Crystal Beach Park

Crystal Beach Park was originally a Chautauqua with a beach and side show attractions that was founded by John E. Rebstock on the shores of Lake Erie in 1888. Rebstock turned it into a full-fledged amusement park in 1890.{{cite web|url=http://crystalbeachhistory.com/Crystal_Beach_Park.php|title=Crystal Beach Park - 3 books explore the history of Crystal Beach Park - its roller coasters, rides, live entertainment and steam boats to and from Buffalo|website=crystalbeachhistory|access-date=2020-04-28|archive-date=2018-12-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209123545/http://crystalbeachhistory.com/Crystal_Beach_Park.php|url-status=dead}}

In 1896, the Ontario Southern Railway began to provide connection between the park and the mainline rail station in Ridgeway. This service consisted of a unique elevated monorail style train, and ran for only three summers, through 1898.{{cite web|url=http://cec.chebucto.org/ClosPark/Crystal.html|title=Closed Canadian Parks - Crystal Beach Amusement Park|publisher=Coaster Enthusiasts of Canada}}

Boat service connected nearby Buffalo with the park. Initially, in the 1890s, a ferry service operated small boats with a capacity of 500 to 1,200.

The park's first roller coaster was a Figure 8 model that operated from 1905 to 1915.

File:Backety-Back Scenic Railway Post Card.jpg, 1911.]]

Prior to the 1908 season John Rebstock, while maintaining ownership of the land, sold the physical assets of the Crystal Beach Park to the Lake Erie Excursion Company. {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wK1aEAAAQBAJ&q=rebstock%201908%20excursion|title=Crystal Beach: Out of the Park|first=Gary|last=Pooler|date=January 24, 2022|publisher=FriesenPress|isbn=9781039130258|via=Google Books}}

The Americana held 3,000 passengers and operated between 1908 and 1929. The Canadiana also held 3,000 passengers and operated between 1910 and 1956.{{cite web|url=http://sscanadiana.com/facts.html|title=S.S. Canadiana Facts|website=sscanadiana.com}} A concrete pier was constructed to service the Americana and Canadiana in 1921.{{Cite web|url=http://cec.chebucto.org/ClosPark/Crystal.html|title=CEC: Closed Canadian Parks - Crystal Beach Amusement Park}}

The park's second roller coaster, Backety-Back Scenic Railway, operated from 1909 to 1926. The third was the Giant Coaster that began operation in 1916.

{{wide image|File:Panorama of Crystal Beach LCCN2007663117.tif|620px|Crystal Beach Park, as seen from the end of the original wooden Canadiana pier, 1911.}}

File:Cyclone coaster and exterior Crystal Ball Room Crystal Beach Ontario postcard cropped.JPG, next to the Crystal Ballroom, circa 1930s.]]

In 1924 the divided ownership of the park and the land ends with their acquisition by the Buffalo and Crystal Beach Company, of which George C. Hall was president {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wK1aEAAAQBAJ&q=rebstock%201924%20hall|title=Crystal Beach: Out of the Park|first=Gary|last=Pooler|date=January 24, 2022|publisher=FriesenPress|isbn=9781039130258|via=Google Books}} and would fully own by 1948. {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wK1aEAAAQBAJ&q=hall%201948%20full|title=Crystal Beach: Out of the Park|first=Gary|last=Pooler|date=January 24, 2022|publisher=FriesenPress|isbn=9781039130258|via=Google Books}}

Hall had worked at the park for years running concessions, and was famous for his Gourmet Suckers.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvo.org/article/run-dont-waffle-to-try-fort-eries-locally-legendary-sugar-waffles|title=Run, don't waffle, to try Fort Erie's locally legendary sugar waffles|website=TVO.org}} Rebstock would go on to open Bay Beach Park to the west of Crystal Beach Park in 1926.http://www.fepl.ca/localhistory/files/original/636385c4dba404a24d82298160ed5d79.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}

