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Men of Action: 1942
May 1942. "Amusement park in Southington, Connecticut." Medium format negative by Fenno ... Southington. It is one of the oldest, if not the oldest amusement park in the country. I live nearby and take my entire family there at least once every year. I can't imagine another amusement park ever being right next door to Lake Compounce and competing with ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/01/2016 - 1:52pm -

May 1942. "Amusement park in Southington, Connecticut." Medium format negative by Fenno Jacobs for the Office of War Information. View full size. Yes, they did dress like thatTake a look at photos at the ball park from that era. Men wore suits in those days, period, unless they had jobs that required them to do actual physical labor, or to get dirty, e.g. on the railroad. Location, location, location.I agree with kairho1 that this is Lake Compounce in Bristol Ct, not Southington. It is one of the oldest, if not the oldest amusement park in the country. I live nearby and take my entire family there at least once every year. I can't imagine another amusement park ever being right next door to Lake Compounce and competing with this wonderful old park. Formal amusementAt first I thought these folks looked pretty formal for an amusement park. Then I saw this on Wikipedia: In May 1942, during World War II, the town was selected by the War Department to be highlighted in a defense booklet called Southington, CT—Microcosm of America. Photographers roamed the community taking photos of residents at work, at play and in their homes and churches. The final publication was intended to show friends and foes alike in Europe the typical American citizens and families, their traditions and values. Thousands of copies were dropped from military airplanes over Europe during the Nazi German Occupation. So, did they dress a little better when they knew the photographers were roaming? Lake CompounceI finally have (had?) intimate knowledge of a location! This is from Lake Compounce, a vintage amusement park in Bristol, Connecticut (post office and entrance address) which straddles the border between the towns of Bristol and Southington. It's still there, too. Early 50s, my parents brought me there quite a number of times. Mom was born in Bristol (right on Farmington Avenue) and they had, by then, moved to nearby Hartford. I was born in 48 and the Sunday excursions to LC got us out of the city for a few hours. Photo attached is of me in June, 1952, which I just uncovered last year in a genealogical project. Most fun ride was the Chris-Craft speedboat ride across the lake although I also loved the miniature train which circumnavigated the lake. It was difficult for my mother to get me off those. She preferred I ride the merry-go-round but I got frustrated because I was too small to reach the brass ring. When was the last time you smiled......like this? Whatever we're doing on our iPhones, it doesn't provide the same pleasure these folks get from a ride on the bumper cars. Also, they dress better than we do. Much better. I-95Indistinguishable from I-95 at commute time. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Fenno Jacobs)
Next Stop Funville: 1959
... there, at least in front of the gate. Only amusement park around in the 1950s When I was a young child, my mother and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/18/2023 - 12:57pm -

February 8, 1959. Montgomery County, Maryland. "Glen Echo Park entrance with trolley to Union Station in front." Gelatin silver print by Ara Mesrobian (1924-2019). View full size. Not Funville if you weren't WhiteGlen Echo park was segregated until 1961. It permanently closed in 1968. The site is now run by the National Park Service. The original carousel still operates. keeping trackThe trolley tracks are still there, at least in front of the gate. Only amusement park around in the 1950sWhen I was a young child, my mother and sometimes a friend would take us kids to Glen Echo. We thought it was the greatest place ever. I always wanted to ride the big roller coaster but my mom let me ride only the junior roller coaster. She never rode them herself and felt I was safer on the kiddy coaster. Decades later I didn't hesitate to take my younger son - a budding coaster junkie - on any roller coaster he fancied. Great mother-son times. I didn't understand Glen Echo was segregated until I grew up. If I remember right the park closed for good after it was pressured to admit all people but chose to shut down instead. That really tarnished my childhood experiences. In the newsLast month members of the original group that helped desegregate the park gathered there as a commemoration of that accomplishment and to celebrate Juneteenth. It was featured on a local DC news channel. (The Gallery, D.C., Streetcars)
Luna Park: 1905
... busy just replacing the burned out bulbs! Not like the amusement parks we know I still can't get over how well some people dressed ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/13/2022 - 8:49pm -

Coney Island, New York, circa 1905. "Whirl of the Wind, Luna Park." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Meet me in DéjàvulandBravo Dave, for the lovely pairing of this photo with tterrace's latest post. And, down in the lower left corner, isn't that little Tootie Smith and her older sisters, visiting all the way from St. Louis? Little Debbie is there!Maybe she has the Cake and Cookie concession. Safety First!That ride looks perfectly safe to me! Later That EveningNoting all the decorative lights makes me want a night view version of this as well. I can only imagine! Counting lightbulbsI started counting the lightbulbs in this photo but gave up when my vision went blurry and a migraine set in. Then I found some info on the internet that said, "By 1907, Luna Park was illuminated by 1,300,000 incandescent bulbs at a cost of $5,600 a week." It must have kept a squad of workers busy just replacing the burned out bulbs! Not like the amusement parks we knowI still can't get over how well some people dressed in those days. I have to imagine that Luna Park attracted a more well to do customer and that the price of admission may have been the reason. American GothicHow does that thing even work? It's very Edward Gorey. It was bound to happen.Combining the wood used to build the park, the number of light bulbs, and the period electrical wiring of the times, it's no wonder it burned. I'm just surprised it lasted until 1944 before it did so. Though, I would have loved to have experienced the park in its heyday. Well-to-doConey Island before the subway opened was a destination of the middle class and up, hence the fashion. I learned this just today from the Bowery Boys' posts (with podcasts) on Coney Island history. (Post 1, Post 2). Just an ImpressionPhotos like these make that period seem impossibly elegant. Pocket full of quartersThe name Luna Park was here used for the first time. It went on to be used in several other fairgrounds all over the world, and eventually became (at least in Europe) a generic name for fairground attractions, or part of them. During my childhood ('70s and '80s), where I lived in Belgium, we had a winter fair that came to our town every year. One part of it was a covered affair that presented to us youngsters the latest in arcade video games. It was called ... Luna Park. Nobody knew where that name came from, or what it stood for. And at the time, the name "Luna Park" even became a generic name for an arcade video game place. The arcade video games died out in the '90s, but even now, slip the name "Luna Park" to any guy from my generation, and they'll turn into a boy again, eyes gleaming, and pockets full of quarters (or their equivalent). Not GothicFYI, like another comment I made today, this is not Gothic. The arches are not pointed, and the building has not vaulting except some barrel vaulting. This is Romanesque, not Gothic. It does, though show some influence of Byzantine and Eastern culture [very popular in that period] much like structures in resort areas from the same period in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England, on which it was likely based. (The Gallery, Coney Island, DPC)
Gentlemen Will Not Get Gay: 1925
Funhouse at the Glen Echo amusement park in Maryland circa 1925. Note the many cryptic signs. View full ... Post May 21, 1911 A New Glen Echo Outdoor Amusement Grounds Present Many Attractive Features With the opening next ... in the last few months, the Washington summer outdoor amusement season will swing into full stride. No single department has been ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/03/2012 - 11:56am -

