Luna Park#In South America
{{short description|Name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks}}
{{about|the amusement parks of this name}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2019}}
File:Lunapark Elektroturm modified.jpg was the first of dozens of Luna Parks. Its success inspired the creation of dozens of Luna Parks, Electric Parks, and similar amusement parks.|The "Electric Tower", the centerpiece of the original Luna Park on Coney Island, ca. 1905. Many of the subsequent amusement parks that took the name "Luna Park" had their own central tower.]]
Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Island parks. Luna parks are small-scale attraction parks, easily accessed, potentially addressed to the permanent or temporary residential market, and located in the suburbs or even near the town center. Luna parks mainly offer classic funfair attractions (great wheel), newer features (electronic displays) and catering services.{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the City|last=Caves|first=R. W.|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|isbn=9780415252256|pages=439}}
History
The original Luna Park on Coney Island, a massive spectacle of rides, ornate towers and cupolas covered in 250,000 electric lights, was opened in 1903 by the showmen and entrepreneurs Frederic Thompson and Elmer "Skip" Dundy. The park was either named after the fanciful airship Luna, part of the new park's central attraction A Trip to the Moon, or after Dundy's sister.Dale Samuelson, AJP Samuelson, and Wendy Yegoiants, The American Amusement Park {{ISBN|0-7603-0981-7}}Coney Island's success with electronic attractions and rides also inspired a proliferation of parks named Electric Park (Samuelson, Samuelson, Yegoiants, The American Amusement Park). Luna Park was a vastly expanded attraction built partly on the grounds of Sea Lion Park, the first enclosed amusement park on Coney Island which closed down due to competition from nearby Steeplechase Park.
In 1905, Frederick Ingersoll, who was already making a reputation for his pioneering work in roller coaster construction and design (he also designed scenic railroad rides) borrowed the name when he opened Luna Park in Pittsburgh and Luna Park in Cleveland. These first two amusement parks, like their namesake, were covered with electric lighting (the former was adorned with 67,000 light bulbs;Jim Futrell, Amusement Parks of Pennsylvania (Flagpole Books, 2002) {{ISBN|0-8117-2671-1}} the latter, 50,000[http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08245/908516-42.stm Luna Park's luminary: Entrepreneur/roller coaster designer deserves his due] – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 1, 2008). Later, in 1907, Charles Looff opened another Luna Park in Seattle, Washington. Ultimately, Ingersoll opened 44 Luna Parks around the world, the first chain of amusement parks. For a short time, Ingersoll renamed his parks Ingersoll's Luna Park to distinguish them from the Luna Parks to which he had no connection.Robert Cartmell, The Incredible Scream Machine (Popular Press 1987) {{ISBN|0-87972-342-4}} Ingersoll's death in 1927 and the closing of most of his Luna Parks did not stop new parks from taking the name.
