Creation
 | |
| Location | The Pike |
|---|---|
| No. of Buildings | 1 |
| Owner | Henry Roltair |
| Construction | |
| Construction Cost | $800,000 ($24.1 million in 2021) |
| Proft | $347,747.20 ($10.5 million in 2021) |
| Entry | |
| Adult Entry | 50¢ ($15 in 2021) |
One of the most elaborate facades on any attraction along The Pike, was Creation. Created by Henry Roltair, a popular and successful dime museum illusionist, who replicated his famed Coney Island attraction. The show was extremely popular as well as profitable.
Description
The ride began as a 1,000 foot backwards glide to begin the 1/2 mile gondola ride through the biblical story of Creation. After the boats landed, visitors were directed to another `cave' that displayed illusions of a living woman, cut in half, a talking black man set atop of a pitchfork.
Upon ascending a dark staircase, they entered the viewing platform of a vast cyclorama depicting Venice and Rome in the first century. Then a six-foot wide circular moving platform led patrons onto stationary boats which bobbed in the illusionary water as painted panoramas rotated.
Riders would then be moved to a grand amphitheater that seated approximately 400 spectators.
After soft thunder and various celestial backdrops, a booming voice spoke- "Let there be Light!" Choirs, lighting effects and artwork illustrated the beginning of the earth. Lightning booms from high above, a volcano erupts as rivers of lava pour down.
Each day of 'Creation,' was dramatically illustrated with different painted backdrops, pyrotechnics, projections, and other marvelous effects.
After the final day, a calm ensues, forests and animal life appear (including dinosaurs), then audiences could make out an actor playing the part of Adam, lying on a bed of roses. After losing a rib, Eve can be seen. The exhibit closed with four angels standing at the head of three stairways in dramatic splendor. Flowers illuminate.
The entire Creation attraction took two hours to experience.
The visitor glided backwards through twenty centuries in a grotesque craft along a water canal encircling the dome for a distance of one thousand feet. A moving panorama of the centuries in plastic and real life was passed en route to the master mechanical denouement. At the first century the passengers left the boats and entered a temple of that period. The walls of the temple melted away and a feeling of vast void surrounded the Piker. It was chaos. The spectator was in the midst of the dome and completely enveloped in a cloud wrack. A loud voice uttered the words: 'The Lord made the heaven and earth in six days'. Intense darkness surrounded the waiting audience. The voice continued the story of creation. 'Let there be light' was obeyed as the soft glow of dawn pervaded the hollow dome. It increased until the glare of the day revealed the void of clouds about the spectators. The light faded into the evening of the sixth day. 'Let there be a firmament', proclaimed the voice. It appeared, separating from the waters. 'Let the dry land appear'. The limitless ocean rolled back revealing the land. Trees, flowers and shrubs gradually resolved themselves into the Garden of Eden. 'And the Lord made two great lights'. The sun and moon came forth making a day and night effect. 'Let the waters bring forth living creatures'. Fantastic shapes moved through the waters while the birds were seen and heard overhead. Reptiles and beasts of long ago crept and walked through the forest. 'Let us make man after our image', said the voice. A spectral form of Adam seen approaching from the invisible reached the foreground in full light. Adam and Eve discovered one another and the story of the creation was complete.
After the Fair
After the fair, the ride was dismantled and shipped to Coney Island, where it remained.
