İzmir Parachute Tower
| Company type | Public structure |
|---|---|
| Industry | Tourism / Recreation |
| Founded | 1937 |
| Founder | Turkish Aeronautical Association |
| Headquarters | İzmir , Turkey |
| Products | Parachuting attraction |
| Owner | Turkish Aeronautical Association |
İzmir Parachute Tower (Turkish: İzmir Paraşüt Kulesi) is a parachute tower situated inside Kültürpark in İzmir, Turkey. Constructed in 1937 by the Turkish Aeronautical Association, it stands as one of the two parachute towers present in the nation.
History
The initiative to build a similar structure in Kültürpark came from Mayor Behçet Uz, who, after observing the parachute tower at Gorky Park in Moscow, proposed the idea to the Turkish Aeronautical Association.[1] Following this, the association dispatched a delegation to Russia for research and resolved to establish parachute towers not only in İzmir but also in Ankara, resulting in the construction of the Ankara Parachute Tower.[1] The architectural design was developed by Bedri Tümay and Algrandi, with construction commencing in 1935 within the boundaries of Kültürpark.[2][1]Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name The project incurred a cost of 38,758.61 Turkish liras and reached completion in 1937.[1] Its official opening took place on 20 August, coinciding with the 7th edition of the İzmir International Fair, attended by then-Economy Minister Celâl Bayar.[3] During the fair period, access to the tower was available for a fee.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name The tower sustained damage during the 2020 Aegean Sea earthquake, leading to a temporary closure.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name
Architecture
The foundation of the İzmir Parachute Tower was secured with seventy-five oak piles driven into the ground, marking it as the world's first parachute tower constructed from reinforced concrete. The structure features three viewing platforms and stands at an elevation of 4.5 metres (15 ft) above sea level, with a height of 48 metres (157 ft) measured from the ground. Centrally positioned within the tower is an elevator, encircled by a spiral staircase comprising 245 steps.
References
External links
- File:Commons-logo.svg Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
- Pages with reference errors
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles containing Turkish-language text
- Pages with broken file links
- Buildings and structures in İzmir
- Towers in Turkey
- Kültürpark
- Towers completed in 1937
- 1937 establishments in Turkey
- Parachute towers
- Parachuting in Turkey
- Turkish Aeronautical Association