Today, the term luna park or lunapark is a noun meaning "amusement park" in several languages, including Indo-European languages such as
Polish, French, Italian, Russian, Croatian, Czech, Serbian, Bosnian, Slovenian, and Greek ({{Lang|el|λούνα παρκ}}, {{Transliteration|el|ISO|loúna park}}),
- [http://en.bab.la/dictionary/polish-english/lunapark "lunapark" in Polish-English dictionary]: retrieved February 2, 2015
- [http://dictionary.reverso.net/french-english/lunapark "lunapark" in French-English dictionary]: retrieved February 2, 2015
- [http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/nl/lunapark "lunapark" in Dutch-English dictionary]: retrieved February 2, 2015
- [https://en.bab.la/dictionary/greek-english/%CE%BB%CE%BF%CF%8D%CE%BD%CE%B1-%CF%80%CE%B1%CF%81%CE%BA "λούνα παρκ" in Greek-English dictionary]: retrieved February 2, 2015 as well as Turkish,[http://en.bab.la/dictionary/turkish-english/lunapark "lunapark" in Turkish-English dictionary]: retrieved February 2, 2015 Hungarian and Hebrew (לוּנָה פַּארְק, but the term גן שעשועים lit. 'park of amusements' is also widely used).{{Cite web|title=האקדמיה ללשון העברית - המוסד העליון ללשון העברית|url=https://hebrew-academy.org.il/keyword/%D7%92%D6%BC%D6%B7%D7%9F-%D7%A9%D7%81%D6%B7%D7%A2%D6%B2%D7%A9%D7%81%D7%95%D6%BC%D7%A2%D6%B4%D7%99%D7%9D|access-date=2021-09-04|website=האקדמיה ללשון העברית|language=he-IL}}
List of Luna Parks
=In Africa=
=In Asia=
File:Beirut Luna park entrance.jpg
File:Original Tsutenkaku at night.jpg, one of two Japanese Luna Parks, was open to the public from 1912 to 1923. The original Tsutenkaku Tower was completed at the same time as the amusement park.|Night photograph of the original Tsutentaku Tower overlooking Luna Park, Osaka in 1912]]
=In Europe=
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1993-069-16, Berlin-Halensee, Lunapark.jpg was the largest amusement park in Europe.|Aerial view of Luna Park, Berlin in 1935]]
File:Leipzig - Wahren 4.jpg (also known as Russian mountains were popular in European Luna Parks|Postcard showing the mountain railroad at Luna Park, Leipzig]]
File:Władysławowo - Lunapark Sowiński.jpg is a currently operating amusement park near Władysławowo, Poland.|Aerial view of {{ill|Lunapark Sowinski|pl|Lunapark Sowiński}} near Władysławowo, Poland, in 2009]]
=In North America=
File:Fatty at Coney Island.jpg was the first of dozens of Luna Parks. It burnt down in 1944.|Comedian Fatty Arbuckle riding The Whip in Luna Park, Coney Island, as shown in the 1917 motion picture Coney Island]]
File:Luna Park Original BRIDGE WIKI.jpg was designed by the same person who designed the original in Coney Island.|Postcard photo of Luna Park, Seattle entrance bridge]]
=In Oceania=
File:Looneypark.jpg entrance]]
File:Luna Park-Sydney-Australia.JPG entrance]]
=In South America=
File:Buenos_Aires-San_Nicolás-Luna_Park.jpg
| class="wikitable" |
| Name
! Location ! In operation ! Notes |
|---|
| Luna Park, Buenos Aires
| Buenos Aires, Argentina | 1934 to present | Designed and built by Ingersoll. Became site of a sports arena built 1931–1934. As of 2013, it still runs, serving as a venue for stage concerts & presentations, both national and international, and as a sports arena. Acclaimed international shows such as Disney on Ice and the Harlem Globetrotters have performed in Argentine Luna Park. It is known for its adaptability to host ice-skating rinks, multiple stages, sports courts, and others. |
| Luna Park, Rio de Janeiro
| Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | ? to 2006 | Now used to store portable amusement rides by owner Orlando Orfei; often called Luna Park, Nova Iguaçu |
| Lunapark, Lima
| Lima, Peru | ? to 2007 | |
| Lunapark, Lecherias
| Anzoátegui, Venezuela | 2003 to present | Also known as Parque de Atracciones Plaza Mayor |
| Luna Park, Santa Fé
| Bogotá, Colombia | 1921 to 1948 | Designed and built by Don Nicolás Liévano where today sits the neighborhood of Barrio Restrepo. The park was built around a lake fed by the Fucha River. It counted with several attractions including the Chicago Ferris wheel, a carrousel, a building for events, and more. Designed to entertain families and children of the south of Bogotá it was also used for parades and events during special occasions. By 1948 the luna park construction company decided to fill the lake and build residential areas on top which was supported by the secretary of public works of Bogotá disregarding the protests by the locals against the project. |
See also
{{commons category|Luna Park}}
{{-}}
- Luna Luna (1987 exhibition), former art exhibit and amusement park in Germany