What John Miller was to roller coasters, Frederick Ingersoll was to amusement parks. In the April 20, 1929 issue of "Billboard," John Miller -- then at the peak of his career -- said, "We all owe the success of the amusement park to Fred Ingersoll."
Ingersoll opened his own Luna Park -- the first park of that name outside of Coney Island -- in Pittsburgh in 1905. Another Luna Park in Cleveland, Ohio was opened that same year. By 1915 there were Ingersoll Luna Parks all over the world.
Ingersoll also designed and built roller coasters. His "Racer" -- a figure eight "pleasure railway" -- opened in 1902 at Kennywood. He designed or built almost 300 more coasters over the next 25 years.