Starbucks Brooklyn mug: Discovery Series
The Brooklyn mug from Starbucks' Discovery Series sets BROOKLYN in blue capitals over a dark green circle, with a pizza, a Ferris wheel, a roller coaster, a parachute tower, a trolley and a red gate.
- Series
- Discovery Series
- Place
- Brooklyn, New York, USA
- Type
- Mug
- Released
- Not confirmed
- Capacity
- 14 fl ozstandard mug size
- SKU
- Not confirmed
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The night the Parachute Jump stuck, and business boomed
On the night of 11 July 1939, thousands of people gathered at the Parachute Jump in the New York World's Fair amusement zone [1]. One of its parachutes had jammed in mid-air with a man and a woman aboard, more than 100 feet up [2]. They hung there for over five hours [3]. The next day's headline in The New York Times said the device was booming, and the Rathbornes took the jump again [4]. After the fair ended, the Tilyou family bought the tower and moved it to Steeplechase Park at Coney Island in 1941, according to the city Parks Department [5][6]. Riders sat two to a parachute; a cable lifted them to the top, then dropped them [7]. In 1958 an 11-year-old who had found most of the park's rides too babyish talked her father into the jump [8]. Halfway down they stuck for an hour and a half [9]. The orange tower on the Brooklyn mug (5) may be the Jump, now the last remnant of the original Steeplechase Park [10].
The mug does not label its drawings, so connecting this one to the story is our reading.
What's on the mug
- 1Lettering
BROOKLYN in blue capitals across the lower half of a dark green circle.
- 2Pizza
A whole pepperoni pizza with green toppings tilts at the top of the circle.
- 3Ferris wheel
A green Ferris wheel with red and pink gondolas stands at the upper left.
- 4Roller coaster
A blue wooden roller coaster track curves behind the lettering.
- 5Parachute-style tower
A tall orange tower with a hooped top rises above the coaster.
- 6Green trolley
A green and cream trolley car with blue windows runs along the bottom left.
- 7Red gate
A red gate with two crossbars rises at the upper right, beside trees.
- 8Sunbathers
Two figures sit on a red towel at the lower right of the circle, with blue waves beside them.
- 9Arched building
A low cream building with a row of red arches and a red roof stands at the right.
The photo shows one side of the mug against a teal background. The back and the area behind the handle are out of view.
Collector notes
- The seaside rides (the Ferris wheel, the roller coaster and the tower) cluster at the left, while the trolley, the gate and the sunbathers are lower and to the right, so a partial photo shows only half of them.
- Brooklyn shares the dark green circle with other Discovery mugs such as Georgia, so rely on the blue lettering and the pizza rather than the circle alone.
Before you buy
The photo shows one side of the mug, so the back and the area behind the handle are out of view. Other Discovery mugs, such as Georgia, share the dark green circle, so check for the blue BROOKLYN lettering and the pizza. No other series is listed for Brooklyn on this page.
About the Discovery Series
Sources
- The New York Times, 12 July 1939: Pair Held 100 Feet Aloft in Fair Parachute
- The New York Times, 12 July 1939: Pair Held 100 Feet Aloft in Fair Parachute
- The New York Times, 13 July 1939: Parachute Device at Fair Booms After 2 Hang in Mid-Air
- The New York Times, 13 July 1939: Parachute Device at Fair Booms After 2 Hang in Mid-Air
- NYC Parks: Parachute Jump, Steeplechase Park
- NYC Parks: Parachute Jump, Steeplechase Park
- NYC Parks: Parachute Jump, Steeplechase Park
- The New York Times, 31 May 1958: 2 Dangle 90 Minutes On Coney Island Jump
- The New York Times, 31 May 1958: 2 Dangle 90 Minutes On Coney Island Jump
- NYC Parks: Parachute Jump, Steeplechase Park
