Login
Login

Trolley park

{{short description|Amusement park prototype}}

{{hatnote|In Britain, a "trolley park" is a holding area for supermarket trolleys (called shopping carts in the U.S.).}}

Image:IdoraParkOakland1910.jpg 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.{{cite news|last=Harpaz|first=Beth J.|url=http://www.palmbeachpost.com/accent/travel/survivors-of-earlier-era-11-beloved-trolley-parks-815560.html|title=Survivors of earlier era: 11 beloved trolley parks|date=July 21, 2010|work=The Palm Beach Post|accessdate=September 17, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100730054740/http://www.palmbeachpost.com/accent/travel/survivors-of-earlier-era-11-beloved-trolley-parks-815560.html|archive-date=July 30, 2010|location=Palm Beach County, Florida}}

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.{{cite book | last =Adams | first =Judith A. | title =The American Amusement Park Industry: A History of Technology and Thrills | publisher =Twayne Publishers | year =1991 | location =Boston, Massachusetts | isbn =0-8057-9821-8 | url-access =registration | url =https://archive.org/details/americanamusemen00adam }}

Coney Island

{{Main|Coney Island}}

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.

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. 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.

Trolley parks decline

File:Jack Rabbit Derby Racer, Ramona Park, Grand Rapids, MI.jpeg. 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.

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.

List of trolley parks still operating

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
scope="col" |Park

! scope="col" |Location

! scope="col" |Opened

! scope="col" |Trolley company

! scope="col" class="unsortable"|Notes

scope="row" |Bushkill Park

|Easton, Pennsylvania

|1902{{Cite web|url=http://www.bushkillpark.com/|title=~ Welcome To Bushkill Park ~|website=www.bushkillpark.com}}

|

|

scope="row" |Camden Park

|Huntington, West Virginia{{Cite web|url=http://www.camdenpark.com/|title=Home|website=Camden Park}}

|1903

|Camden Interstate Railway Company

|

scope="row" |Canobie Lake Park

|Salem, New Hampshire{{Cite web|url=https://www.canobie.com/about/history/|title=Park History|website=Canobie Lake Park|access-date=September 1, 2019}}

{{cite book

|last1=Seed|first1=Douglas

|last2=Khalife|first2=Katherine

|year=1996

|location=Salem, New Hampshire

|title=Salem, NH, Volume II: Trolleys, Canobie Lake, and Rockingham Park

|url= https://books.google.com/books/about/Salem_NH_Volume_II.html?id=zGO_v62-2uQC

|publisher=Arcadia Publishing

|isbn=0-7524-0438-5

}}

|1902

|Massachusetts Northeast Street Railway Company

|

scope="row" |Clementon Park

|Clementon, New Jersey

|1907

|

|

scope="row" |Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom

|Allentown, Pennsylvania

|1884

|

|

scope="row" |Kennywood

|Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

|1898

|Monongahela Street Railways Company

|Designated as a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

scope="row" |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.

scope="row" |Lakemont Park

|Altoona, Pennsylvania

|1894

|Altoona & Logan Valley Electric Railway

|

scope="row" |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)

scope="row" |Midway Park

|Maple Springs, New York[http://www.midway-park.com/ midway-park.com]

|1898

|Jamestown and Lake Erie Railway

|

scope="row" |Oaks Amusement Park

|Portland, Oregon

|{{dts|1905|May|30}}

|Oregon Water Power and Railway Company

|

scope="row" |Quassy Amusement Park

|Middlebury, Connecticut{{Cite web|url=https://www.quassy.com/|title=Quassy Amusement and Waterpark | Fun & Attractions in CT|website=www.quassy.com}}

|1908

|

|

Ravinia Festival

|Highland Park, Illinois

|1904{{Cite web |title=Ravinia Festival {{!}} Official Site {{!}} History of Ravinia |url=https://www.ravinia.org/History |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=www.ravinia.org}}

|Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad

|

scope="row" |Seabreeze Amusement Park

|Rochester, New York

|1879

|Rochester and Lake Ontario Railroad

|

scope="row" |Waldameer & Water World

|Erie, Pennsylvania

|1896

|Erie Electric Motor Company

|

scope="row" |Glen Echo Park{{Cite web|url=https://glenecho-cabinjohn.com/GE-04.html|title=A General History of Glen Echo Park| website=glenecho-cabinjohn.com/GE-04.html }}

|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.{{Cite web|url=https://glenechopark.org/History|title=Glen Echo Park: History of the Park| website= glenechopark.org/History}}

List of trolley parks now closed

Image:Edgewater old trolley terminal.jpg 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|White City (amusement parks)}}

{{Expand list|date=August 2008}}

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • {{cite journal|title=Street Railway Parks|journal=Transit Journal|date=February 2, 1901|volume=17|issue=5|page=186|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gj0_AQAAMAAJ&q=ondawa+park&pg=PA188}}

Category:Amusement parks in the United States

Category:Streetcars in the United States