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The Circus Blog by Ivan M. Henry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.thecircusblog.com.
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Legend City 1977
Posted By thecircusblog on April 7, 2013
Legend City was owned by Bill and Dorothy Capell. We opened the park in 1976 and it ended in 1983. During this time I managed , promoted, and produced the entertainment. It is all gone now. On the 60 acres that it sat on, are now office buildings. The location was between Van Buren and Washington Streets across form the Phoenix Zoo and next to the old ball park. This billboard sign faced Washington st. We were just inside the city limits of Tempe. The following photos were taken by Mike Cappi, my long time friend..
Legend City
Posted By thecircusblog on April 7, 2013
At Legend City we made it a tradition that on every opening day, we would honor a person that was waiting in the ticket line. The staff and that one person would raise the flag. That person was always a boy or girl and they then would receive an all day free ride pass. It was little things like this that gave the park a good reputation.
Legend City
Posted By thecircusblog on April 7, 2013
Legend City, Tempe, AZ 1977. The start or of another great event.
Legend City
Posted By thecircusblog on April 7, 2013
This was a big day for Legend City, in 1977. We started off in the morning with bands and four stages of entertainment. The tower jump by Ron Nix brought people from all over the Phoenix area.
Legend City #1
Posted By thecircusblog on April 7, 2013
I stood in the center of the log ride dock area and made my announcement. I remember to this day that I was worried about this stunt. It most definitely was an amazing high fall stunt! I see Ron from time to time and we still talk about it.
Legend City #2
Posted By thecircusblog on April 7, 2013
The crowd gathers and we waited till everyone was in the park. This was NOT going to be a repeat jump! On this day in April 1977 Ron Nix broke a high fall record.
Legend City #3
Posted By thecircusblog on April 7, 2013
This truly is an unbelievable stunt. One hundred and 16 feet free fall point into these boxes as seen here on the right. As Ron Nix ascended up the Sky Ride tower the crowd became silent, The only thing heard now and again was a whisper. Do you think he can do it. Their fear for this stunt man’s life was evident. Legend City had four main towers that ran from one end of the park to the other. Twenty gondolas traveled across the park on a steel cable. These gondolas could carry up to 5 passengers. At each end of the park there was a loading and an unloading station. Same principle as a sky lift. This tower was the tallest of the four and was located in the center of the log rides lagoon. We constructed a wooden dock that held the boxes in place….. Note, Ron did not use an air bag for any of his stunts. He preferred cardboard boxes…… A little side note…. Ron Nix is a professional stunt man and still is to this day at 67. He started his career in the movie business. He came to work for us in 1976 when Legend City first opened. Ron was actually hired to put on old time shoot em up cowboy shows in our western town located at the far end on the park. Our steam locomotive carried park visitors on a mile and half trip around the park and stopped at the old western town for a stunt show. Sometimes when Ron remembered he and his desperado’s would rob the passengers on the train. It was all done in great fun and people loved it……. This free fall from the sky ride tower was his idea. I admit myself and Bill Capell were skeptical. He had done many free falls before in the movies and at special events but never one at this height 116 feet. I spoke with Ron today and told him that I had found these 35 mm slides photos that I thought were lost. These photos were shot by my friend and right hand man Mike Cappi. Mike worked for me at Legend City and with Henry Bros Circus.
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