The roller coaster in Belmont Park, along with the park itself has been through some good, and a lot of bad, times. But after a century, it stands stronger than ever.
On a recent sunny day, between the rides, the arcade, the various food offerings, the amusement park was bustling.
And towering above it all is the Giant Dipper, a rollercoaster which carried its first riders a century ago.
But the story of this beloved ride, and the park in which it sits goes back even further.
The year was 1914. John D. Spreckels had already lived in San Diego for eight years, having moved his family from San Francisco following the great earthquake of 1906.
Spreckels saw opportunity everywhere he looked — including Mission Beach. That year, he and another man proposed a new resort for the area that is now Belmont Park. Sometime later, the resort plans turned into an amusement park, called the Mission Beach Amusement Center.
Construction began in the spring of 1924. The first thing to be completed was a roller skating rink that opened a year later, followed by the plunge pool and a dance club.
In early June of that year, a permit was issued for construction of the roller coaster. Construction began immediately — and on July 4th,1925 — the roller coaster started rolling.
Over the last 100 years, there have been setbacks: fires that seriously damaged the ride, at least one person has died on the Dipper, and it’s almost been torn down more than once. But 100 years later and it’s still rolling strong.
“Belmont has had, I mean, I grew up in San Diego. It has a bit of a checkered past," said Steve Thomas, general manager of Belmont Park.
Since 2011, the park has been owned by Pacifica Enterprises Management, a local, family-owned company. Thomas said they knew making this place a success once again would be a challenge.
“It was a bit of a fragmented park at the time, where you had a bit of the strip mall mentality with lots of different operators. And when Pacifica came in, one of the goals was for us to start to buy up those independent operators and unify the park — and make a real solid and unified beach boardwalk," Thomas said.
The cost of making a real solid boardwalk amusement park has meant some major financial outlays over the years. When Pacifica began a restoration project for the Plunge pool in 2017, it was estimated to cost about $4 million. By the time it reopened in 2019, Thomas says the cost had ballooned to $20 million.
And there’s the constant upkeep of everything else. And that's a challenge when you’re right next to the Pacific Ocean with its never-ending salty air.
“We have a team of about 32 maintenance and facilities, some focused on the rides solely. We have dedicated coaster mechanics, plus dedicated ride mechanics, then we have a facilities and a paint team, so we’ve got three or four full-time painters. It’s like the Golden Gate Bridge. They start at one end and they go around to the other," Thomas said. "Every three years, we repaint the Giant Dipper, just the whole thing, but it is a constant challenge, and it takes year-round work. We’re constantly replacing lumber, ... repairing parts. It is never ending."
A special celebration was held July 1 to mark the centennial anniversary. Thomas kicked off the ceremony with some interesting statistics.
“Just for a rough number, it’s about 700 million people have been to Belmont Park in 100 years, and over 70 million Giant Dipper rides. It’s pretty fantastic," he said.
The event also included a brief history lesson from San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria.
“The Star of India arrived after Belmont Park was open. The San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park came after Belmont," Gloria said. "The Old Globe Theater, the El Cortez Hotel, the San Diego Padres weren’t even a minor league team at the time of the creation of Belmont Park. And San Diego State University did exist, but at the time it was San Diego Teacher’s College."
And a bit of fact checking by way of reporter involvement: full disclosure — I am a big roller coaster fan. So how does the Giant Dipper stand up at its century mark? Good enough to make me laugh with childlike glee — just like the millions of visitors who’ve ridden these rails over the last 100 years.
