Memphis Kiddie Park opened on May 28, 1952, on Memphis Avenue in Brooklyn, the work of Cleveland native Stuart Wintner. Among the nine mechanical rides waiting for young visitors that first season was the Little Dipper, small in scale but already the park’s proud little railway of steel. memphiskiddiepark.com· clevelandhistorical.org

The coaster came from the Allan Herschell Company of Buffalo, a maker whose children’s rides once appeared in parks across the country. In that postwar age of roadside family amusement, Memphis Kiddie Park offered the sort of place where a summer afternoon could be measured in tickets, train whistles, and one more turn around the little track. clevelandhistorical.org

Its importance grew because so many similar kiddie parks disappeared. In June 2000, American Coaster Enthusiasts certified the Little Dipper as the oldest continuously operating steel roller coaster in North America; the park also describes the honor as applying to a steel coaster still in its original location. memphiskiddiepark.com· memphiskiddiepark.com· readtheplaque.com

The ride remains a simple, hospitable circuit: a chain lift, an oval course, and a three-car train seating twelve riders. Memphis Kiddie Park tells its visitors that each ride makes two trips around, climbing and falling before returning neatly to the station. coasterpedia.net· memphiskiddiepark.com