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Trolley park

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In Britain, a "trolley park" is a holding area for supermarket trolleys (called shopping carts in the U.S.).
The end of the trolley line in Idora Park in Oakland, California, in 1910

In the United States, trolley parks, which started in the 19th century, were picnic and recreation areas along or at the ends of streetcar lines in most of the larger cities. These were precursors to amusement parks. Trolley parks were often created by the streetcar companies to give people a reason to use their services on weekends.[1]

The parks originally consisted of picnic groves and pavilions, and often held events such as dances, concerts and fireworks. Many eventually added features such as swimming pools, carousels, Ferris wheels, roller coasters, sports fields, boats rides, restaurants and other resort facilities to become amusement parks. Various sources report the existence of between 1,500 and 2,000 amusement parks in the United States by 1919.[2]

Coney Island

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One such location was Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York City, where a horse-drawn streetcar line brought pleasure seekers to the beach beginning in 1829. In 1875, a million passengers rode the railroad to Coney Island, and in 1876 two million reached Coney Island. Hotels and amusements were built to accommodate both the upper-classes and the working-class. The first carousel was installed in the 1870s, the first Switchback Railway in 1881. It wasn't until 1895 that the first permanent amusement park in North America opened: Sea Lion Park at Coney Island. This park was one of the first to charge admission for entrance to the park in addition to selling tickets for rides within the park.[2]

In 1897, it was joined by Steeplechase Park, the first of three major amusement parks that would open in the area. George Tilyou designed the park to provide thrills and sweep away the restraints of the Victorian crowds. The combination of the nearby population center of New York City and the ease of access to the area made Coney Island the embodiment of the American amusement park.[2] In addition there was Luna Park (opened in 1903) and Dreamland (opened in 1904). Coney Island was a huge success, and by 1910 attendance on a Sunday could reach a million people.[2]

Trolley parks decline

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The Jack Rabbit Derby Racer at Ramona Park, a trolley park in East Grand Rapids, Michigan. The park closed in 1955.

By the early 20th century, there were hundreds of amusement parks, many of them starting as trolley parks, in operation around the U.S. Every major city boasted one or more parks, often based on (or named after) Coney Island, Luna Park, or Dreamland. This began the era of the “golden age” of amusement parks that reigned until the late 1920s. This was an era when the number of hours worked was reduced, while the amount of disposable income rose. The amusement parks reflected the mechanization and efficiency of industrialization, while serving as a source of fantasy and escape from real life.[2]

With the increasing number of automobiles in use, attendance at urban trolley parks gradually declined, due to lack of parking and changing demographics in the urban areas. Although the automobile provided people with more options for satisfying their entertainment needs, amusement parks that were accessible by car continued to be successful and new parks were developed. By the end of the 1920s, amusement parks were to suffer steep declines for various reasons, particularly the Great Depression.[2]

