolved into the modern log flume that many current parks feature.
By 1901, Ingersoll and his company broadened their scope from designing and building amusement park rides to designing and building amusement parks themselves. Two early successes, Riverside Amusement Park in Indianapolis and Rocky Glen Park near Moosic, Pennsylvania, were trolley parks designed, built, and opened by Ingersoll by 1903. With the success of the Ingersoll parks (and that of Coney Island's Luna Park, which opened the same year), Ingersoll conceived of an amusement park chain, featuring establishments both individually and collectively named Luna Park. By 1904, the Luna Park Amusement Company was formed with investor help.
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