West View Park had two roller coasters called Figure-8.
The first Figure-8 was built in 1906 – for purposes of designation, this roller coaster will be called Figure-8 (1906) – for West View Park’s first season. It was one major part of the $250,000 spent on constructing the park. It was constructed by T.M. Harton & Company, who was also owner of the park through the West View Park Company.
After the 1908 season, Figure-8 (1906) was closed down. It was overhauled and rebuilt by T.M. Harton & Company into a new figure-8 coaster. For purposes of designation, this roller coaster will be called Figure-8 (1909).
Figure-8 (1909) was claimed to be the longest roller coaster in America, with a length of a half-mile.
This roller coaster was closed at the conclusion of the 1916 season. It was replaced by a new $50,000 roller coaster called Speed-O-Plane.
The next article in my series on West View Park will be about the Speed-O-Plane and its successor, Greyhound.
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