Funhouse at the Glen Echo amusement park in Maryland circa 1925. Note the many cryptic signs. View full size. National Photo Company glass negative. Ride it, too!There is still one of these operating at Luna Park, which is right on the Harbour in Sydney, Australia. Leave it to the Australians to take litigiousness out of the equation--have you seen how little padding their footballers wear? "The Nauseator"Boy, that ride looks truly thrilling. Human RouletteWashington Post May 21, 1911 A New Glen Echo Outdoor Amusement Grounds Present Many Attractive Features With the opening next Saturday afternoon of the Glen Echo Park, which under its new management of local business men, has been practically rebuilt in the last few months, the Washington summer outdoor amusement season will swing into full stride. No single department has been slighted in the complete rehabilitation of the Glen Echo Park, in which 50 attractions will be in operation when the gates are open next Saturday. Important among these is a new open air dancing pavilion, ample enough in area to permit of its use by 500 persons at the same time, and this is only one of a dozen structures recently erected to house the newest devices to provide fun and merriment in summer amusement parks. The spacious interior of the amphitheater has been entirely remodeled into a new midway, in which have been placed ten of the latest contraptions with which to defy the trials of the "dog days," including a "human roulette wheel" and a "giant slide-ride," said to be the largest in the United States. Other attractions include a novel marine toboggan, the "social dip," a thrilling topsy-turvy ride, Ferris wheel, modern miniature railway, a new boating pavilion at the canal bank. Some Observations1. It is awfully loud in there - See the kid lower-center. 2. Gentlemen Still Do Not Get Gay - 2008. 3. The Carneys are as well dressed the patrons. 4. Sometimes the Bull Moose isn't so fun - It's at those times that it may be necessary to actually shoot the Bull. Was this ride called the Bull Moose by chance? Don't Shoot The Bull meant don't loiter after the "ride" is over?? [Also, who can tell us which building this is. - Dave] Dangerous ridesWhen I see photos of old amusement park rides I'm always amazed how dangerous they look. They use the throw people around like rag dolls. They would never have such rides nowadays. Maybe people were tougher back then- or maybe they didn't have good personal injury lawyers! Sign, SignEverywhere a sign. 1. Sit down on the wheel don't stand up. 2. Do not get on or off roulette wheel while in motion. 3. Last night we hung one rowdy. The rope still works. 4. The operator is a bird. He is perched high just to make the wheels hum. 5. Forget your cares. Be a kid if only for an hour. 6. Gentlemen will not get gay. Others must not. 7. The bull moose is for fun. Don't shoot the bull. 8. If you find a four foot round square please hand it over to ru---. 9. Rowdyism is the birth-mark of a rough n---. 10. The answer to the question "Why is a mouse when it spins" is the higher the fewer. Human roulette wheelNo doubt Dave will remember the "human roulette wheel" from the Fun House on the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, CA. It was a great ride except for flying off and smashing into someone else or being smashed into. Funny but we all had a great time, survived, and didn't feel a need to sue anyone for a few bumps and bruises. [I think you mean tterrace. - Dave] High Ladder to slide....Look how high the children climbed to get onto the sliding spiral....that must have been half the thrill climbing up that high... Getting GayBased on one OED definition of gay: Forward, impertinent, too free in conduct, over-familiar; usually in the phrase "to get gay". U.S. slang. I'd translate the sign from 1925 slang: "Gentlemen will not get gay. Others must not" Into current vernacular as: "Real gentlemen won't act like jerks. Others had better not." Spinningtterrace does indeed remember a fun house ride like this, but at San Francisco's Playland at the Beach rather than Santa Cruz. Not sure what the official name was; I called it the turntable. It was smaller and less elaborate than this, and just one of many things in the Fun House. Know what the best thing was about these things? They were made of wood! Highly-polished (in large part by the posteriors of the fun-seekers) hardwood, like this one. The giant slide was, too, as well as the tumbler, a big revolving cylinder. Those were the days when falling on your keister was fun. Fun houseI spent many a fun filled hour in the late 1950s in the Fun House. The slide was a favorite and the long climb in the narrow, steep stairs was kinda cool also. Do you remember "Laughing Sally"? Laffing SalI didn't realize until I just now did some searching that it's "Laffing," not "Laughing" Sal, and that the automaton was not exclusive to SF's Playland at the Beach, but a standard fixture of old-style amusement parks since the 1930s. Additional surprise: the Playland Sal is now ensconced at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Man, if they only still had that giant clown face, what a then-and-now pic that would make, but they shut the fun house down in 1971 for liability reasons. Why is a mouse when it spins?I'm pretty sure the sign at the far right says "Why is a mouse when it spins?", not "house." This is a pretty well-known example of an "anti-joke" (others are the classic "Why did the chicken cross the road?" and the shaggy-dog story "No soap, radio"). There are various different "punch lines," but Google suggests that "the higher, the fewer" is the most common. I'm sure a historian of humour somewhere would be interested to find this documentation of the joke from 1925. [Yes it should be mouse. The joke is mentioned in an 1899 newspaper article ("Mr. Scullin' connundrum"). - Dave] Rowdyism and ReminiscencesThe one sign must be "Rowdyism is the birth-mark of a rough neck." Here in the Twin Cities, we had the Excelsior Amusement Park (on Lake Minnetonka) up until the early 70's. It was built in the early 20's and replaced a park that had been on Big Island in the middle of the lake. Excelsior Park had a fun house with similar attractions. The "roulette wheel" was rarely operational by the time I was around (in the 60's), but I do remember riding it once and staying on it until the operator gave up (I was near the center, didn't weigh much, and had sweaty palms). There was a revolving barrel, which they later built a catwalk through and decorated the interior with fluorescent paint and black lights. Apparently they got tired of rescuing people who fell down trying to walk through it. There was a giant slide, and one of those obstacle-course-like things with sliding or jumping floorboards. It was equipped with air jets, presumably for blasting ladies' skirts into the air, but no one was ever operating them in my day. There were a couple of other attractions in the fun house as well. I also remember that they had "Report Card Day". You could bring your report card, and for every A, you got 3 ride tickets, for every B you got 2, and for every C you got 1. Very nice of them. Other attractions included bumper cars with metal bumpers, a rotted wooden roller coaster that occasionally jumped the track (my folks never let me ride it), a little train that took you out on a pier over the lake and many of the usual rides - ferris wheel, scrambler, tilt-a-whirl, etc. The carousel was a work of art by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. It's the only part of the park that survives and is now an attraction at Valleyfair - the modern-day, sanitized theme park in the Twin Cities. Here's a link to a picture of the carousel: http://www.nca-usa.org/psp/ValleyfairPTC/001_34.html You can see others by clicking Previous or Next. Where's Sal?I thought Playland's Laffing Sal lived at the Musee Mechanique now (http://www.museemecaniquesf.com/). The SlideLongtime visitor, first time commenter ... love Shorpy. Anyway, there's a slide almost identical to this, from the same time period, in my home town of Burlington, Iowa. You can still go on it, and it is indeed terrifying climbing up those steps -- you don't realize how high it is until you're about halfway up. I have a photo but am not sure how to post it. [First, register as a user. Then log in and click the Upload Image link. - Dave] Re: Laffing SalHere is the Laffing Sal at Santa Cruz. As seen on the Silver ScreenI've seen this ride in a silent movie -- if I recall correctly, it was "The 'It' Girl" with Clara Bow. Looked like fun -- if I ever make it to Australia, I'll have to check it out! Looks boring for the womenNot much a woman of the time could have had fun doing there, modesty ya know. OopsYou're right, Dave, that was tterrace: https://www.shorpy.com/node/3695 No matter, thanks for stimulating so many great memories. Doug Playland-Not-at-the-BeachI am enjoying the posts about the old Fun House at Playland-at-the-Beach. In our Playland-Not-at-the-Beach museum in El Cerrito, California we have many artifacts from the beach amusements. A few points I would like to correct: 1.) The Fun House was not demolished in 1971. It was torn down after September 4, 1972 -- the date the whole park closed and was demolished to make room for condominiums. 2.) At San Francisco's Playland she was named Laughing Sal -- the variant spelling "Laffin' Sal" was used in many other parks across the country. She was also known as Laughing Lena and many other names. The Sals were mass produced and purchased by amusement parks out of a catalogue. 3.) The Laughing Sal that is now at Santa Cruz was the final Sal at San Francisco's Playland. There were earlier ones that wore out. Santa Cruz purchased her from the John Wickett estate for $ 50,000. Wickett had purchased her for $ 4000 decades before. To learn more, visit our website: www.playland-not-at-the-beach.org, or better yet, visit our museum for the time of your life! Richard Tuck Playland-Not-at-the-Beach 10979 San Pablo Avenue El Cerrito, CA 94530 Website is www.playland-not-at-the-beach.org email: Richard@playland-not-at-the-beach.org (510) 232-4264 x25 for reservations (510) 592-3002 24-Hour Information Line Does anyone else rememberDoes anyone else remember the "disembodied head" versions of this Laffing Sal thing that were a gift-store fad in the late '70s-early 80s and scared the crap out of me( and probably most other small kids) at the time? They don't seem to have stuck around very long, for obvious reasons. The WheelThe wheel at the Fun House in SF which I used to frequent in the early 40's I remember as having a low fence around it into which you slammed when you were eventually swooshed off the platter. Am I misremembering? This one looks a bit hazardous for passersby. Scariest thing for me? Those big padded spinning wheels you had to walk between to get in the place. My friends were usually well on their way before I worked up the nerve. Laughing Sal - East CoastFor those of us on the East Coast, the "Laughing Sal" who used to reside on the Ocean City, Maryland, Boardwalk is currently on display at the Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum. She's no longer mobile and they have her enclosed in a glass case, but you can push a button to hear a recording of her laugh. In fact, if you click here, there's a (not very good) photo of her at the bottom of the page, and a sound clip of her laugh will automatically play, so turn up your speakers! Going UpSimilar slide in Burlington, IA: http://www.nolamansour.com/images/Thanksgiving07-08.jpg It is scarier going up than down. Crapo ParksI was born in Burlington & grew up in a neighboring town. I know I've gone down that slide but it's been years and I can't remember if the slide is at Dankwardt or Crapo Parks. (For those not familiar with the area, yes Crapo is an unfortuante name for a very pretty park. Pronounced "cray-po"). At Crapo, there are two artillery guns (I don't know exactly what they were - they had seats & long barrels). They were up on a bluff and I remember sitting on them and shooting imaginary shells to Illinois. Chautauqua AmphitheaterAccording to the historical marker at Glen Echo, this building was the original Chautauqua amphitheater built in 1891. It opened as the fun house in 1911 and operated till 1948. In 1956 the termite ridden building was burned to make room for a parking lot. Attractions in the building included, the Rocking Pigs, the Whirl-i-gig, Crossing The Ice, and the Barrel of Fun. The Anonymous Tipster (07/25/2008, 4:36pm.) is remembering correctly: the roulette wheel was later altered by sinking it into the ground resulting in a low wall around the edge. Thank YouI appreciate the translation, I've been sitting here (in our current Internet vernacular) going o_O trying to figure that one out, ha. (The Gallery, Natl Photo, Sports)
The Whip: 1928
"Glen Echo, 1928." Riding the Whip at Glen Echo amusement park in Maryland. View full size. National Photo Company ... Washington Post, May 19, 1918 10,000 Enjoy Amusement Grounds. "Whip" and Derby Racer Popular. With workmen ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/24/2008 - 3:33pm -

"Glen Echo, 1928." Riding the Whip at Glen Echo amusement park in Maryland. View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. Smooth operator!Look at Mr Smooth to the right, with a girl on each arm! I bet he enjoyed the ride. Whip It! Whip It Good!Coney Island SensationWashington Post, May 19, 1918 10,000 Enjoy Amusement Grounds. "Whip" and Derby Racer Popular. With workmen still putting the finishing touches on the new amusements, Glen Echo Park, Washington's favorite amusement grounds, formally opened the 1918 season last night. More than 10,000 persons, including the "tired business man" and the weary war workers, enjoyed the evening in the park. The center of attraction last night was the new "Whip," the Coney Island sensation which has just been installed. That dancing has lost none of its popularity was shown by the number of couples on the floor. Throngs also gathered around the derby racer and the gravity for the speed rides. The first of the season's free Sunday concerts will be given this afternoon. The WhipI have to remark at the number of adults on what we would now consider a children's ride. Noticeable too is that the men are wearing suits and ties. To our society they are all overdressed and in the wrong attire for an amusement park. Also, the Whip is exposed to the elements, not so good for the leather seats and the mechanics of the ride. What I remember most about the Whip ride was that all the exposed metal chains and gears were covered in a greasy lubricant to prevent rust and to ease friction. You see none of that here. It looks too clean with no gum on the concrete and no trash on the ground. The cars on the Whip also seem to be hand painted with ornate designs. Now they would be painted in alternating primary or neon colors with none of the finery. I suppose our culture lost something when we took off our coats and put on T-shirts. Young Whippersnapper Riverview Beach Amusement Park in Pennsville, New Jersey had a nice kiddie version of The Whip in 1948. The nice paint job was somewhat more Art Deco by that time. That's me and the photographer was my father. (The Gallery, Natl Photo, Sports)
Gypsy Camp: 1901
... Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. Amusement Park In the making. Fortune tellers, Shooting Gallery, McLeod's ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2019 - 11:23pm -

