Diving Bell

One the most popular and memorable rides at Playland. After it's appearance at the 1939 Worlds Fair on Treasure Island, George Whitney had get one for the park. Originally built in 1928, the Bell by Edward Martine, a California-based welder. 

The ride was simple enough.... Enter the Diving Bell. They lock you in and down ya go.... 10 ft, 15 ft, etc. (It was more like 5-6 feet) After looking through the portholes for a minute, the bell shot up out of water like a cork. As the Diving Bell thrusted to the surface with a big splash of eater, spectators would get quite a show. People waiitng in line would be thrilled by hearing the passengers dialog over a loudspeaker. The ride line was slow moving, due to the ride time being about 5 minutes.

I never thought it was that exciting.... but many people loved it!

Originally, the Diving Bell sat on the back lot (Safeway lot) in the 40's. It was stocked with fish, sharks and other sea-life. As time went on, the sea-life became to costly to maintain.... they died quite often.

After the Chutes came down in 1950, the Midway was redone to include a new Diving Bell. The Diving BEll survived till the last days.