Crews began dismantling the Zippin Pippin roller coaster Thursday, four years after Libertyland was closed to clear the way for Mid-South Fairgrounds redevelopment.
Long known as Elvis Presley's favorite ride, the Zippin Pippin dated to 1912. Workers are taking the wooden roller coaster apart with care in hopes that parts can be preserved, said city Housing and Community Development director Robert Lipscomb.
It has been exposed to the elements with no maintenance since the amusement park closed in October 2005.
In November, crews tore out a piece to see if it was salvageable, and an expert estimated that it would cost the city millions of dollars to restore or rebuild the ride.
Last year, Carousels and Carvings of Marion, Ohio, dismantled the Grand Carousel at Libertyland and stored it in an undisclosed location in Memphis.
Since then, the city approved about $2million to demolish Libertyland and the fairgrounds site, and much of the area has been cleared.
"I've got a lot of calls about that and just about all of them are about how good it looks," said Lipscomb.
But fans of the Zippin Pippin were saddened to hear that it had reached the end of the track.
"I'm crying inside," said Denise Parkinson, co-founder of the grass-roots Save Libertyland group. "It's not OK to go ahead and tear everything down without a plan."
Long known as Elvis Presley's favorite ride, the Zippin Pippin dated to 1912. Workers are taking the wooden roller coaster apart with care in hopes that parts can be preserved, said city Housing and Community Development director Robert Lipscomb.
It has been exposed to the elements with no maintenance since the amusement park closed in October 2005.
In November, crews tore out a piece to see if it was salvageable, and an expert estimated that it would cost the city millions of dollars to restore or rebuild the ride.
Last year, Carousels and Carvings of Marion, Ohio, dismantled the Grand Carousel at Libertyland and stored it in an undisclosed location in Memphis.
Since then, the city approved about $2million to demolish Libertyland and the fairgrounds site, and much of the area has been cleared.
"I've got a lot of calls about that and just about all of them are about how good it looks," said Lipscomb.
But fans of the Zippin Pippin were saddened to hear that it had reached the end of the track.
"I'm crying inside," said Denise Parkinson, co-founder of the grass-roots Save Libertyland group. "It's not OK to go ahead and tear everything down without a plan."
The mayor of Green Bay signed an agreement Thursday to buy Elvis Presley's favorite roller coaster. Jim Schmitt held a ceremony in which the city officially acquired the rights to the Zippin Pippin. It thrilled Elvis and countless others for years in Memphis, but the wooden roller coaster stopped running when the Memphis amusement park closed down in 2005. Now, Green Bay will pay $35,000 to acquire the name, the design, and the history of the Zippin Pippin. And they'll spend $3 million to re-create the classic ride at Bay Beach Amusement Park. Construction will begin this summer – and it's scheduled to open in May of next year. Schmitt says Elvis would be proud of the city's purchase. He's looking for private funding for the ride, including, "kids with lemonade stands." Schmitt indicates they're also working on a menu adjustment to add Elvis' favorite food, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, to their concessions.
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