March 28, 1901. "Happy Hollow -- Hot Springs, Arkansas." You can see more of Happy Hollow here. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. Amusement ParkIn the making. Fortune tellers, Shooting Gallery, McLeod's show. In a hundred years or so, slots and space invaders. Edison's latest productionsIt is 1901. All I can see in the street are horses, and Edison managed to distribute moving pictures into Hot Springs, Arkansas. Cool! Shocking Portraits?What is the gizmatron with the dual (triple?) clock faces outside of the portrait studio? Your local movie theaterLooks like it was one of the earliest movie theaters. Edison, I believe, was the at the center of movie making at the time. Fringe elementsIf you were going to Oklahoma, I wonder if you could get a surrey with a fringe on top. Where are the horses.All I see are saddled mules or burro's burros. Actually only 77 years from hereSpace Invaders was released in 1978. What a Great time I had pumping quarters into that machine. This town seems like it was set up as a "Set". I realize it was not, but a grocery store may have been a better option for travelers. Weather station?Temperature, humidity, wind speed? The Shooting BogardusThat "shooting school" was an enterprise of Adam Henry Bogardus (1834-1913), who popularized the sport of trap shooting. He got to be "Captain" by organizing his own volunteer company during the Civil War, serving for 180 days. Later he did a stint with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Where's the Electricity?After carefully studying this photo I cannot find any semblance of a source of electric power in the entire area. No lights, no wires, no power poles, etc. So my question is what powers the movie projector? I notice there are no windows in the theater either, so it must have been quite dark in there and likely very hot in the summertime. [Clocks, candles and early film projectors ("cinematographs") didn't use electricity. - Dave] Burrows not horsesThere are only two horses in this picture. They're over by the livery stable. Across the street at the hitching rack are a bunch of burrows. The popular conveyance of people wanting to go down into the Grand Canyon. Probably here for the same reason, to be rented and ridden thru the country side. The machine on the photographers front porch is a weight scale. Probably cost a penny and it would give you a fortune to boot. [Psst. Burros, not "burrows." - Dave] Herd of DonkeysI count 2 horses and a herd of about 14 donkeys. I wonder why there are so many donkeys there. McCleod’s FREE ShowThe huddle of men look as if they are peering through a peep hole at a peep show. The building looks weird too, like it's temporary of some sort. A lot of men. No women. A lot of mules, not horses. It almost looks like a gold mining town. Did they cry “gold” in Arkansas? (The Gallery, DPC, Frontier Life, Hot Springs)
Looking the Other Way: 1920
... glass negative. View full size. Pre - IPod Amusement Seeing the guy in the car reading a newspaper reminds me that ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 4:23pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Standard Engraving building, 1212 G Street." Looking down the street seen in the previous post, in the opposite direction. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Pre - IPod AmusementSeeing the guy in the car reading a newspaper reminds me that whenever the kids today need to amuse themselves while waiting for something it's always a hand-held video game, listening to their iPod, or texting on their phone. Reading something is so yesterday. Grafonola Hall 1917 Advertisement Harry C. Grove, Inc. Cordially invites their friends and the public to participate in the opening, today October 15, of their newly remodeled building, 1210 G St. And the first public view of Grafonola Hall which occupies our spacious second floor, wherein are displayed the most complete line of 1919 Columbia Grafonolas in this city, including an elaborate line of the artistic period designs. Every modern improvement and equipment is provided to make this the most elegantly appointed talking machine department in the South. Your attention is also directed to the finest photo developing and printing plant in Washington which occupies our third floor and enables us to offer the amateur photographers of Washington the quickest and most efficient service obtainable anywhere in America. Look both ways...before crossing Shorpy. Grove's GrooveAccording to the Music Trade Review, Harry C. Grove took over the Columbia Graphophone Co.'s retail branch in Washington in 1917. You can see the Columbia trademark with the musical note in the window. Columbia made Graphophones with the outside horns and Grafonolas with concealed horns and was at one time one of the Big Three of record manufacturers. Because is was a registered trademark, only Edison could make a Phonograph. Victor made Talking Machines, and its name for the enclosed horn record player was, of course, Victrola. Like many dealers, Harry C. Grove apparently supplemented his business by selling pianos, cameras ("Kodaks"), along with the records and record players. Hey YouUp in the National Photo window. Hot BlockOn January 12, 1929 this block was the scene of one of the biggest fires in D.C. history. Known as the Dulin and Martin fire, it started in 1212 G street nw and quickly reached Six alarms, the only six alarm ever sounded in D.C. Barber & Rossmanufactured millwork until very recently. They made the windows in my Arlington home, built around 1994. I understand they have since gone out of business. + 90There is more left in this view than it would seem. In the distance, the Woodward and Lathrop (Woodies) Department Store building (now occupied by other stores), St. Patrick's Church and the Patent Office Building (now the National Portrait Gallery) can all be seen. Below is the view from April of 2010. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Natl Photo)
The Hereafter: 1906
... June 21, 1906 "HEREAFTER" AT PINE BEACH Local Amusement Company Offers Weird St. Louis Attraction "Hereafter," a ... has been put in at Pine Beach by the Newport News Amusement Corporation at a cost of $10,000 and will be ready for public ... night. The contract for constructing this expensive amusement enterprise was awarded to Austin, Bradwell and McClennan of New York, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/24/2024 - 5:39pm -

Norfolk, Virginia, circa 1906. "Pine Beach -- amusements and boardwalk." 5x7 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Grewsome ObjectsTHE DAILY PRESS, Newport News, Va., June 21, 1906 "HEREAFTER" AT PINE BEACH Local Amusement Company Offers Weird St. Louis Attraction "Hereafter," a spectacular show which created a sensation on the Pike at the St. Louis exposition, has been put in at Pine Beach by the Newport News Amusement Corporation at a cost of $10,000 and will be ready for public exhibition tomorrow afternoon and night. The contract for constructing this expensive amusement enterprise was awarded to Austin, Bradwell and McClennan of New York, the firm which put in the St. Louis show. Mr. McClennan was manager of Luna Park at Coney Island for two seasons, and has created such shows as "The Johnstown Flood" and "Over and Under the Sea." "Hereafter" is under the general management of Messrs. Clinedinst and Ballard, of this city. The show is a very weird one but it has never failed to attract immense crowds wherever exhibited. Entering the first chamber of the great building erected for this show, the spectators are ushered into the chamber of horrors, the walls of which are lined with coffins and decorated with grinning skulls and other grewsome objects. This is an exact reproduction of the famous Cabaret de la Mort, or the Cabinet [sic] of Death, in Paris. The lecturer invites some person in the crowd to enter one of the upright coffins and he is immediately transformed into a skeleton. His spirit invites the spectators to accompany him to the under world and together they descend a bottomless pit, finally crossing the river Styx and finishing in Hades. The electrical effects used are most vivid and greatly add to the impressiveness of the scene. Entertainment through the decadesIt's nice to see Oliver Hardy and Mary Martin making use of someone's time machine. But as for the Hereafter, it is easy for us to snicker at such a kitschy exhibit for the rubes, but our contemporary comic book movies and "reality" tv are just as stylized and phony. In fifty years this will be really obvious. Less amusing now.Pine Beach was located at Sewell’s Point in Norfolk. Pine Beach Hotel - The Hampton Roads Naval Museum Blog A Hellish Experience?I have to wonder if that expensive $10,000 investment was profitable as time went on. I'LL GET IT Apparently, the merry-go-round swing thing in the center of photo is stuck because someone is scaling up the side to locate the problem with a 1906 version of WD-40 aka lubricating oil. WhirligigThe merry-go-round swing thing in the center of photo. I'd be hereafter... a ride on the little train just the other side of the messy log patch. Looks like a nice steamer, willing to tote a dozen or so happy kids around the park. And the name "Hereafter" reminds me of the old plug about what guys say to their date right after parking in the woods. Somebody help meWhat is that thing which the woman in white is looking/laughing at? I refer to what appears to be an elephant trunk -- not attached to an elephant -- suspended between the two benches. BTW I am stone cold sober. [Is it a trunk? More likely a limb! It looks to me like part of a tree. - Dave] (The Gallery, DPC, Norfolk)
Baby in Bucket: 1890s
... on August 30: https://www.shorpy.com/node/15951 . Amusement Looks like it came off of the "Tilt-a-Whirl". As they say I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/09/2018 - 4:14pm -

Circa 1890s. "Edgar Richard Williams, in a play pen tub with toy rabbit alongside, at Viewbank, Maitland Street, Dunedin, NZ." Glass negative by William Williams, one of thousands of photos taken by the Williamses and donated by son Edgar (1891-1983) to the National Library of New Zealand. View full size. Brave babyI know that I would have been a lot more upset if my rabbit had fallen overboard. "One of thousands"The quality of this photo is great. I took photography in college right before dark rooms went extinct. I can't help but wonder how many of the thousands of photos this guy took in the 1800s and early 1900s turned out this nice. Old babyIf you stare only at the face (forget about the bucket and the bunny and the frilly white clothing), you can easily imagine this baby’s face as belonging to any number of middle-aged Shorpy people. I thought immediately of the fellow with the radio tube, posted on August 30: https://www.shorpy.com/node/15951. AmusementLooks like it came off of the "Tilt-a-Whirl". As they sayI think this is the proverbial baby that got thrown out with the bath water. Not a climberCute picture! Most kids wouldn't stay in that, though. My third would have been out of it in less than two seconds! It's nice to know this baby had a nice, long, life! (The Gallery, Bizarre, Kids, New Zealand)
Flame War: 1905
... The Politics of Amusement Fascinating story of how this place came to be. Why give ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/10/2015 - 10:51am -

New York circa 1905. "Fighting the Flames, Dreamland, Coney Island." The exterior of this thrilling attraction. 8x10 glass negative. View full size. 'Mowgli' the Missing Link?"Giant orang-utan, Wildman of the Woods." How curious. Cashing in on the Kipling craze, I guess. Mowgli wasn't listed in the opening-day lineup, described below in a May 8 1904 ad from The Sun. Sounds like it was quite a spectacle: "Fall of Pompeii", "Submarine Boat", "Midget City, 300 Lilliputians", "Peter F. Dailey, A Paris Novelty" -- sounds rather ooh-la-la -- and of course "4,000 People Fighting the Flames." Full-sized image: http://stuffnobodycaresabout.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Coney-Island... The Politics of AmusementFascinating story of how this place came to be. Why give people free access to the beach when we can charge them to see an orangutan? (The Gallery, Coney Island, DPC, NYC)
Mantrip: 1942
... Not A Fun Ride That doesn't look like much of an amusement park ride! Doing Their Part Miners are a rare breed of men. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/31/2024 - 5:20pm -

November 1942. "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (vicinity). Westland coal mine. 'Mantrip' going into a drift mine." Acetate negative by John Collier for the Office of War Information. View full size. Not Space MountainThis ride is "Descent Into Darkness" Not A Fun RideThat doesn't look like much of an amusement park ride! Doing Their PartMiners are a rare breed of men. The U.S. coal industry was instrumental in the war effort both at home and on the front line. The West Virginia University football program pays tribute to the West Virginia coal mining industry with the “Mountaineer Mantrip” before each home game at Milan Puskar Stadium. https://wvusports.com/sports/2017/8/2/mountaineer-mantrip.aspx Patrick I get your driftI pictured the cars going into the mine and then careening down a hill, roller coaster style. That would be a slope mine. Because this is a drift mine, they are entering the side of the hill and rolling on a horizontal path - much less exciting. This diagram helped me: (The Gallery, John Collier, Mining, Railroads)
Dapper 40s Couple
... "Sherwood Place," along with "Pineview Apartments" and an amusement park, to no avail. Time frame appears to be late 40s, based on the ... for the location of the fire hydrant. Ocean View Amusement Park was located just down the road at Granby Street and Ocean View ... 
 
