The New York TimesThe Lively Morgue

April 27, 1984: The Lightning Loop at Great Adventure in Jackson Township, N.J., appeared above an article about attracting older crowds to amusement parks. Marketers hoped that by making the new parks “discreetly educational,” with better food or “designer merchandise,” that they might appeal to “an older, calmer, more sophisticated generation.” Food-wise, “the parks are experimenting with everything form pita bread sandwiches to lobster. … Older patrons, the rationale goes, are interested in a ‘dining experience’ rather than a quick snack.” Photo: Bob Glass/The New York Times

April 1, 1981: Gunther Gebel-Williams, the famed circus animal trainer, coaxing a leopard over fire. He was a self-taught animal behaviorist, according to his 2001 obituary, and professed his love of animals, even if “his original teeth and their replacements were knocked out more than once.” Photo: Barton Silverman/The New York Times

The Rangers’ Ulf Dahlen with a shot — during what appears to be practice — that he failed to nail nearly a week later, against the Hartford Whalers. “That was the game,” Dahlen said after the Rangers’ 2-1 loss on March 5, 1988. Photo: Barton Silverman/The New York Times

An end-of-year roundup recalled the 1982 defeat of Mayor Edward I. Koch by Mario M. Cuomo in the Democratic gubernatorial primary and other events, including the gathering of hundreds of thousands at Central Park’s Great Lawn in June to protest nuclear arms — “the biggest outpouring of political fervor since the 1960’s.” The rally’s cleanup, reported June 14, cost the Sanitation Department $100,000 in overtime to 500 workers. Photo: Keith Meyers/The New York Times

Caroline, 45, was the oldest female gorilla in captivity at the time of a multimillion-dollar plan to rebuild the Central Park Zoo in 1982. Here, on Nov. 11 of that year, Caroline, well past reproductive age and of little interest to other zoos who might provide a new home for her, showed her ennui. Photo: Don Hogan Charles/The New York Times

Oct. 19, 1987: Terrence J. McManus, a trader with Spear, Leeds & Kellogg, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, the day the Dow Jones industrial average lost 22.6 percent of its value. The crash left the nation fearing a recession, but the market rebounded not long after. Photo: Marilynn K. Yee/The New York Times

Sept. 21, 1989: Bound for Charlotte, N.C., USAir Flight 5050 ran off the runway at La Guardia Airport just before midnight, killing two passengers. Some among the 61 surviving passengers and crew members recalled moments of sheer terror as rescue workers worked to free those trapped in the wreckage before waves could wash the plane from its unsteady perch. Photo: Vic DeLucia/The New York Times

June 2, 1985: Against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, the motivated Mariners squeaked by with a 7-6 win, but not before Durwood Merill, the first base umpire, ejected Chuch Cottier, the Mariners’ manager, from the game. The article went on: “After animatedly arguing nose-to-nose with Merrill for several minutes, Cottier yanked the first base out of the ground and heaved it into right field. Then he returned to the dugout, where grabbed, in no particular order, four bats and four helmets and flung them onto the field. Then he went into the runway leading to the clubhouse, laughed and said, ‘Now go on and play.’ ” Photo: Vic DeLucia/The New York Times

Nov. 12, 1986: In this unpublished photo from the archives, a few Rockettes awaited the animals that would be part of the Radio City Music Hall Christmas production. According to the unpublished caption, Kim Leslie and Sonja Korwin, left, lead a camel into hall, while the other members of the Rockettes attended donkeys and sheep. Photo: Neal Boenzi/The New York Times

Aug. 13, 1981:  An electrician suspended above the main chandelier in the lobby of the Metropolitan Opera as the “famed chandelier” was lowered to the floor of the entry for cleaning and overhaul by a maintenance crew. “Met Chandelier Gets Its Annual Facelift,” a caption read in The New York Times. Photo: Jack Manning/The New York Times