The Thunderbolt Roller Coaster was a Coney Island landmark. Built in 1925, it ran for over 50 years. But, for Mae Timpano, the Thunderbolt was home. The film looks beyond the enchantment of the famous playground to examine the true-life experience of one woman who had a unique relationship to Coney Island: she lived under the famed Thunderbolt Roller Coaster. Mae Timpano was 19 when she arrived in Coney Island in 1946 to work as a waitress at Kirsch’s, a popular luncheonette on Surf Avenue. While working as a waitress she met Fred Moran, who owned and operated the Thunderbolt. They fell in love and years later she moved in with him in the house under the roller coaster. Fred died in 1982, and the Thunderbolt ceased operating soon after. Six years later Mae moved out, and sold the house to a developer. For twelve years the Thunderbolt stood silent but on November 17, 2000 to everyone’s surprise, the city of New York demolished it. The destruction of the Thunderbolt, one of the last remaining Coney Island icons, represented the end of an era in the amusement area’s ever evolving history. The film celebrates the Thunderbolt coaster as a piece of architecture that holds memories through which we gain insight into the history of New York and its people. Mae’s story is a window onto a lost world and makes us think about the importance of place in a new way.

Forms: Documentary, Short
Genres: Independent, Urban, Period/Historical
Niches: Women, Senior/Aging