Vintage photos: Remembering Houston's Six Flags AstroWorld on National Roller Coaster Day

Astroworld Texas Cyclone roller coaster ride. June 22, 1976 Astroworld Texas Cyclone roller coaster ride. June 22, 1976 Photo: Blair Pittman, Staff Photo: Blair Pittman, Staff Image 1 of / 134 Caption Close Vintage photos: Remembering Houston's Six Flags AstroWorld on National Roller Coaster Day 1 / 134 Back to Gallery

Most longtime Houston residents have memories of Six Flags AstroWorld.

Since today, Aug. 16, is National Roller Coaster Day, Chron.com looks back at the start of our beloved theme park, which made its debut simply as "AstroWorld" June 1, 1968.

Dreamed up by Houston icon Roy "The Judge" Hofheinz, the esteemed visionary's family owned the park for seven years before selling it to the Six Flags Corp.

FROM THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE ARCHIVES, JUNE 2, 1968: Astroworld Reaction: 'It's A Fun Place'

>>>Check out the scenes from AstroWorld through the years in the photos above.

The day after it opened, the Houston Chronicle documented the exciting launch:

Astroworld opened at 9:45 a.m. with a short ceremony which was strictly a Hofheinz family affair. Only Hofheinz, his children, son and daughters-in-law and grandchildren were on the speakers' platform in front of the park's gates.

Hofheinz thanked everyone who has worked to make the park a reality, singling out for praise several mortgage bankers. The five Hofheinz grandchildren threw a gold colored electric switch that started all the rides in the $10 million park. A thousand balloons were released.

AstroWorld had more than 10 themed areas by the early 1980s. It acquired Water World as an additional themed space in 2002.

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For nearly four decades, AstroWorld was home to several memorable rides, including the Wagon Wheel, Greezed Lightinin' and Thunder River. At one point it was home to the Texas Cyclone, one of the largest wooden roller coasters in the country, until the ride was destroyed in a tropical storm.

It became among the city's favorite summertime weekend destinations.

The park was shuttered at the end of the 2005 season, when the site's nearly 110 acres jumped in value, and its ticket sales dampened.

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"The site is now a grass field used for overflow parking during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo," Chron.com reported late last year. "The only remaining structure on the tract is a bridge crossing Loop 610 connecting a parking lot and the park's former grounds."

Since it shut down, there have been rumors of a similar theme park putting down roots in Houston, but none have come to fruition.