The Kings Island Eiffel Tower Necessary Adjustment!

The opening week of Kings Island in May 1972 was filled with excitement and anticipation. As the park's assistant general manager, I, had the privilege of overseeing the park’s operations. One of my daily routines involved taking the elevator to the top of the park’s iconic Eiffel Tower to survey the bustling activities below. The vantage point provided a breathtaking view of the park and the seemingly endless rows of cars in the parking lot, a testament to the park’s early success.

On this sunny May morning, I took the elevator up to the second-observation level of the tower. As the doors opened, I was startled to see a father with his young son, who couldn't have been older than five, perched precariously on the railing of the Tower taking his picture! The boy was sitting, smiling, oblivious to the danger he was in, and the same for his father. Keep in mind this was opening week and no one in our company had thought to have guardrails high enough around the tower’s 262 and 279 foot levels to prevent a person from leaning way over and possibly falling, or throwing something off hitting someone below.

My heart raced as I stepped quietly out of the elevator door about 10 feet from the perched little boy. I was careful not to make any sudden movements that might startle the child. The father was oblivious to the perilous situation, as he was engrossed in taking a photo of his son.

I approached slowly, my eyes never leaving the boy. When I was within arm’s reach, I quickly placed my arms around the child and carefully took him off the railing. The father said, “What are you doing?!” I said, “Do you realize your son is sitting on an 8-inch railing and could easily lose his balance and fall 262 feet to his death?!” He said, “He’s fine - he was perfectly balanced, and I was just taking his picture!” I looked at him with disdain.

Once the child was safe, I gently explained the dangers to the father, who was now visibly shaken. He nodded in understanding, and with his son securely in his arms, they headed back down in the elevator with me.

I told the Eiffel Tower operators to bring the elevators down and we were closing the tower for a while. I told them they should instruct people that the tower would be closed.

I immediately went to the Administration Building and met with Ed McHale, General Manger of Kings Island and my boss. I told him what I had just witnessed. He immediately summoned Jim Figley, head of maintenance and construction, and called a meeting. It was decided to close the tower and weld another fence railing higher, completely around both observation levels. These would be railings that no one could get up on or reach through to throw anything or drop anything off the Eiffel Tower. It took about 10 days to finish welding the railings. The tower remained closed during this revision. We subsequently called the Intamin company, the manufacturer, and explained the situation, strongly suggesting that all future towers of this type heighten their railings to acceptable levels of safety. The second Eiffel Tower we built at Kings Dominion had this incorporated in the initial engineering and design.

The remainder of that day, I couldn’t shake the image of that little boy on the edge of that railing. I have often thought about it. It was a stark reminder of the responsibilities we carry ensuring the safety and enjoyment of every guest, and making sure every last ounce of safety we have in our bodies as operators is injected into all we do to maintain safety.