The Big Slide

The Big Slide. . , Side 1 , Between about 1913 and 1920, adventurous children and adults could enjoy exciting rides on a giant plank-and-timber, tin-lined slide which began near this marker. The slide was the creation of Edwin A. Sherman, a local real estate investor and businessman, who eventually was recognized as "the father of the Sioux Falls park system." , The nearly 300-foot long slide began with a steep 100-foot plunge. It leveled off over the park road below so that a horse and buggy easily passed underneath. After a second drop. the slide banked , Side 2 , and curved to the west where the roller coaster-like ride ended. , Steps were built to the top of the bluff to make return trips easier. Sliders used waxed paper for speed. And they used cushions of carpet remnants or burlap sacks for comfort because the afternoon sun made the tin-sheet lining of the slide unbearably hot. , In time the wooden slide deteriorated and became unsafe. It was dismantled and removed after providing thrills for several years for those daring enough to challenge "the big slide."