Hall constructed the Crystal Ballroom in the winter of 1924. The dance hall's location required the addition of a concrete seawall and boardwalk along the park's border to Lake Erie.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LSkLolDLrvkC&q=seawall+%22crystal+beach%22+ballroom&pg=PT50|title=Let's Dance: A Celebration of Ontario's Dance Halls and Summer Dance Pavilions|first=Peter|last=Young|date=September 25, 2002|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=9781554882113|via=Google Books}} Many famous acts such as Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller Orchestra, and Jelly Roll Morton played the Crystal Ballroom.{{Cite web|url=https://www.angelfire.com/ny5/crystalbeachpark/ballroom.htm|title=The Crystal Ballroom|website=Angelfire}} Artie Shaw arrived late for his Labour Day performance at the venue in 1939, and the crowd of 7,000 rioted.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0nN-zXQfhUEC&q=%22artie+shaw%22+%27crystal+ballroom%22+riot+1939&pg=PA122|title=Artie Shaw, King of the Clarinet: His Life and Times|first=Tom|last=Nolan|date=May 16, 2011|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=9780393082036|via=Google Books}}

The Cyclone was added to the park in 1926. It was one of the Giant Cyclone Safety Coasters that were designed by Harry G. Traver, and known for their reputation as dangerous and terrifying. In 1947, the Cyclone was dismantled and its material was used to construct The Comet. The Comet is considered one of the greatest wooden coasters ever built, and was awarded Coaster Landmark status by American Coaster Enthusiasts.{{Cite web|url=https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2012/06/roller-coaster-landmark-the-comet-marks-85-years/|title=Roller Coaster Landmark: The Comet Marks 85 Years|date=June 19, 2012}}

At its peak in the 1940s and early 1950s, the park had about 20,000 visitors daily throughout the summer, from Victoria Day through Labour Day.{{cite book|first=Len|last=Hendershott|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w1ayCQAAQBAJ&q=crystal+beach+++amusement&pg=PA118|title=A Spot On The Lake|date=22 April 2015|publisher=Lulu.com |isbn=9781329035577}}

Boat service from Buffalo was discontinued after a race riot aboard the Canadiana in 1956.{{Cite web|url=https://buffalonews.com/news/local/history/buffalo-in-the-50s-juvenile-delinquency-and-the-crystal-beach-boat-riot/article_58bb2d6b-da48-532a-8aac-8f673fce0a34.html|title=Buffalo in the '50s: Juvenile delinquency and the Crystal Beach Boat Riot|first=Steve|last=Cichon|website=The Buffalo News|date=15 February 2016 }}

George C. Hall died in 1972 and the park's ownership reverted to his estate. His grandson, Van Hall, purchased a controlling interest in the park.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressreader.com/canada/the-niagara-falls-review/20151219/281517930076380|title=Buffalo man tried to keep Crystal Beach Amusement Park going|via=PressReader}}

By 1983, the park was losing business to Canada's Wonderland, Darien Lake, Fantasy Island, and Marineland of Canada. The park avoided bankruptcy by going into receivership and was taken over by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Crystal Beach Park Limited, an ownership group, bought the property out of receivership in 1984. Members of the ownership group included Edward Hall (son of George C. Hall), J. Allen Bernel, Joseph F. Biondolillo, and Rudy J. Bonifacio.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5QE3lHEuOmsC&q=hall+bernel+Biondolillo+%22crystal+beach%22&pg=PA31|title=Crystal Beach: The Good Old Days|first=Erno|last=Rossi|date=November 3, 2005|publisher=Seventy Seven Publishing|isbn=9780920926048|via=Google Books}} Bernel died in 1985, and the remaining members bought out his interest in the park. They spent over $2 million during the next three seasons for renovations and improvements. Financial problems loomed again, however, and the park closed at the end of the 1989 season.{{cite web|url=https://www.niagarathisweek.com/opinion-story/5770045-the-life-and-death-of-the-crystal-beach-amusement-park/|title=Opinion - The life and death of the Crystal Beach Amusement Park|first=Erno|last=Rossi|date=31 July 2015|website=NiagaraThisWeek.com}}

File:Comet w blue train.JPG at The Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor, 2006.]]

