Giant Dipper opened on July 4, 1925, as part of John D. Spreckels' Mission Beach Amusement Center. One of only a handful of seaside wooden roller coasters still in operation and one of only three remaining examples of the work of designer Frederick Church, it was completed with the assistance of Thomas Prior as a 2,600-foot-long, 73-foot-high ride in just four weeks at a cost of $50,000. Its classic features include a tunnel, banked turns, and graceful twisting drops. After more than 50 years of operation and several brushes with extinction, including a devastating fire in 1955, the coaster, at one point briefly named Earthquake, closed suddenly in 1976. It sat idle for five years until private citizens formed the Save the Coaster Committee, and after nearly a decade of work, financial and operational aid from the Santa Cruz Seaside Company and Morgan Manufacturing arrived in 1989 to rebuild it. Following extensive restoration, Giant Dipper reopened on August 11, 1990, became a successful anchor for the retail and entertainment complex of the current Belmont Park, and continues to operate as a National Historic Landmark.