Posted by dboynton - 04/06/2013 - 4:19pm -

Grandpa Grimme traveled a lot, and took a lot of Kodachromes with his Argus C3. This was in a slide tray that included a lot of friends, and clearly the photos were taken all over the country. I've tried to fashion a triangulation on "Sherwood Place," along with "Pineview Apartments" and an amusement park, to no avail. Time frame appears to be late 40s, based on the cars, and the slide frames, manufactured between 1939 and 1949. But I love the photo. Hope y'all do, too - and maybe there's a better detective out there than I have been. View full size. Norfolk VA PerhapsThis might be the corner of Sherwood Place and Ocean View Avenue in Norfolk VA. Nothing looks the same, except for the location of the fire hydrant. Ocean View Amusement Park was located just down the road at Granby Street and Ocean View Avenue, about where the park appears to be in the background. It is NorfolkWayne Johnston has nailed it. Here's a post card of Ocean View Amusement Park showing the Casino Theater building seen in dboynton's slide. Thanks!Thanks, guys. That must be it, as the Grimmes lived on East Ocean View Avenue during World War II. Pineview Apartments must have been their home. Mom always said Grandpa helped design a church in Norfolk; I wonder if it was one of the churches nearby. Ocean View site..There used to be a very nice hotel and apartment building on that site.. the PINE CREST. By the 1960s it was more of a transient hotel. Torn down in the 1970s. Still a vacant lot at this point. Attached is a post card of the building. They would have been standing just to the right of the building... the part that you can't see. There are several editions of the Post cards avail. on ebay if you need one. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Human Roulette: 1908
... : The plaintiff was injured while riding upon an amusement device known as "Human Niagara Falls," maintained and operated by the ... Pier in Atlantic City. The Steeplechase Pier is an amusement resort upon which is maintained and operated a number of mechanical ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/25/2014 - 8:16pm -

The Jersey Shore circa 1908. "Atlantic City bathing beach and Steeplechase Pier." Who out there can fill us in on "Human Roulette" and "Human Niagara"? 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Human roulette wheelSee The Street Railway Journal, Volume 31, pg 132: Human Niagara in legal termsFrom New Jersey Law Reports, 1914: The plaintiff was injured while riding upon an amusement device known as "Human Niagara Falls," maintained and operated by the defendant company upon the Steeplechase Pier in Atlantic City. The Steeplechase Pier is an amusement resort upon which is maintained and operated a number of mechanical contrivances for the use and amusement of its patrons. There were displayed all about signs reading "All amusements at your own risk." Several of these devices were maintained for the purpose of allowing patrons to take rides or slides of a more or less thrilling nature, and the "Human Niagara Falls" was a structure of this character. Patrons of the pier were charged a fee of twenty-five cents upon entering, and this entitled them, if they chose to put themselves in a position of obvious danger, to the use of all the devices plainly designed to produce unusual excitement and sensations. The plaintiff paid the entrance fee on the day of the accident, and thus became entitled to all the rights and privileges of patrons of the pier. The "Human Niagara Falls" consisted of an incline upon which was fastened a series of rollers, about eighteen in number. The rollers were about seven feet wide by eighteen inches in diameter. Persons using the device seated themselves upon the topmost roller of the incline and were then propelled by the force of gravity, over the rollers, to the bottom. The weight of the person passing over them caused the rollers to revolve. There was a space of from three-sixteenths to one-quarter of an inch left between the rollers for clearance so that they would revolve without touching. At the trial the plaintiff's version of the accident was that, having chosen to ride on the "Human Niagara Falls," when she reached about the fourth or fifth roller on the way down, her heel caught between the rollers and she was twisted around, thrown forward head foremost, and bumped over every roller to the bottom, and was thus injured. We are of opinion that the direction of a verdict for the defendant was justified. Wheeee! Ouch.Human Roulette was an amusement park ride where one sat on a giant wheel and tried to hang on as it spun faster and faster. If you could stay on the center you had a better chance of staying in place longer. The losers got flung to the sides by centrifugal force. This ride looks more dangerous than fun to the modern viewer. Give me a 450 foot tall roller coaster any day. Loose Extra from the Walking DeadSeems to be approaching the woman sitting at the waterline. I Rode One as a KidThe Excelsior Amusement Park in Excelsior, MN had a fun house that included the Human Roulette Wheel. By the time I went there in the mid-sixties and early seventies, it was always a crap shoot as to which of the fun house attractions would actually be working, but I remember the one time I rode the Human Roulette Wheel. I think it was pure luck, but I was very near the center, and my palms had just enough sweat on them to provide some extra gripping power. I didn't spin off, and the guy finally shut it down. Good times! Rolly SlideA park near my home has a Human Niagara, but we call it Rolly Slide. It's just a slide with the equivalent of rolling pins tightly packed together, and it's quite amusing to slide down. Google for "roller slide" to see photos and videos. Well informed people visit ShorpyI knew what Human Roulette is but Human Niagara was a new one on me. Thank you! Social MixerThe Clara Bow classic "It" has a scene with a Human Roulette wheel in action, billed as the "Social Mixer." She and her not-quite-beau also ride a long, wavy slide, though I don't recall it having rollers. Given the fashions of the late 1920s, those who paid admission to watch the roulette wheel (as noted in the article jwp quoted) would get rather more for their money than patrons of 1908. And since "It" is of course a pre-Code movie, there is also rather a lot of Clara to be seen. I pukedProbably 1941 at an amusement park in Denver Colorado, I got in the center and was the last one off. No Human Pool Table?Coney Island's Steeplechase had one, along with the Roulette Wheel and a large wooden slide.(I don't recall rollers.) The ride began with a spiral slide down an enclosed tube. Then the rider was ejected onto a polished floor with several flush-mounted 24"-36" rotating discs. After being violently tossed around at random, the victim was thrown into a padded gutter around the edge. As a ten-year-old, I never mustered the courage to ride it. The floor looked fun, but the dark slide scared me. (The Gallery, Atlantic City, DPC, Swimming)
Glen Echo Girls: 1935
... Montgomery County, Maryland. "Bathing girls at Glen Echo amusement park." 4x5 inch acetate negative by Theodor Horydczak. View full ... where you find it ... Where do you find it? Glen Echo Amusement Park The Coaster Dip is cool, so's the Crystal Pool. For ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/14/2023 - 9:49pm -

August 4, 1935. Montgomery County, Maryland. "Bathing girls at Glen Echo amusement park." 4x5 inch acetate negative by Theodor Horydczak. View full size. Don't forget your keysThree of them are wearing a anklet with a key (from home or a locker) Too bad we don't know their names - wonder how their lives turned out A snapshot in timeWhat pretty girls with kind eyes. A look at the row behind them more than suggests the young men are thinking the same thing. Do you every just look at photos like these and hope that things turned out well for them all? I do. This old architect was so hoping for another old building in today’s Shorpy! Guess I’ll just have to make do … Before the days of …silicone. Just registering my approval. Fun is where you find it ...Where do you find it? Glen Echo Amusement Park The Coaster Dip is cool, so's the Crystal Pool. For Summertime fun, it's Glen Echo after dark, Glen Echo Amusement Park. I remember this jingle on WPGC (Good Guys Radio) in the early '60s. So ThinThese pretty young girls are all quite thin -- one with her ribs showing. In that decade of Depression, one suspects many were quite thin. A scan of the background figures certainly confirms that. Our 21st century folks are pretty well padded in comparison. Interesting little spot up the river from DCI had not heard of this park just outside of DC. Even more interesting is that it had bathing facilities that included water slides and artificial beaches. I found this website with another image taken on the same August 4, 1935. I can see two of the girls sat for both images -- definite beauties so they would have caught the photographer's attention. [We have many more Glen Echo photos right here. They are all from the collections of the Library of Congress. - Dave] Sign of the timesThe girl on the right appears to have gotten her smallpox vaccination. I don't think that was a universal thing in 1935, and of course young people today probably have no idea what it was all about. (The Gallery, D.C., Pretty Girls, Swimming, Theodor Horydczak)
The Tickler: 1909
... I always thought Coney Island was Cincinnati's first amusement park until I saw this site. The current location now holds a Honda ... Tickler name holds special significance in the history of amusement rides and of Coney Island. The Tickler was the first amusement ride ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/29/2012 - 2:41pm -

Cincinnati circa 1909. "Chester Park -- the Tickler." Now "not as rough." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. The lady's not for TickleringOnly young men seem to enjoy it. The women standing below are gazing at it dubiously - as I would too. For one thing, their hats are a lot more difficult to put on and take off. For another, the excitement the ride induces probably isn't appropriate in public mixed company. The Atlantic City theme continues, with boxes of its famed salt water taffy proudly offered! You may have had to leave your idylls of the Jersey shore, but taffy's teeth-pulling sweetness is still available to remind you of the salt spray, even after you're back in Ohio. What goes downI'm sure that even with the remodeled Tickler, many still lost their popular price luncheon! By the late 1920sI think is when they closed Chester Park. Coney Island and the new Riverdowns horse track took over by the 1930s. I always thought Coney Island was Cincinnati's first amusement park until I saw this site. The current location now holds a Honda dealership and a Kroger grocery store. Tickler on the West CoastThe Tickler could also be found at the 1909 Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition held in Seattle. The fabulous documentary "The Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition: Seattle's Forgotten World's Fair" has footage of the Fairy Gorge Tickler in action beginning at 24:27: http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=4030901 Another good image of the ride in question being used is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/uw_digital_images/3383228748/ You can tell just how popular it was by the line of people waiting to get on! Evidently the thrill was worth the whiplash. My aching neck!Claims to be not as rough, but I hurt just looking at it! Also known asThe Kidney Stone Crusher! Rubber bumpersThe secret to the ride is the rubber bumpers. The bumpered car rolls along against the railings, carrying it down the slanted floor. The cars would spin along the track as they descended. Tickler historyThe idea of a ride named ticker has apparently been around for a while. The Tickler name holds special significance in the history of amusement rides and of Coney Island. The Tickler was the first amusement ride "designed to jostle, jolt and jounce its riders about in their seats when the ride was in motion," according to its inventor and manufacturer William F. Mangels. More here. Human pinballIt's interesting to see there are reflectors mounted on the arc lamps in this photo. "Not as rough as last season"Those six words make my imagination go wild. Just how bad was it last season that they feel compelled to mention it? New and ImprovedIt shouldn't kill nearly as many people this year! "Not as rough"Quite a bit more popular than its predecessor, "The Lacerator." The Hat ExchangeThere is a sign that reads "HATS" and some lined circular containers nearby. I guess if you were afraid that your hat might blow away during your Tickler experience you left it in one of those receptacles. If there were enough of them in the bin I wonder if someone looking for an upgrade just helped themselves and left you theirs. [The "lined circular containers" are what you ride in. The hat basket is what the sign is attached to. - Dave] FrazzleI want to know what's inside "Frazzle." RemodeledAny truth to the rumor the work was done by a French company? "Mangels"The inventor was a man named Mangels? Ah. Last season must have been a hoot and a half. The First VariationThis must have been the predecessor of The Price Is Right's Plinko game on a slightly larger scale. Frankly, I've love to see it in motion. Amusement park rides of yesteryear had so much more charm than the overly padded and seat strapped and belted rides of today. There is something to be said for the thrills one gets from riding and surviving intact a hair raising ride such as this. Today's rides may be higher and faster but they lack the genuine fear factor and adrenaline rush that real danger provides. I can only imagine the concessions possible on the "I survived the Tickler" wool t-shirts, wool neckties, and wool bathing suits. Instant InjuryJust don't let your arms hang too far down on the outside, or your fingers will get squished into useless tentacles. HeadwaiterThe bloke wearing the dark suit looks like the headwaiter in a mortuary. Maybe he is waiting to pick up customers that didn't survive the ride. [I don't even want to ask what kind of mortuary employs waiters! - Dave] Instant injury (2)And be careful how your tentacles are hanging as well!! How does it move side to side?Since the cars don't appear to have any motors and the planks have no rails to guide the cars, I wonder how they move thru the railings left to right/right to left? Gravity wouldn't move the car sideways, only down. [The rotation of the car might be enough to move it from side to side. Or the railings might be angled down a bit. Or both. - Dave] MisnomerHow would this "ride" do anything but rattle you to the core? Tilt-a-whirlThis looks like an early albeit extremely-dangerous looking tilt-a-whirl from amusement parks of today. Oddly, there doesn't look to be any sort of stopper mechanism at the end (or padding)... hopefully it didn't go too fast. The sign at the top is amazingI'd love to get a large image just of the sign at the top. The decoration on the lintel is also great. (The Gallery, Cincinnati Photos, DPC, Sports)
Wait Until It Stops: 1925
... Park Co., 1925." The Dentzel Carousel at the Glen Echo amusement park in Montgomery County, Maryland. National Photo Company glass ... over the years -- it's been a Chautauqua, trolley stop, amusement park, raging streambed, a lovely ruin, and most recently, a national ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/14/2023 - 6:42pm -

