A municipal park of the same name comprises the other part. The most notable moment in this park's history came just two years after it opened. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. The park's carousel found a new life in Philadelphia's Please Touch Museum. The park, managed by H. Stetzer, also hosted vaudeville acts. The Starr family opened this park in 1898 with a boating area and picnic grounds. It had a manmade lake and stream. During the 1920s, a conflict between then-owners Ben Sterling, John Nallan and Joseph Jennings resulted in a fence dividing the park in two. Lost Amusement Parks . This child-focused park opened under the name Doodlebug Kiddieland. Laurel Park in 1926 got a Philadelphia Toboggan Company roller coaster bigger than the one in Hershey. (Photo courtesy of Mount Gretna Historical Society). It was later sold to Gene and Midge Otto, who had worked concessions at the park, as a result of Kauffman's financial difficulties. > info for some former amusement parks in the > Washington-Baltimore, Roanoke, and Gettysburg > areas. The Greatest Park U.S. state is PA! The history of Angela Park started with Angeline Barletta who had envisioned bringing happiness to others by building an amusement park on her families land. Lehigh Township owns the property today. January 18, 2019 7 comments. And after my last post about Freestyle Music Park appearing on Revolution I thought it’d be fun to hear from you on the topic.. Thankfully, there haven’t been a lot of amusement parks go defunct in the last decade or so. (Library Company of Philadelphia). If you're looking for more remnants of the past, check out these posts: Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (each updated 1/1/20). These parks include those that closed from 1970-2019 that had at least one operating roller coaster, including FECs, under the final park name at the time of park closure, and those parks that are currently SBNO. The old haunted house is now part of a community theater, the arcade is a township garage and the bumper car structure now holds picnic tables. This impacted adversely upon the parks ability to draw a crowd. He owned a total of 44 parks. The park was operated by the Karl and Ralph Strohl. It underwent a revitalization when operated by the Lake Ladore Improvement Company, which added a two-story pavilion, rides and other amenities. It remained in operation until 1989, when it closed as a result of higher insurance costs and lower attendance. West Point Park was the last remaining amusement park in the counties … It contained rides built by his company, including the first coaster in the state with drops of more than 50 feet, as well as picnicking areas and a ballroom. The list below contains the parks that operated in Northeastern Pennsylvania, as well as several that have yet to be confirmed.. The mill that was on the property previously fell into disrepair under the park owner. Did you know Jeannette, Pa. was once home to a popular amusement park? Dennison, whose family has collected hundreds of amusement park pieces since 2006, believes there is a nostalgia to old and defunct parks that is captivating to people. The park was inundated with rain when Hurricane Agnes hit the area in 1972. The land later became the Mifflin Road Mobile Home park, which was subject to a yearlong legal battle to make way for a community center. The park is continuing to rebuild attractions. (Dan Gleiter/PennLive.com FILE), Williams Grove Amusement Park (1850-2005). A worker walks past one of the attractions at Williams Grove Amusement Park in 2007. This is a partial list. How many of these US defunct amusement and theme parks have you visited? Its small wooden coaster. WELCOME! Nearly all of Pittsburgh’s past amusement parks have become lost in the mists of time. Those were the days. Crowds and interest in the park continued to decline through the 1970’s, and early 1980’s. Valley View was owned by the Laurel Line until 1914 when Ogden Brothers Company took over. Now the land is mostly covered with houses, but the pond remains. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. 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