Following the park's closure in 1989, the rides were sold at auction . The Comet was sold to Charles Wood and moved to The Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor in Queensbury, New York{{cite web|url=https://www.sixflags.com/greatescape/attractions/comet|title=Comet|website=The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom}} The Ferris wheel from the park was sold to Centreville Amusement Park in Toronto and remains in operation.{{cite web |url=https://www.centreisland.ca/centreville-amusement-park/rides-and-amusement |title=Rides and Amusements |publisher=Centreville Amusement Park |access-date=August 4, 2021}} The Giant Coaster, the oldest roller coaster in North America at the time, was bought for its cars and scrapped.{{Cite web|url=https://rcdb.com/1579.htm|title=Giant Coaster - Crystal Beach (Crystal Beach, Ontario, Canada)|website=rcdb.com}}

The gated community Crystal Beach Tennis & Yacht Club has occupied the park's land since 1992. The concrete pier that was built in 1921 and concrete seawall that was built in 1924 remain part of the complex.{{Cite news|url=https://torontosun.com/2012/06/11/mother-of-fall-victim-wants-flagpole-removed|title=Mother of fall victim wants flagpole removed|newspaper=Toronto Sun}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LSkLolDLrvkC&q=%22crystal+beach%22+wall+%22dancers%22+cement&pg=PT50|title=Let's Dance: A Celebration of Ontario's Dance Halls and Summer Dance Pavilions|first=Peter|last=Young|date=September 25, 2002|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=9781554882113|via=Google Books}} The housing development South Coast Village has occupied the park's former parking lot since 2016.{{Cite web|url=https://www.livabl.com/2016/04/south-coast-village-phase-1.html|title=South Coast Village reaches milestone as phase 1 hits 80 per cent sold}}

Crystal Beach Candy Company still produces Hall's Original Suckers and Crystal Beach Sugar Waffles using the park's original equipment.{{Cite web|url=http://www.crystalbeachcandy.com/|title=The Crystal Beach Candy Company|website=www.crystalbeachcandy.com}} Coca-Cola still bottles and distributes PJ's Crystal Beach Loganberry, a drink the park made famous.{{Cite web|url=https://buffalonews.com/business/local/a-shifting-loganberry-love-pj-s-crystal-beach-slowly-passing-aunt-rosie-s/article_eac6534c-c55d-554f-8148-3bf80d966452.html|title=A shifting loganberry love: PJ's Crystal Beach slowly passing Aunt Rosie's|first=Samantha|last=Christmann|website=The Buffalo News|date=26 September 2016 }}

Several books have been written about the history of Crystal Beach Park:

• Crystal Memories: 101 Years of Fun at Crystal Beach Park - Rose Ann Jankowiak-Hirsch (2004)
• Crystal Beach: The Good Old Days - Erno Rossi (2005)
• Steamers of the Crystal Beach Line - William Kae (2007)
• Crystal Beach Live: Buffalo and Toronto Entertainers and More - William Kae (2009)
• Crystal Beach Park: A Century of Screams - William Kae (2011)
• Crystal Beach: Out of the Park - Gary Pooler (2022)

Several documentaries have been produced about the history of Crystal Beach Park:

• The Life and Times of Crystal Beach - Pacific Productions (1994)
• I Remember Crystal Beach - WEX Studio (1998)
• Laugh in the Dark - Red Queen Productions (1999)
• The Canadiana and Crystal Beach - WEX Studio (1999)
• One Last Ride: Crystal Beach Amusement Park - Last Ride Productions (2000)
• Thanks For The Memories - RDPK Productions (2006)
• Remembering Crystal Beach Park - WNED-TV (2008)

• Crystal Beach Hill

{{Reflist}}

• [https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/s/all/item?fulltext_search=crystal%20beach Crystal Beach] at Historic Niagara Digital Collections
• [http://cec.chebucto.org/ClosPark/Crystal.html Crystal Beach] at Coaster Enthusiasts of Canada
• {{RCDB|4716}}

Category:Amusement parks opened in 1888

Category:Amusement parks closed in 1989

Category:Defunct amusement parks in Ontario

Category:1989 disestablishments in Ontario

Category:1888 establishments in Ontario