"Glen Echo Park Co., 1925." The Dentzel Carousel at the Glen Echo amusement park in Montgomery County, Maryland. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size. Wait Until It StopsWhich the photographer didn't quite do. Dentzel CarouselRestored and in color here Thanks, Anonymous Tipster!The link to the restored carousel was terrific..although I liked the carousel horses pre-restoration, with their "dark varnish and park paint" almost as much as the new and improved steeds! It almost makes me want to drive to Maryland to see them in person! (Almost. With gas at $4 a gallon, the visit through the Internet photo slideshow was as close as I'll get to Glen Echo.) Glen EchoI rode on this carousel as a child in the 1980s. Glen Echo was being "revived" as an artists' colony back then, but the midway and dance hall were still there, the bumper car pavilion could be walked through, and the site of the pool was marked. It was a strange place because it was so devoid of activity. The carousel was still in decent repair with paint peeling, and you could ride for a dollar. We did, many times. My diplomat father was always careful to point out that the park was controversial because it excluded people of color, and as a child I thought that was why it failed, considering the diversity of the area. Glen Echo EchoHere is an excellent article on the protest with a touching reunion of sorts. Glen EchoThis a lovely photo. I worked for the park service a couple years ago as a summer job, and one of our tasks was to polish the brass on the carousel, and I'll never be able to polish metal or think of the carousel without remembering the fumes. An excellent excuse for riding the carousel for free, though. Glen Echo has changed drastically over the years -- it's been a Chautauqua, trolley stop, amusement park, raging streambed, a lovely ruin, and most recently, a national park and center for the arts. I live in the nearby neighborhood of Bannockburn in the house my father grew up in, and my grandmother was a vehement protester of the park's segregation, pushing my uncle in a stroller while she and her other kids carried signs. In 2007 she and Gwendolyn Britt were among guests on the Kojo Nmamdi radio show discussing the park's desegregation. Also on the show was park ranger Sam Swersky, who is always combing eBay for old photos of the park to add to its collection. I don't know if he's seen these yet, but now that it's summer and I have time I'll have to comb through the Park Service's photo albums and see. (The Gallery, Kids, Natl Photo, Sports)
Coaster Dips: 1928
1928. Roller coaster at the Glen Echo amusement park in Montgomery County, Maryland. View full size. National ... the times I read a bit of the history of the Glen Echo Amusement Park and it seems to have been a victim of the 1960s. The park was ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/22/2008 - 8:53pm -

1928. Roller coaster at the Glen Echo amusement park in Montgomery County, Maryland. View full size. National Photo Company Collection. Glen Echo Parkhttp://www.glenechopark.org/parkmap.pdf Victim of the timesI read a bit of the history of the Glen Echo Amusement Park and it seems to have been a victim of the 1960s. The park was originally "Whites Only" and served by trolleys from Washington. In the early 1960s protests from civil rights groups led the owners to open it to all (quite rightly too). However the local (white) residents "complained about the influx of urban African Americans." The forced the closure of the bus and trolley service to the amusement park. Without easy public transportation to the site for patrons of all races, the Amusement park close in 1968. The only amusement park ride still remaining is the carousel built in 1921. Glen EchoI grew up in the Washington area, and went to Glen Echo many times, mostly in the late 1940s and early 1950s. I remember reading frequently about the turmoil it went through leading up to time it became, thankfully, racially integrated. Very near DC, it was in close proximity to a very large African-American population, who had little or no access to the amusement park. In the days I went there, it was all white, and I still regret that it took so long to change that. Here is a wonderful 2005 newspaper article about one African-American's memories of this time. http://www.washingtoninformer.com/ARGlenEcho2005Sep8.html 1952My mother once told me a story about the Coaster Dips. When she was 12 years old (1952) she won a contest as a newspaper carrier for the Washington Post. She won unlimited rides, she rode the Coaster Dips 100 times in a row, never exiting the ride. She always talked of how fun it was. I wish she was alive to see this picture, I'm sure it would bring back wonderful memories. Coaster DipI worked on the Coaster Dips the last two years the park was open. What a great time I had working for the Baker Brothers. The largest attendance of my employ was when the Three Stooges visited. I stood in line to meet these guys, as my uncle was a former Stooge. I usually ate standing in front of the wonderful theatre organ, and as a young bloke met girls there. That was my main reason for working there. The second year I ran most of the rides and then repaired the electric cars at Jungleland. My downfall (getting fired) was that I was able to walk up to the second level and in almost complete darkness, and occasionally scare people as the car came off the chain. I miss it all. (The Gallery, Sports)
Silver Sightseer: 1961
... ungainly thing one two pics back, lurking outside the amusement park, was one of 20 lookalikes -- though I guess not too ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/19/2023 - 12:39pm -

August 22, 1961. Washington, D.C. "Silver Sightseer, D.C. Transit air-conditioned trolley, in tunnel under the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing building." 8x10 inch gelatin silver print by railroad historian Ara Mesrobian (1924-2019). View full size. The real thingThis appears to be a genuine PCC car. That ungainly thing onetwo pics back, lurking outside the amusement park, was one of 20 lookalikes -- though I guess not too alike -- delivered before the design had been finalized. Sightseeing underground?One wonders what sights they see. Chartered? And empty. Interesting. I have never heard of a trolley with "air conditioning" before. And if I may digress, why don't they call it cooling, like heating? The term "air conditioning" must've originated with a corporate source to sound more appealing. [The "conditioning" encompasses cooling, filtering and dehumidification. - Dave] Still rolling -- sort ofThe DC Trolley Museum offers rides on some of the historic cars that served the area in times gone by. Sounds like fun. Not Just SightseersWhen FDR traveled by train during WWII, he often boarded the presidential car in the railroad tunnel under the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. There was a now-abandoned spur connecting the building to the main line tracks between Union Station and the "Long Bridge" railroad bridge across the Potomac. He left from there on his last trip to Warm Springs, Georgia shortly before his death in April 1945. The Late Great Silver SightseerThe Silver Sightseer started life as a standard PCC-type streetcar (fleet number 1512) that was fancied-up in the late 1950s with air conditioning, plush seats and other refinements to ferry tourists around D.C. It was also said that it was a demonstration of how the fleet could be upgraded, at a time when the transit company, still privately owned, was involved in franchise controversies with the government. After the D.C. streetcar system was closed in 1962, the car went to the new National Capital Trolley Museum, where it was set on fire by vandals several years later and completely destroyed. Fortunately the museum has other PCC streamliners in its collection, but the Silver Sightseer was one of a kind. Saved for a whileThis particular trolley car was saved by the afore mentioned National Capital Trolley Museum, but like many hotels shown on Shorpy, it was burned in 1970, by arson. (The Gallery, D.C., Railroads, Streetcars)
New Orleans Orpheum: 1910
... the battleship USS Wisconsin to the Crescent City for the amusement of the fez wearing fun seekers. That's clout! And, maybe, a little ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/15/2023 - 1:01pm -

New Orleans, 1910. "Orpheum Theatre (St. Charles Theatre), St. Charles Street." Matinee Daily at 2:15. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Just a guessLeft-handed sign painter. The largest attendeeApril 1910 the Shriners gathered in NOLA for their 36th annual convention. The Secretary of the Navy dispatched the battleship USS Wisconsin to the Crescent City for the amusement of the fez wearing fun seekers. That's clout! And, maybe, a little vaudeville. Final CurtainLike so many theatres of that era, it was torn down in the 1960s. https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/3200 House of Orpheus'Orpheum' is still a recognized name for theaters. It goes back to a vaudeville house in San Francisco in 1886. Later it became part of RKO (Radio-Keith-Orpheum). At its height the Orpheum Circuit had 45 theaters; today there are fewer than 20, including one in New Orleans--not this one, but its successor opened in 1921. 'Orpheum' derives from Orpheus, a mythic figure maybe based on a real person, whose accomplishments included inventing the lyre, founding the Orphic mysteries, descending to the underworld to rescue his wife, seeking the Golden Fleece with Jason and the Argonauts, and dying by (take your choice) suicide in grief, a thunderbolt, or being torn asunder by Maenads. An appropriate name for theaters. Who is the lad?Wonder who the lad is at the top of the Orpheum (building below the fire ladder)? He seems very aware of the photographer. On the PlaybillHere's a look at the playbill, most names are readable! Orpheum 2.0Thanks to GlenJay for clarifying that the current Orpheum in New Orleans (where I attended a concert in the '90s) is not the one in this picture; I didn't think they looked anything alike. The successor theatre was very nice when I was there, and I was happy to read that, even though it took a major hit during Katrina, it has now been restored and reopened. (The Gallery, DPC, New Orleans)
Downward Spiral: 1928
... Montgomery County, Maryland, circa 1928. "Glen Echo Amusement Co." The Coaster Dips roller coaster at Glen Echo Park outside ... and fun in the summer after dark— Glen Echo Amusement Park!" "Fun is where you find it..." A variation on ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/18/2012 - 11:35am -

