In Woody Allen's film Annie Hall, the house under the roller coaster was a sight gag. For Mae Timpano, it was home. In 1946, while working as a waitress on Coney Island, Mae met Fred Moran, the owner and operator of the Thunderbolt roller coaster. They soon fell in love, and for forty years they lived together in Fred's house -- right under the Thunderbolt's first turnaround.

Fred died in 1982, and the Thunderbolt carried its last thrill-seeker soon after. In 1988, Mae moved out, and the house was sold to a developer who dreamed of building a new amusement park on the famed island. But the coaster was silent for twelve years, and in November 2000, with no warning, the city of New York bulldozed away one of its great urban treasures. Here, Mae tells the story of her years living in the house that the Thunderbolt rattled.

Producer: David Miller / Executive Producer: David Isay. / Funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts. "Living Under the Roller Coaster" is a co-production with City Lore. Special thanks to Mark Wolodarsky.

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This piece is available in the following audio formats [3:20 min]:
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		56 kbps Real Audio
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		intro
		transcript

		"Coney Island," a Sound Portraits short about the island's characters and amusements
		History of the Thunderbolt, from the Amusement Park History Web site
		Photos of Coney Island, past and present, from Forgotten NY

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