Earthquake Photos?

Are there any known photos of the inside of the old Earthquake ride? I've never seen any even though I've looked everywhere, and all I can find are exterior photos. It would be really cool to see, so please tell me if anybody ever took any pictures inside of the ride. Thanks!

Been scanning the Internet for years to no avail. The same few outside shots are the only things that turn up. I'd love to see that mural in the loading area again. I have a memory of it that I want to check if correct.

What was the ride like? It was before my time, so I have no idea. It's a shame that this ride is lost, possibly forever. Surely somebody has old footage buried somewhere, so let's just cross our fingers that it turns up someday.

Wow. Don't know were to begin. It was loud and freaky if you were a kid.

You got into your old timey car and the first thing you saw was some scary looking fortune teller/wizard saying that he's sees an earthquake in the future so be careful. Then you ride through a normal evening of SF, a drunk being thrown out of a bar. People dancing....then all heck breaks loose. Fake buildings and other things falling towards you as you passed. A politically incorrect moment had a Chinese Man popping out of a garbage can as you rode by. I had a friend who said he used to spit at him. Real nice.

It was a sad day when I went to ride it and found the Berenstain Bears in it's place.

Yea you would think there's got to be some photos or footage out there.

It always seemed weird to me that there was a ride based on a real life disaster 54 years after it happened. Most of a major city was destroyed and over 3,000 people died. So like, in 2049 will we see a Hurricane Katrina simulator?

Don't know about that but I'd love to see Titanic - The Ride.

Xenia Tornado gets my vote.

Actually, Arrow had a ride called the Tornado, it was the sister to the Pirate Ride and Earthquake. Allegedly, the Tornado and Earthquake's cars got mixed up.

Plus what I'm trying to remember correctly, if there was a tornado on the Earthquake's mural. Perhaps the murals got mixed up as well?

Pete said:

Don't know about that but I'd love to see Titanic - The Ride.

You do have a boat, with enough imagination we can make it work ;)

Don't forget to bring your Melodica.

darkrider68 said:

Been scanning the Internet for years to no avail. The same few outside shots are the only things that turn up. I'd love to see that mural (of the Earthquake ride) in the loading area again. I have a memory of it that I want to check if correct.

I remember standing in front of that mural many times as a kid (waiting to get into the ride cars) and vaguely remember a countryside type painting with a church on a hillside. Is this what you remember? I remember the interior of the ride much better including the wizard w/the crystal ball at the beginning and some cartoonish looking dragon popping out a trash can (?) up by the ceiling. Yes, I remember the crazy pillars looking like they were going to fall on your head also as you drove by and the crazy music. Man, do I miss that ride.

I don't know anything about this ride firsthand, but my wife has mentioned to me in the past that her family used to own/run this ride back in the day before her father passed away quite suddenly and at a very young age. I don't believe (although I am not 100% positive) that anyone in her family has any photographs of the ride -- which is probably the most likely place I would think photos would be if they exist. I'm pretty sure my wife has asked that very question to her older sisters and that none have ever located any photos.

My father-in-law died when my wife was only 2 years old and I was not even born yet. My first experience at Cedar Point was not until 1989, and I only became an area resident/CP regular around 2000. So although I now have family ties to CP history, I don't have any of the direct personal ties to its past (but still love to read up about it and see what old photos DO exist). It was fun to see our 9 year old daughter's eyes light up (she has become a real coaster rider/thrill seeker/CP enthusiast over the past 14 months) when we pointed out photos of her great-grandmother (Mama Berardi) in the CP Queen of American Watering Places history book.

If I ever happen to come across any Earthquake photos, I will hopefully remember this thread and post them. I doubt that will ever happen, but you never know what might surface buried in an old forgotten shoebox.

Hey, Rusty.
The San Francisco Earthquake ride came to Cedar Point in 1965. It was purchased used, as it had previously operated at Freedomland park in New York. After its arrival Cedar Point was the sole owner of the ride, (at that point the park no longer booked lessees), and college kids ran it. The crew was always female.

The Berardis were concessionaires at Cedar Point for decades, right up through the 60's and maybe even the 70's. In addition to food and refreshments they also owned a dark ride, and I believe it was Laff in the Dark, a Pretzel ride. It was probably around the 1940's/50's. I've seen shots of it with one of the Berardis standing on the platform, maybe it was the one with Mama. I'm sure that ride is the one your family is referring to, not Earthquake.

The Berardi's were still selling french fries in the mid 1970's, they were among if not the last concessionaires there along with Coffelt Candies. I understand that both had sold out by the early 1980's

Dutchman, help me with something.

I was at CP yesterday and ate at Pink's. (It was nice and cool in there) While I ate I was reminded of an old-timey concession that sat there (or nearby) in the 70's, and I'm sure long before. It was next to Cotton Candy. Lunch Box? Lunch Basket? It was counter service and maybe had a dark green exterior. It was family-run and their name was attached to it, but it escapes me as well.

Do you remember? I'm struggling.

Vaguely, had to dig out my sole surviving CP annual see if it was in there. It was the Lunch Basket, and as far as I can remember it was operated in house by at least 1974. Pic in the annual shows employees in CP food service uniforms. It reminds me that I was friends with a couple of the people there that last summer. Wasn't '74 the last year of Interstate United's contract? My room mate that year was a manager of the Skyride Stand, not that we ever saw each other much. I know that they had bought out the games company contract a year or two before. I've come to the realization that it's been over forty years since I left , although I've been back in the off season for industry events a few times since.

You must have "Experience 74" with Jumbo Jet on the front? If so, I'm the guy in the front seat having a blast. My seat mate was Cathy who, oddly enough, worked Earthquake. The exuberant guy behind us was Greg Jones, my CP roommate who remained my best friend for twenty years before he passed away. We got pulled out of the paycheck line one Friday and rode the coaster 8 or 9 times for the photo shoot. We thought it was a treat until we all walked off of there really dizzy and half sick. They used the same photo for the park publicity shots for '75, rack brochures, stuff like that. It was my 15 minutes of fame.

My years with IU were 73 and 74 and I think you're right, that was the last year. I interviewed with CP for '75 but they didn't pick me up. I knew my interviewer, who was a total homophobe. He promised me a bartender spot at Red Garter, which I would've gladly taken, but I never got the call.
Not to worry, my life turned out fine anyway. :)

Thanks for the info, if I had thought about it I would've pulled out my 74 annual to check!
Cheers.

There were times that I regretted not going back, but I'd had enough of my supervisor. Turns out the next year he took a position with playground design company. Oh well, I hooked up eventually with some former CP people restoring antique carousels. Managed one of them for twenty five years until the family trust that owned it was taken over by a bank that promptly sold it. Such is life.

Back on topic, still can't find any interior shots, however, someone did an on ride audio recording of the ride http://usabuzz.net/page/watch/vid20164SqIoO3T8dM

CPfan1976 said:

I remember standing in front of that mural many times as a kid (waiting to get into the ride cars) and vaguely remember a countryside type painting with a church on a hillside. Is this what you remember?

Actually, remember more of a city or town view. I don't know for sure.

The thing is, I seem to remember a tornado on the mural. I read somewhere that the cars from the Tornado darkride were sent to CP, and conversely, the Earthquake cars to the park that got the Tornado ride. So, the thing I always wondered about is did they mix the murals up as well?

Quite possible, the park that got the Tornado was Kennywood. The ride would be rethemed to "Ghost Ship" and was in service until the summer of 1977 when an electrical short started a fire that totally consumed the attraction along with several rides that were in or near the building (the old dance pavillion) that housed it