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Luna Park: 1905

"Luna Park, Pittsburg, 1905." One of several amusement parks of the era that went by that name, the most famous being at Coney Island. At right: The park's "Scenictorium." Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size.

"Luna Park, Pittsburg, 1905." One of several amusement parks of the era that went by that name, the most famous being at Coney Island. At right: The park's "Scenictorium." Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size.

 

On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5

Lost Kennywood

I'm pretty sure "Lost Kennywood" spells "Pittsburg" without the "h" on some signage somewhere.

Kennywood

I'm surprised that no one has said this yet but:

The popular Pittsburgh amusement park, Kennywood, has a section in the park named "Lost Kennywood" that actually is modeled after Luna.

Pittsburgh with an H

The lowdown on the history of the spelling of Pittsburgh:

http://www.pittsburgh.net/about_pittsburgh_h.cfm

Go Steelers!

Re: Moxie

I've never had the pleasure of tasting the stuff, but it sounds like a natural mixed drink ingredient for the Jagermeister crowd.

Moxie

Moxie is indeed still being produced and can be purchased online. Be warned, however -- to the modern palate, it tastes like carbonated cough syrup.

This is no coincidence, as Moxie contained gentian root and was originally produced as a nerve tonic. As competing tonics and cough syrups were brought to market, they copied the taste of Moxie, then the market leader. As the taste of Moxie disappeared from popular memory after WWII, the distinctive flavor is now associated only with cough syrups, and any modern drinker is likely to describe Moxie as resembling a carbonated version thereof.

Personally, I prefer sarsaparilla.

St. Paul's

That's St. Paul Cathedral on Fifth between Craig and Dithridge.

That church

Can anyone identify the Gothic Revival church with two towers in the center background?

Top Hat

This makes me think of the "Venice" set from the movie Top Hat, which looked nothing like Venice at all. Maybe art director Van Nest Polglese visited this park at some point before 1935.

Good luck, Fischer!

I tried Moxie only once, in the Summer of 1961, at a golf course, and spit a lot of it out.

Pittsburg vs. Pittsburgh

Great series of photos, captainslack. It is interesting to see that the entrance to Luna Park left the "h" off of Pittsburgh. I wonder if the h-less spelling was common back then or just a Luna Park issue.

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Pittsburgh is one of the few American "-burg" cities whose name is spelled with an h at the end. From Wikipedia:

On December 23, 1891, a recommendation by the United States Board on Geographic Names to standardize place names was signed into law. The law officially changed the spelling of the city name to Pittsburg, and publications would use this spelling for the next 20 years. However, the change was very unpopular in the city. Responding to mounting pressure, the United States Geographic Board reversed the decision on July 19, 1911, and the Pittsburgh spelling was restored.

It is also believed that Pittsburgh's large German population during this era aided in the famous "H" controversy by not using the "H" in the city's name, since most German cities ending with "burg" have no following H.

The confusion and controversy surrounding the aborted spelling change means that both the Pittsburgh and the Pittsburg spelling were commonly encountered around the turn of the 20th century, and continued uses of Pittsburg still occur to this day.

Hey Dev, funny that you mentioned....

... Moxie because I just recently ordered some online and can't wait to try it. A few of the things from way back when are still around, it seems. Yet another great pic here by the way!

Wheeeeeee

This place looks like it was a blast. It kind of reminds me of Main Street at Disney.

Full Of Moxie!

Great photo. Note the giant Moxie bottle display on the left side of the image next to the tree. Until the 1920s, Moxie was the largest selling soft drink. From what I understand, small quantities of Moxie Soda are still being produced today.

Luna Park Pittsburgh

There are more pictures of Luna Park & a brief history here.

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