Coney Island Parachute Jump

The Parachute Jump is a defunct amusement ride in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York. It was built for the 1939 New York World's Fair in Flushing Meadows Park, Queens, and moved to its current site in 1941. The ride ceased operations in 1968. The tower is now undergoing demolition.

Twelve steel arms at the top of the tower each supported a parachute attached to a lift rope and a set of surrounding guide cables. Riders were belted into a two-person canvas seat hanging below the closed chute, hoisted to the top of the 262 feet (80 m) structure, and dropped in free fall.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachute_Jump