Montgomery County, Maryland, circa 1928. "Glen Echo Amusement Co." The Coaster Dips roller coaster at Glen Echo Park outside Washington, D.C. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. Well here we are at the park Washington Post, July 7, 1929. Glen Echo Park, as a famous radio announcer might describe it: “Well here we are at the park, everybody. You should see the crowds, all having a good time. The music that you hear is coming from the Wurtlizer [sic] organ on the carrousel. Just listen to that roar. It's the coaster dip. The boys and girls are certainly having a good time. “Whrrrrr, no that's not an airfleet overhead. Its the airplane swing. Sorry I can't take you through the Old Mill, but it doesn't make any noise—just a nice cool boat ride, you know. What's all the fun down at the Midway? Wait a minute. I'll take you down there! “That shouting and laughing you hear is coming from a group of people in front of those funny mirrors. Well, they are enough to make a monkey laugh. “Just a minute everybody. I hear [Graham] McWilliams and his boys tuning up in the ballroom. There are quite a few couples on the floor. There he goes. Golly, that sure is peppy music. I am almost tempted to go up there and dance myself. “You can enjoy the pleasure of the ballroom every week-night from 8:30 until 11:30 o'clock. “More carloads of fun seekers arriving on the Washington Railway electric cars. They all seem to be as cool as a cucumber, too. Well, you know the line runs along the Potomac. I guess that's the reason. Goodness, my time is up, but I hope you will take the trip to the park soon. You'll enjoy it far more than my meager description.” 40 Years MoreIn 1968 this coaster was dismantled and burned and the park closed soon after. President Nixon rode this with his two daughters. 60s jingle"The coaster dip is cool and the crystal pool for excitement and fun in the summer after dark— Glen Echo Amusement Park!" "Fun is where you find it..."A variation on that jingle here. Part I of jingleFun is where you find it! Where do you find it? Glen Echo Amusement Park! Coaster Dips terrified me at age 10. Near the coaster was a .22 rifle shooting range. Lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer circa 1964. (The Gallery, Natl Photo)
In Dreamland: 1905
... of the higher classes stayed at home) wandering around an amusement park on a work day? I hear how hard and long men, as well as many ... and kinder to come? Most puzzling. [These weren't "amusement parks" in the present-day sense of a place where one took one's ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/25/2013 - 7:27pm -

Coney Island, New York, circa 1905. "In Dreamland." Meet you over at Canals of Venice. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Scads of men & women, few childrenI love these photos of places like this from the past century. But one thing struck me as I scanned this one. I notice hundreds of men and women but relatively few children. I realize it might be Saturday or Sunday (still, where are the kids?). But if not, what are all these men (most women of the higher classes stayed at home) wandering around an amusement park on a work day? I hear how hard and long men, as well as many children,worked, that the "family vacation" as we know it didn't exist. Are all these people of the moneyed, leisure class? Many of these men are unaccompanied by a lady or a child, yet stroll around by the score. Are they truly awestruck by this boardwalk magnificence or checking out the place before allowing wife and kinder to come? Most puzzling. [These weren't "amusement parks" in the present-day sense of a place where one took one's children and put them on rides; many, if not most, of the attractions were designed to entertain adults.- tterrace] "Within 3 Pounds"The tripod set up in the right foreground appears to be a "Guess Your Weight" scale. Taller Than You ThinkI've seen the Dreamland Tower many times on Shorpy, but I never thought of it as particularly tall; maybe 5 stories or so, but this time I noticed the folks walking around underneath it and realized that the photos have not captured the scale very well. It took a little research to find, but turns out the tower was 375 feet high, or about the height of a 37-story building. The arches at the deck level are 50 feet tall alone. All in all, pretty impressive for 1904! The tower held a 600,000 gallon water storage tank for fighting fires, all to no avail, it turns out. The entire place burned to the ground only 7 years after opening. WoodThe entire structure is probably all wood, and most likely received a fresh coat of paint every spring. Also, I highly doubt that it is 37 stories high. Just my opinion. [According to the New York Times, the steel-and-stucco observation tower, "an imposing edifice of white and gold in the French Renaissance style," was 370 feet tall, had two elevators that carried passengers to an observation deck, and 50-by-50-foot base "profusely decorated with bas-reliefs by Perry Hinton." If the tallest man at the base is 6 feet tall, the tower, based on its relative height, would rise around 230 feet; if the base really is 50 feet wide, more like 250 feet. - Dave] (The Gallery, Coney Island, DPC)
Fun Central: 1913
... of the new bank are on the north side of the Arcade amusement building and are fitted with up-to-date appliances for carrying on a ... Fun Palace Soon to Open Washington is to have an amusement palace which will compare will with Coney Island, Earl's court, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 10:38pm -

"Arcade Market." The Arcade building in Washington circa 1913, with "garden movies," bowling, billiards, dance pavilion, cafe, soda fountain and who knows what other fun stuff. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size. The ArcadeThis is on 14th Street NW between Park Road and Irving Street in Columbia Heights. The DC USA mall is on the site now. The name still lingers in the neighborhood -- there is an apartment building called the Parcade on Park Road, and until 2003 there was an Arcade Auto Repair on Irving: Car Barn to MarketThe unique architecture of this building stems from its original use as a car barn for trolleys. Sadly, it was razed in 1948. Washington Post Nov 3, 1909 Park Savings Bank Opens Opening its doors Monday morning, the Park Savings Bank, which was recently organized with a capital stock of $50,000, surpassed the expectations of those interested by recording at the close of the first day's business more than $100,000 in deposits. ... The quarters of the new bank are on the north side of the Arcade amusement building and are fitted with up-to-date appliances for carrying on a banking business. Washington Post Jan 30, 1910 Fun Palace Soon to Open Washington is to have an amusement palace which will compare will with Coney Island, Earl's court, London, and all other famous places of the world. St. Valentine's day has been selected by the management as the most appropriate time to start the fun. This is to the furnished to Washingtonians by the Midway Company, which has located its amusement palace in the Arcade Amusement Company's immense building at the corner of Fourteenth street and Park road northwest. The structure has been rebuilt and gorgeously decorated for the purpose. ... In addition to the amusements in the Midway Palace proper, the Arcade company has fitted up a large dance hall and a moving picture parlor. There also will be a billiard and pool room and a bowling alley. A dainty Dutch restaurant will supply tasty dishes. Washington Post Apr 23, 1910 Arcade Company Will Accommodate Farmers Announcement is made that on May 15 the Arcade Amusement Company will open on the ground floor of the old car barns at Fourteenth street and Park road, which site it has purchased and recently remodeled, a modern market house, capable of accommodating hundreds of merchants. Washington Post Dec 10, 1910 Arcade Market Ready The new Arcade Market, on Columbia Heights, at Fourteenth street and Park road, will be opened for business tomorrow morning at 5 o'clock. The lower floor of the building in which the market will be located has been in the hands of carpenters, decorators, and finishers for several weeks and has been converted into one of the most up-to-date and best-arranged establishments of its kind in the city. ... The market occupies the entire first floor of the big Arcade building. A large enclosed paved plaza has been provided for country wagons. A series of refrigerating rooms for several classes of goods is located in the rear, as is a large room lined with cork and cement for the cold storage of furs and rugs. Arrangement has been made for delivery automobiles to enter the building and load under cover. A balcony for ladies overlooks the entire market. Washington Post Mar 7, 1948 New Building Will Replace Historic Arcade Market, Shops The Arcadia Building, Washington's former carbarn landmark at 3134 14th st. nw., is scheduled to be razed within six weeks to permit erection of a new two-story and basement building providing all facilities found in the current structure, plus many more. September Song"Broken Threads United" was released Aug. 29, 1913. That, plus the tree in full leaf and the notice about the Dancing Pavilion to open Oct. 1, dates this as probably sometime in September of 1913. I love the clues in these pictures. The delivery cart ... who else ate Sunshine Animal Crackers? Why Not?I would have thought "Loose Wiles" might have applied to some of the patrons of the dancing parlor instead. Old facade on Irving StreetCan anyone help us find photos of the car dealership whose facade still remains at DCUSA on 14th and Irving that Ellwood Thompson's will be occupying? It would be great to have that in the store! (The Gallery, D.C., Natl Photo, Stores & Markets)
Magic Kingdom: 1905
... second mortgage and go to Disney than frequent their local amusement parks. I'm glad places like Cedar Point in Ohio, Kennywood Park in ... looking at a distant lighthouse. Going to a beautiful amusement park and riding the roller coaster. I am looking at heaven. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/15/2012 - 4:14pm -

