Space Patrol Kiddie Ride Rockets Off to Mecum Auctions
Based on the hit 1950s TV and radio show, the incredibly advanced mechanical joy ride is one of the greatest coin-operated rides ever created. For only 10 cents, a kid could blast through an imaginary universe filled with adventure and villains.
The “Space Patrol” TV show was first broadcast March 9, 1950, as a daily 15-minute show on a local Los Angeles station. By the end of the year, ABC added it to its Saturday schedule. It became an overnight sensation.
The program followed the 30th-century adventures of Commander-in-Chief Buzz Corry of the United Planets Space Patrol and his young sidekick, Cadet Happy, as they faced nefarious interplanetary villains. Not surprisingly for the time, some of these villains had Russian-sounding accents. Cmdr. Corry and his allies were aided by such nifty sci-fi gadgets as ray guns, “miniature space-o-phones” and “atomolights.”
The widely popular show, which also ran on ABC radio, spawned "The Space Patrol Kiddie Ride," one of the greatest kiddie rides of all time. Exhibit Supply Co. of Chicago and Ralston Purina Co. (whose famous checkerboard pattern is on the ride’s tail) partnered to design a kiddie ride to promote the show. Their spaceship had one of the most complicated mechanisms of the time. Not only could the spaceship go up and down, but a working steering wheel allowed the ride to tilt left and right. A thruster bar increased speed. As kids blasted through the universe, a fan blew wind in their faces. Original audio from the TV show was used as a soundtrack for the ride.
Alas, the show was cancelled soon after the ride was introduced. But the kiddie ride lives on as part of Mecum Auctions dazzling “Worlds Largest Road Arts Auction” June 20-25. For more information, go to Mecum.com or call 262-275-5050.
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Paul Kennedy is Editorial Director of the Collectibles Group at AIM Media. He enjoys Mid-century design, photography, vintage movie posters and people with a good story to share. Kennedy has more than twenty-five years of experience in the antiques and collectibles field, including book publishing. Reach him at PKennedy@aimmedia.com.