List of trolley parks still operating

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Park Location Opened Trolley company Notes
Bushkill Park Easton, Pennsylvania 1902[3]
Camden Park Huntington, West Virginia[4] 1903[1] Camden Interstate Railway Company
Canobie Lake Park Salem, New Hampshire[5][6] 1902[1] Massachusetts Northeast Street Railway Company
Clementon Park Clementon, New Jersey 1907
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom Allentown, Pennsylvania 1884[1]
Kennywood Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1898[1] Monongahela Street Railways Company Designated as a U.S. National Historic Landmark.
Lake Compounce Bristol, Connecticut 1846 Oldest continuously operating amusement park in the US, technically this is not a trolley park. While it had trolley service, the park had been in operation for forty years before the trolley was invented and was never owned or operated by a trolley company.
Lakemont Park Altoona, Pennsylvania 1894[1] Altoona & Logan Valley Electric Railway
Lakeside Amusement Park Denver, Colorado 1907 Denver Tramway According to the book Denver's Lakeside Amusement Park by David Forsyth, Lakeside was developed by private interests as a separate company who then encouraged the Denver Tramway Company to extend a line to their new enterprise, so while it was closely linked to the trolley line, it was not a true "trolley park". "Denver never had trolley parks, which meant the owners of the city's amusement parks had to convince streetcar companies to build lines to their parks." (page 31)
Midway Park Maple Springs, New York[7] 1898[1] Jamestown and Lake Erie Railway
Oaks Amusement Park Portland, Oregon[1] May 30, 1905 Oregon Water Power and Railway Company
Quassy Amusement Park Middlebury, Connecticut[8] 1908[1]
Ravinia Festival Highland Park, Illinois 1904[9] Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad
Seabreeze Amusement Park Rochester, New York 1879[1] Rochester and Lake Ontario Railroad
Waldameer Park Erie, Pennsylvania 1896[1] Erie Electric Motor Company
Glen Echo Park[10] Montgomery County, Maryland ca.1902 Washington Railway and Electric Company Of the original rides, only the Dentzel Carousel is in operation. Glen Echo, however, remains open as a National Park Service historic site, and an arts and cultural center managed by the Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture. Renovated structures still in use include the historic Spanish Ballroom, the Bumper Car Pavilion, the Puppet Co. Playhouse, the Arcade building, the Yellow Barn, Adventure Theatre, the Candy Corner, the Chautauqua Tower, the Ballroom Annex, and the Hall of Mirrors Dance Studio.[11]

List of trolley parks now closed

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Roller coasters of Palisades Amusement Park are visible atop the Palisades, as seen from the trolley terminal in Edgewater, New Jersey, in the early 20th century
See also: Electric Park, Luna Park, and White City (amusement parks)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harpaz, Beth J. (July 21, 2010). "Survivors of earlier era: 11 beloved trolley parks". The Palm Beach Post. Palm Beach County, Florida. Archived from the original on July 30, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Adams, Judith A. (1991). The American Amusement Park Industry: A History of Technology and Thrills. Boston, Massachusetts: Twayne Publishers. ISBN 0-8057-9821-8.
  3. ^ "~ Welcome To Bushkill Park ~". www.bushkillpark.com.
  4. ^ "Home". Camden Park.
  5. ^ "Park History". Canobie Lake Park. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  6. ^ Seed, Douglas; Khalife, Katherine (1996). Trolleys, Canobie Lake, and Rockingham Park. Vol. II. Salem, New Hampshire: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-0438-5. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  7. ^ midway-park.com
  8. ^ "Quassy Amusement and Waterpark | Fun & Attractions in CT". www.quassy.com.
  9. ^ "Ravinia Festival | Official Site | History of Ravinia". www.ravinia.org. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
  10. ^ "A General History of Glen Echo Park". glenecho-cabinjohn.com/GE-04.html.
  11. ^ "Glen Echo Park: History of the Park". glenechopark.org/History.
  12. ^ "History". H&F Railway Historical Society. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  13. ^ "Concord, NH - Official Website | Official Website". www.concordnh.gov.
  14. ^ Gottlock, Wesley; Gottlock, Barbara H. "1905 Electric Park - Kinderhook Lake". Retrieved 2017-09-10.
  15. ^ Reynolds, Rick. "An Amusement Park on Ballston Lake?" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-07-31.
  16. ^ King, Don. "Narrative: Montoursville's history presented by chapter". Christopher Garneau. Archived from the original on 2006-12-09. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
  17. ^ a b Delaware and Hudson Company (1901). Seventy-second Annual report of the Delaware and Hudson Company. p. 56.
  18. ^ Dippel, Beth (2016-04-22). "Before Six Flags, Sheboygan had Lake View". Sheboygan Press. Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  19. ^ Doran, Levi S. "Lexington Park". Lexington's Colonial Times Magazine. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  20. ^ "Pine Island Park (Manchester, New Hampshire, United States)". rcdb.com.
  21. ^ Toton, Sarah (January 15, 2008). "Vale of Amusements: Modernity, Technology, and Atlanta's Ponce de Leon Park, 1870–1920". Southern Spaces. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  22. ^ "Puritas Springs Park. Cleveland, Ohio". westparkhistory.com.
  23. ^ Russell, Jenna (2006-10-19). "Coasting to a stop at Whalom Park". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts.
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