Nantasket Beach, Massachusetts, circa 1905. "Bird's eye view of Paragon Park from Rockland House." Note the Schlitz sign as well as the "Katzenjammer Castle." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. Gone but not forgottenParagon Park closed its doors in 1984. Loved the Bermuda Triangle ride and the Giant Coaster. Many folks would rather take out a second mortgage and go to Disney than frequent their local amusement parks. I'm glad places like Cedar Point in Ohio, Kennywood Park in Pittsburgh and Lake Compounce in Connecticut are still around. Another fantastic photographThe clarity from top to bottom is just stunning. Before even getting to the park, I've already lost ten minutes just scrolling around the hillside and waterways, steamboats and sailing ships. Well done. Opposite from the expectedThis is like looking at a stage set from the back of the wings; all that excitement inside and beyond that gaudy fence? Grass. All illusion, as it was meant to be. Who knewThat Hans und Fritz were closet aristocrats?!? The Giant CoasterApparently the roller coaster in the background was moved, and it's still in operation at Six Flags America, Largo, Maryland (now called "The Wild One"). Dreamlands BabyThis reminds me a lot of Dreamland Park that was on Coney Island, especially the big tower. Mini Dreamland! Johnstown Flood funhouseCan I get an idea of what that building housed (bottom left)? Maybe some debris, a log flume? That place looks like fun, even a bit ghoulish. I'm seeing itRiding a sidewheeler. Walking on a beautiful beach while looking at a distant lighthouse. Going to a beautiful amusement park and riding the roller coaster. I am looking at heaven. Intermodal transportI see a train platform next to the park and it's also just a short walk from the pier with those cool sidewheel steamers with the walking beams. E-Z access, indeed. Now all I have to do is drag my time machine out of the garage and find my straw boater. Cottage LotsAre there still any cottage lots remaining? I'll take one. Waning daysThat's Hingham Harbor to the left. As a child in Hingham in the late 1950s, I was aware of dilapidated Paragon Park but don't retain any vivid memories of it. I do remember collecting sea glass along more-stony-than-sandy Nantasket Beach. Just out of frame is World's End, a peninsula where my family often walked and flew kites: beautiful hillsides, groves, and a few gravel roads lined with stately trees. For 20 years I remembered it as Arcadia, nature at its most harmonious...then learned that it had been landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted for a luxury housing development that didn't pan out. Partly Burnt: 1916 The Standard, Jun 10, 1905. Boston and New England. Paragon Park Buildings Insured for $100,000. … Paragon Park, which is operated by the Eastern Park Construction Company of Boston, is said to be the largest amusement park in New England, comprising twenty acres of land and containing thirty distinct shows. The amusement buildings surround a large lagoon, and are one and two stories in height and of frame and plaster construction. Two-thirds of the interior finish, however, is of compressed steel, and certain of the exterior walls are also of compressed steel. The palm garden, which is the largest of the buildings in the enclosure and upon which $12,000 of the insurance is placed, is considered well cut off from the other structures, and in event of fire in other sections of the park, it is not thought that this building would be exposed. The power house and the electric light plant are located at the extreme end of the park near the main entrance. Municipal Journal, Sep 21, 1916. Fire and Police Summer Resort Swept by Fire. Paragon Park, a popular Nantasket summer resort is partly destroyed as the result of an early morning fire which swept through its pleasure buildings doing $50,000 damages. The big Palm Garden, the principal building of the park, had been saved, but the dance hall, the old mill, the moving picture theatre, the entrance, the sand bumps and a portion of the roller coaster, as well as other buildings were destroyed. Several firemen were injured, but none seriously. The fire starting in the sand bumps about 1 o'clock, from unknown cause, swept eastward, toward the other structures. Fanned by a heavy wind, the flames were carried across the park, destroying the power station, and many telephone and telegraph poles were also destroyed. A huge water curtain thrown in front of the Palm Garden saved it from destruction, while firemen from Hull, Cohasset, Hingham, Scituate, Quincy and other near-by towns checked the flames after they had seriously threatened to destroy the Nantasket hotel, the pier of the Nantasket Steamboat Company, 100 or more cottages in the residential section of Rockland Hill and other buildings. At 2.30 o'clock the fire was under control. While the fire was in progress, thousands of persons arrived in automobiles and other conveyances to watch the spectacle. Chief Frank F. Reynolds, of the Hull police, fire chief John Mitchell of Hull, and chief Charles Bickford of the Metropolitan park police will conduct a probe. As an indirect result of the fire, a lineman employed by the Weymouth Light & Power Company, was probably fatally injured when he was thrown from the company truck when it skidded. Wheeler and other members of a repair crew were responding to a hurry call from the park to repair a live wire which had fallen from a burned pole. Just MagicalThis image is so magical and otherworldly. The landscape of water and hills, dotted with isolated homes -- the lighthouse to the far right, the paddlewheel ships - is as enchanting as the amusement park itself. The artificial world of the park, and the real world of the park's environs, are both so dream-like and compelling that it is hard to tell where one ends and one begins. An entire world of fantasy within a single image. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Railroads)
Norwood Belt Line: 1901
... in the photo. Wonderland? Is it an amusement park? If I could walk down a street in a Shorpy photo, I would check ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/30/2023 - 8:59pm -

Toledo, Ohio, circa 1901. "Summit Street." In what seems to be the home furnishings district. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. Fit to be Tied(tke's)The block at right would soon become home to the storied Toledo retailer; eventually it all burned (gee, guess you don't have to be a hotel to do that !) The attractive building on the left, which ultimately housed a branch of Hudson's - yes, that Hudson's - kindled earlier: Perhaps we should call it the "Tinder District". Buy now! Pay Later!"Summit Street." In what seems to be the home furnishings district. — and who would have guessed? Based on the banner farther down the street, they're having a sale! GenerationsSummit runs along the Maumee River through the heart of Toledo. This area of downtown has been prime real estate for a long time, and it has been redeveloped multiple times. The latest generation of buildings have large footprints and are meant to impress. You'd have to head up Adams a few blocks - to less valuable real estate - to see the older retail buildings similar to what's in the photo. Wonderland? Is it an amusement park? If I could walk down a street in a Shorpy photo, I would check this place out! [It was a theater. - Dave] U.S. Mail Streetcars?I knew some railroads ran mail/post office cars under U.S. government contract, some of which were staffed to sort mail being delivered between cities. Some interurbans did similar things, with both dedicated and mixed mail/passenger cars. But an obviously local two-axle passenger trolley bearing a U.S. Mail "badge", that's a new one on me, and the internets seem equally stumped, couldn't find any relevant references in an hour-plus of searching. What wouldKlinger think? (The Gallery, DPC, Streetcars, Toledo)
Skooter: 1928
Bumper cars at the Glen Echo amusement park in Montgomery County, Maryland, circa 1928. National Photo ... where you find it, Where do you find it? Glen Echo Amusement Park!" I can still hear it today. Little Ladies apparently ... still has this type of ride available, as will many older amusement parks. Since the primary enjoyment of this ride is low-speed ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/04/2012 - 8:00pm -

Bumper cars at the Glen Echo amusement park in Montgomery County, Maryland, circa 1928. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size. The Kid With No HeadThere's a ghostly figure of a man next to the kid on the right with no head. This ride is too dangerous, Mommy! Been there!I rode those in the early 1960s .. They used to have a radio jingle: "Fun is where you find it, Where do you find it? Glen Echo Amusement Park!" I can still hear it today. Little Ladiesapparently didn't play on such an aggressive ride back then! Dashing Here & There Washington Post, May 25, 1924 The "Skooter," the big feature this season, has twenty-five two-seat cars that dash here and there bumping into one another over 10,000 square feet of steel flooring, electrically driven and controlled by the driver. Bumper Car PavilionThis building still exists. There's an NPS page on its history. BirdsI bet the mesh on the rafters was to keep birds from roosting up there and doing what they do on the people below. [The mesh carries the electrical current that powers the cars. - Dave] Bumper CarsYou know you're getting old when the kids start misidentifying things "everyone" knows. I remember the sound of the metal strip sparking as it glided over the mesh, the tinge of ozone in the air. There were occasionally dead zones in the mesh. The operator would have to push you a few feet, or you would have to wait for a friendly bump. Six Flags still has this type of ride available, as will many older amusement parks. Since the primary enjoyment of this ride is low-speed vehicular collisions, they have been less popular with park owners. Glen Echo echo"The coaster dip is cool and so's the crystal pool, bla bla blablabla bla bla bla bla Glen Echo Amusement Park." The song is in my head, too, but what are the "blabla" words? Glen Echo After DarkI think the bla-bla words are For summer time fun it's Glen Echo after dark And no seat belts either!I wonder how many riders fell out of the cars? Bumper Car Pavilion is a dance hall nowToday, the Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture (www.glenechopark.org) presents dances in the Bumper Car Pavilion. Visitors can hear live music and dance the night away in this unique, historic building throughout most of the year. (The Gallery, Natl Photo, Sports)
The Iron Pier: 1903
... at the beginning of the 1911 season, when the Dreamland amusement park burned after a clumsy worker repairing a roof kicked over a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/27/2023 - 8:47pm -

1903. "Bathers and the Iron Pier -- West Brighton Beach, Coney Island, N.Y." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. What, again?Good grief, Ma wore her lampshade instead of her bonnet! ShenanigansI like the horsing around in the front there, especially the stern look on the face of the woman hoisted by the lifeguard. Oh, and where’s Waldo -- um, everywhere? Cullen's Coney CapersApparently the life saving wasn't always fun and games The musical stylings of Harry Von TilzerVintage ditty referencing the eponymous iron pier: https://youtu.be/-X7q6brOeZw?t=159 (Cued up to the key bit.) Unusual beach sceneFirst time I've seen a two-story pier. Pier reviewThere were two "Iron Piers" constructed on Coney Island in the post Civil War era (one known as the Old Iron Pier (built in 1879) and the other as the New Iron Pier (built in 1882). They served steamboats from Manhattan piers and Rockaway that brought patrons of the beach and its attractions for day and overnight trips. But that came to an end at the beginning of the 1911 season, when the Dreamland amusement park burned after a clumsy worker repairing a roof kicked over a bucket of hot tar into some light bulbs, starting a nine-alarm fire. The two Iron Piers were effectively destroyed by the blaze, with their usefulness negated. Only Steeplechase Pier remained. A Chorus LineIt appears some of the male bathers are auditioning for the Rockettes. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Swimming)
Big Fun: 1928
Roller coaster at the Glen Echo amusement park in Montgomery County, Maryland, circa 1928. View full size. ... Cotton Candy Couture Can you imagine going to an amusement park today in a dress and heels?? It seems ludicrous even for the ... and then developed within a decade into a very popular amusement park as well as still its many other venues on the grounds such as ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/03/2012 - 6:49pm -

Roller coaster at the Glen Echo amusement park in Montgomery County, Maryland, circa 1928. View full size. National Photo Company glass negative. Wood Roller CoastersThere are lots of wood coasters in operation today, and not just old ones still in operation. New ones are being built and in many cases they are more popular than the steel ones. IMHO, they are lots more fun, and the noise they make is a big part of it. Cotton Candy CoutureCan you imagine going to an amusement park today in a dress and heels?? It seems ludicrous even for the 1920s, but then again, people then dressed up to cross the street. Wood vs SteelI'm not sure why Sal is so worried about Coaster Dips being built of wood. For the record, the first steel roller coaster was The Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland built in 1959. Among Roller Coaster enthusiasts there is considerable debate about the relative merits of wood vs. steel. There are thing you can only really do with steel (loops come to mind), but there is a definite feel too wood that can't be replicated by steel. Safety is not one of the issues. 1891--1968 Glen EchoThe Glen Echo Park began in 1891 as a National Chautauqua Assembly and then developed within a decade into a very popular amusement park as well as still its many other venues on the grounds such as the 1933 Spanish Ballroom. The facility was run until 1968, closed and the National Park Service bought the park in 1971 to be a nonprofit arts and culture partnership. I remember as a child going to the old Glen Echo and seeing this very roller-coaster! Here is a link to the present map of the park: http://www.glenechopark.org/parkmap.pdf What Goes UpAn amusement park near me still has a working 1920s wooden roller coaster. While I can't see why any sane person would ever ride the thing (or any roller coaster---at least not twice), I find it fascinating as a historical item. Wooden coastersThe coasters being constructed of wood was part of the whole experience. Coaster DipsPlease tell me that thing is metal, not wood. I love the body language of the snappy foursome by the saltwater taffy stand. You can tell they are discussing what they're going to do. Wood for meIn 1999 Busch Gardens in Tampa opened Gwazi, a wooden "dueling" roller coaster. Wooden coasters are the best! This one, unfortunately, was torn down and burned in 1969, a year after the park closed. Glen EchoGlen Echo has done a good job at preserving some of its history. Without knowing the history behind the park I visited last year because they have a very popular swing dance night in the ballroom. The Spanish Ballroom (which is seen in the map) is absolutely beautiful! People of all sorts come out on Saturday nights for swing dancing, I'm sure some of them were around when the park was active! Very cool. (The Gallery, Natl Photo, Sports)
Night Lights: 1905
... grandeur of the architectural mashups seen in amusement park and exposition buildings in this period. The primary quotations ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/20/2014 - 6:46pm -

