‘Icons of the Pike’ Exhibition Opens

“Icons of the Pike,” a historical exhibit featuring a model of the famed roller coasters that rattled bones at Southern California’s original amusement park by the seashore, has opened.

The Pike opened in 1902, the same year the Pacific Red Cars came to Long Beach. The roller coasters--the Jackrabbit and the Cyclone Racer--operated from 1915 to 1968, thrilling 25 million riders.

People who visited or lived in Long Beach during that time came to the Pike, and they remember the experience, said Julie Bartolotto, executive director of Long Beach’s Historical Society, which organized the exhibit. Why the area became known as the Pike remains a mystery, she said.

The exhibit will be open Tuesday through Friday at the Historical Society, 418 Pine Ave. It focuses on the roller coasters, Looff Carousel, the Bath House and the “Walk of a Thousand Lights.” The exhibit will close in February.