West Mifflin, Pennsylvania in the context of "Roller coaster"

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👉 West Mifflin, Pennsylvania in the context of Roller coaster

A roller coaster is a type of amusement ride employing a form of elevated railroad track that carries passengers on a train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements. Roller coasters are usually designed to produce a thrilling experience, though some roller coasters aim to provide a more gentle experience. Trains consist of open cars connected in a single line, and tracks are typically built and designed as a complete circuit in which trains depart from and return to the same loading station. One notable exception is Racer at Kennywood, West Mifflin, PA, which has the train return to the opposite loading track due to its unique Möbius design. The rides are typically found in amusement parks around the world but can also be located in shopping malls and zoos. The Roller Coaster DataBase estimates there are approximately 6,000 extant roller coasters as of October 2025.

The earliest progenitors to the modern roller coasters were the "Russian Mountains", which first appeared in the 17th century. LaMarcus Adna Thompson obtained one of the first known patents for a track-based roller coaster design in 1885, based on the Switchback Railway which opened a year earlier at Coney Island. Today, most roller coasters are built out of steel, which can allow for more intense forces and inversions (where the rider is upside down).

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West Mifflin, Pennsylvania in the context of Dead mall

A dead mall, also known as a ghost mall or zombie mall, is a shopping mall that has low consumer traffic or is deteriorating in some manner.

Many malls in North America are considered "dead" when they have no surviving anchor store or successor that could attract people to the mall. Without the pedestrian traffic that department stores previously generated, sales volumes decline for almost all stores and rental revenues from those stores can no longer sustain the costly maintenance of the malls.

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West Mifflin, Pennsylvania in the context of Andrew W. Mellon

Andrew William Mellon (/ˈmɛlən/; March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), known also as A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. The son of Mellon family patriarch Thomas Mellon, he established a vast business empire before moving into politics. He served as United States Secretary of the Treasury from March 9, 1921, to February 12, 1932, presiding over the boom years of the 1920s and the Wall Street crash of 1929. A conservative Republican, Mellon favored policies that reduced taxation and the national debt of the United States in the aftermath of World War I. Mellon also helped fund and manage Kennywood Park in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania.

Andrew began working at his father's Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, bank, T. Mellon & Sons, in the early 1870s, eventually becoming the leading figure in the institution. He later renamed T. Mellon & Sons as Mellon National Bank and established another financial institution, the Union Trust Company in Pittsburgh in 1889. By the end of 1913, Mellon National Bank held more money in deposits than any other bank in Pittsburgh, and the second-largest bank in the region was controlled by Union Trust. In the course of his business career, Mellon owned or helped finance large companies including Alcoa, the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Old Overholt whiskey, Standard Steel Car Company, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Koppers, the Pittsburgh Coal Company, the Carborundum Company, Union Steel Company, the McClintic-Marshall Construction Company, Gulf Oil, and numerous others. He was also an influential donor to the Republican Party during the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era.

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