New York circa 1905. "Night in Luna Park, Coney Island." A veritable wonderland of incandescent illumination. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. Thanks DaveI would crawl inside this photograph if I could. The Luna Park CircusAs if the architecture wasn't enough, the cafe mezzanines overlook a "floating" circus ring supported on arched trusses over the central lagoon. In the Shorpy image, Ring No. 1 is set up for a trapeze act. Here's a tinted postcard of a performing horse act on the same elevated platform. Ooh.I would have given anything to spend a night at the old Luna Park. The blurred figuresbring this photo to life! I love this website!!!! Ethereal glowI really like how the camera captured an aura around some of the lights. Even today this would be considered a beautiful display of lights. I can't imagine how magical it must have been to people who grew up without electricity in their homes and still may not have had it. I think that people too easily forget about some things in the past, like the original Ferris Wheel, and Coney Island in its prime. Modern day designers would do well to learn from these works of engineering art. WOW.They didn't waste any time taking advantage of electricity, did they? FWIW, I found this site yesterday and it is the most glorious corner of the Internet I've yet found. Just incredible. You have a new fan for life!! I was originally looking for Lewis Hine photos for a lecture ... and found more than I ever could have imagined! Keep up the good work! [Aw shucks. Thanks! - Dave] Job security!Can you imagine having the job of changing the burned-out light bulbs there? I imagine it'd have to be done after dusk so you could see which ones were out. Wonder if they bulb arrays were rigged so they could be lowered to the ground for maintenance, or if the poor workers had to scale the heights! GorgeousBut hardly a surprise it burned down. What a Sight Even the most staunch Victorians were impressed with this -- actually "awed" might be more appropriate. I've read a lot about Luna Park but don't remember anything about those elephants. Glowing praiseOne of your best choices yet -- an amazing photo. Oriental FantasiesThere's never been anything quite like the hallucinatory grandeur of the architectural mashups seen in amusement park and exposition buildings in this period. The primary quotations appear to come from Cairo minarets and Mughal Indian archways, but these have been all mixed up with motifs from Chinese pagodas and old Russian church spires, Venetian balustrades and Italian baroque shields on the balconies. Then there are the what-the-heck details like the phoenix-head fern planters erupting from the bases of the flagpoles all around the upper deck. What shall we call it all -- Electro-Moresco-Sino-Baroco? Lights - actionI have seen a number of photos of Luna Park, and they are all astonishing. It must have been a fabulous place! Hey, Dad!Can I borrow the time machine tonight? I want to head on over to Coney with the gang. What an unbelievable shot. You've done it again, Dave. Sadly, about all that is left of the old Coney Island is the Cyclone and Nathan's. Disney's inspiration?The attention to detail is amazing. I have (happily) wasted a half an hour on this picture and still find new details! AC/DCWhat makes this photo truly remarkable is the fact that even in 1905 there still wasn't an electrical standard. Was the power Edison's DC or was it Tesla's AC? I'm betting on AC. My grandfather, born in 1875, would regale us with stories of Coney Island. He would weave these almost impossible sounding stories about the grandeur of the place. Now you have to remember, the Coney Island of the 1950s and the 60s and then into the very depressing 70s was a very far cry from his experience, so it was almost as if he was telling fairy tales. It really must have been something else back then for the blue-collar worker. Working six days a week, up to 14 hours a day and taking your only day off to go to Coney Island. We have gained so much, we have lost so much. Few places I'd rather bethan Luna Park and Coney Island in 1905. What an interesting, fascinating and exciting place it must have been. HauntedI watched Ric Burns' documentary about Coney Island several years ago and it was so haunting and eerie that I can't look at this photo without getting chills. The 1903 footage of a Coney Island elephant being electrocuted for the "crime" of attacking a handler who threw a lit cigarette in her mouth still haunts me. Time machine pleaseIf I had a time machine, I'd take it back, throw a huge blanket over this place and tell them that they couldn't touch it for another 100 years, when they could appreciate the grandeur of all that is here. Those architectural details! Today's buildings are just squares and rectangles. No pomp! No curlicues! No flourishes! How amazing it must have been to see all this electricity in one place. All that light. Must have been like they imagined the future would be. Where do you think we live, Luna Park?!While growing up on the Lower East Side of NYC in the 60's and 70's my grandparents and parents were always admonishing us kids to "turn off the lights when you leave the room!" If they ever had to turn the lights off after we carelessly left them on they would always say, "Where do you think we live, Luna Park?!" Or, my father's favorite, "the place is lit up like Luna Park!" Now I see what they meant! Fascinating photo. Thank you. Luna ParkMaxim Gorky's remarks about Luna Park fit this photo perfectly: With the advent of night a fantastic city all of fire suddenly rises from the ocean into the sky. Thousands of ruddy sparks glimmer in the darkness, limning in fine, sensitive outline on the black background of the sky shapely towers of miraculous castles, palaces, and temples. Golden gossamer threads tremble in the air. They intertwine in transparent flaming patterns, which flutter and melt away, in love with their own beauty mirrored in the waters. Fabulous beyond conceiving, ineffably beautiful, is this fiery scintillation. NicopachydermI must correct Mattie below. The elephant was certainly electrocuted at Luna Park, but not because a handler threw a lit cigarette into her mouth and she killed him. She was killed because she had killed three men in as many years. While it was true that she was abused by patrons and had in fact been fed a lit cigarette by someone, that incident was some time before and her handler was neither whom she killed nor who fed her the lit cigarette. Luna in filmI was just flipping through the channels and Turner Classic Movies is showing a silent film called "The Crowd" that features a montage of the lead characters enjoying the sights of Luna at night. The shots were just as spectacular as the photos of Luna park here at Shorpy. (The Gallery, Coney Island, DPC)
Light Rail: 1905
... "engineer" seems to say "I've see the same half mile of amusement park 20 times a day for the last 4 years. Somebody please shoot me." ... only see a couple. I have seen miniature trains before at amusement parks and our local zoo, and they're definitely billed as children's ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 1:26pm -

New York circa 1905. "Miniature railway, Coney Island." All aboard! 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. I've been working on the RailroadThat locomotive is quite spectacular. I'll bet it was made of brass. The expression on the face of the "engineer" seems to say "I've see the same half mile of amusement park 20 times a day for the last 4 years. Somebody please shoot me." Early Sputnik DesignThe light fixtures were some fifty years ahead of their time. The EngineHow were these miniature engines powered? It seems like the fake coal car could house batteries but could an electric engine really haul three passenger cars (at least) with eight people in each? [These miniature locomotives were powered like the big ones, by live steam heated in a coal-fired boiler. The engineer rode with his feet in the coal box of the tender, which also carried 15 gallons of water for the boiler in a tank under the seat. - Dave] Conspicuous lackThere is a lack of children on board. I only see a couple. I have seen miniature trains before at amusement parks and our local zoo, and they're definitely billed as children's attractions. I think a lone adult would be viewed as a little off. I fine bunch of swellsAll of them hurrying to go nowhere. Someone needs to tell the man in the second row that there's no smoking allowed on the train. It's more fun than it seemsMy father built model steam locos like these as a hobby, so I spent much of my youth driving them. It's not as dull as it looks. They're like aircraft: the smaller they get, the more challenging they are to operate. Keep the fire stoked and the boiler level up, make sure there's water in the tank and that everything is well lubricated - things can happen quickly. And there were always some boys between the age of 5 and 95 looking on enviously. Oh, and they're not made of brass. They're mostly cast iron and steel, with some brass fittings and embellishments. For the Young, or Young at HeartIt is interesting to note the ages of those riding the train. Only two "kids" (2nd car, first row) can be seen, but I suppose they are all kids at heart. The majority of riders are male, illustrating the draw of train to guys, even when it is done in miniature. Steaming in a different placeWe have a great little steam club near Edinburg, Indiana. They have steam and gas trains about the same size that you can ride on. Great fun. Ouch It would be a great photograph if the man to the right of the train had just gotten his foot run over and he was hopping up and down holding his foot and shouting Oweee! Live steamThis is a amusement park train that was common at the end of the 19th and early 20th century. One of the major manufactures of these trains was company from New York called Cagney. Most were built to 16 in gauge or smaller. Some of these locos are still used at different rail parks around the country. Also several National Expositions had live steam trains as part of the exhibits. Very popular during this period. Today live steam clubs build and operate steam operated train parks for members. This hobby is for people who are interested in machine tools and assembly of locos from kits or from scratch. Cagney EngineShe's a beauty. Cagney live steam locomotives of this type owe their styling to the superb New York Central & Hudson River Railroad 4-4-0s designed by William Buchanan. The most famous of the Buchanan NYC&HR 4-4-0s was No. 999, which set an unofficial land speed record (unofficially) of 112.5 mph. We can assume this tiny wonder, though, seldom eked out more than about 10-15mph at any time. Those great little incandescent cluster-light fixtures are baby versions of the even more wowing electroliers inside the passenger concourse ramps at New York's Grand Central Terminal, the former home of the late, great New York Central Railroad. (The Gallery, Coney Island, DPC, Railroads)
A Marvelous Time Was Had by All
... picture was taken there. [It was taken there - at an amusement park in Cincinnati called Coney Island , on the banks of the Ohio ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/02/2011 - 2:23pm -

On the Scenic Railway at the Newsboys’ Picnic in Cincinnati, August 1908. A marvelous time was had by all. View full size. Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. Coney Island???I went to Coney Island when I was a kid. I think this picture was taken there. [It was taken there - at an amusement park in Cincinnati called Coney Island, on the banks of the Ohio River. - Dave] CoasterA quick check on the rollercoaster database www.rcdb.com shows the park to still be open. Only one coaster is operating now and it is steel. Only one coaster was listed for 1908 called Figure 8 after the track layout. Scenic Railroad was a generic name for early coasters. Not much description is give outside of the usual stats. http://www.rcdb.com/id2032.htm Still thrilling at ConeyConey Island is still alive and thrilling kids of all ages just east of Cincinnati, Ohio. Check out "classic rides" under attractions to see the "Python" steel coaster on their website... http://www.coneyislandpark.com/ Give Me a BrakeNotice the man that seems to be higher than everyone else in the center of the train. He is the brakeman. That was a feature of scenic railway type rides. (The Gallery, Cincinnati Photos, Kids, Lewis Hine, Sports)
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