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Dear Mr. Coney Island...
One of the old videos on the archive.org shows a ride which is quite similar to the Harry Hargreave's Niagara Barrel ride on the west coast... but with a different seating, no glasswork and a high speed spin, the name Gyro is shown. What can you tell me on the history and mechanism of this particular ride?
- Tony G.

Hello Tony,

The Gyro Globe operated on West 12th Street near the Wonder Wheel for two decades, closing in the early 60s. The Kyrimes family operated the Gyro, as well as the adjacent Virginia Reel and Hurricane rides.

The Gyro had a simple circular bench seat in a globe that revolved within an armature, turning and tilting in all directions. A real nausea-inducer!

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Submitted by henry Maxim (not verified) on Fri, 08/07/2020 - 12:20

would love some factual info on the gyro. sir hiram maxim had five attractions by the end of 1906 at coney island. look at his spinning globe which was an optical illusion ride. when you were into it you would appear to be upside down and around again. you can see several drawn pics of this ride or amusement on his patent pages.(google). we believe this or something like it was introduced in 1905 or 06. hiram called it his magic sphere. He was better known for his captive flying machines which he sold in november 1904. he then made a faster and and more appealing ride he named his giant whirls. a 1905 and again 1906 models were both at coney island. he eventually sold these models to amusement moguls. hiram also designed and erected his own chute ride. hiram had 100's of these different rides spread out around the world. his pneumatic gun with maxim silencers were offered somewhere on the grounds. the park thought the attraction would not send the crowds towards the exits if they could not hear them....help me to understand the gyro thing and the magic sphere, where and how did the attractions exist,,,thank you very much. henry maxim...

Submitted by Susan Aizenman (not verified) on Thu, 05/12/2022 - 13:04

My Grandfather, Jake Rothman was a Barker for The Gyro Globe for several years. I was very young so it had to be in the late forties to early-fifties. He had retired and did this either for fun or extra money. He and his wife Fanny, lived on West 27th Street, a block off the boardwalk.
My older sister and I used to go on all the rides in that area for free as everyone knew our Grandpa Jake. I wonder if anyone remembers him?

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