The park was closed and dismantled in 1984. The first merry-go-round at Lenape Park was initially powered by farm boys (replaced in turn by horses, then a gasoline engine, and then electricity). Its downfall was aided by the growing popularity of nearby Dorney Park and a series of fires that wrecked numerous attractions. Kishacoquillas does have some semblance of its past self, however, as buildings have been repurposed instead of razed. Owners Sammy Baurkot and Neal Fehnel began cleanup efforts shortly after but ran out of funds and had to put the project on hold. The park had two roller coasters and a handful of other rides during its history. The park couldn't compete with other parks and closed in 1956. Fairview had a roller coaster, skating rink and other rides, as well as hot air balloons. Now the land is a municipal park of the same name. Lakewood began, like many other parks of its time, as a picnicking and swimming area. Central Park closed in 1951. Oakford Park: Jennette: Beechwood Park: Phildelphia? West Point Park was the last remaining amusement park in the counties surrounding Philadelphia. There were charges that the park’s management discriminated against African-Americans, who were barred from certain dances and even from the park itself. Indian Trail Park, along Route 248, Northampton, PA had rides, a pool and a restaurant. Check out the latest updates on the restoration of the Schoolhouse. Amusement parks have changed dramatically in the past 150 years. By 1930, the dam deteriorated, and the former “lake” was a muddy, narrow stream. The ballroom was destroyed by fire in 1998. Another picnic park briefly made its appearance in the area. A swimming pool opened at Edgewood in 1926. Renovations have recently been completed and include new pavilions and a refurbished catering hall. The park condemned in 1968 so that Pennsylvania could build a highway in its place, but the state did not follow through with those plans. Northern Electric Park closed the same year. The park featured four roller coasters, three wooden and one steel. You can still see the rise along this park property where the old trolley tracks once traveled. In 1955, it was sold for $115,000 and renamed Fun City. Rusted roller coaster cars sit abandoned in the former Lake Ariel Park. The park's carousel found a new life in Philadelphia's Please Touch Museum. Meanwhile, according to another source, another site was drawing people for picnicking, camping and fishing. It closed and reopened several times during the first few decades, but two roller coasters and other rides gave it new life in the 1920s. An open-air stage in a grove of trees, rows of sawmill … At the turn of the 20th Century, Pocopson was home to one of the region’s popular recreation spots—Lenape Park, on the Brandywine. #ThrowbackThursday to Ivyside Park Almost immediately, the floor was deserted by the white people,” and the company president, William M. Hayes asked them to leave. A restaurant was built, and a merry-go-round was brought in. Few reminders of the park exist today, but the Brass Ring Carousel Company procured the 68-horse carousel and has it sitting in storage. He owned a total of 44 parks. Towards Sellersville there is a frisbee golf course. The word Shohola is from the Lenni Lenape Indian nation and translates to “Place of Peace” or “Peaceful Waters”. Now the area is home to the Hanover Area High School. Cascade Park now serves as a nature park. Owner Roy Todd planned to bring swans to the park but did not follow through with that idea because they would be prey to wildlife. He built a park on the triangular plot of land between the trolley station at Lenape and the Brandywine Creek, and had a footbridge erected over the creek. This park was in operation from c. 1890 to 1965, being closed for several years into the 1970s. Details about Island and Footbridge at Lake Lenape Park, Perkasie, Pennsylvania. This park opened in 1897 with a roller coaster, theater, merry-go-round and baseball field. It opened in 1921. This park operated from 1957 to 1988. It had a manmade lake and stream. 1870, West Chester, PA. Photo by Jenkins, Pierce & Co. 41500---DLN-Newsboys-web.jpg. A worker walks past one of the attractions at Williams Grove Amusement Park in 2007. The land was razed in 1980 to make way for a shopping plaza. It was a meadow along the Brandywine in Birmingham Township on Creek Road near Meetinghouse Road. Read more about the efforts on our sister site Lehigh Valley Live. (Public domain image). The park opened in 1929 and closed in 1984. As early as 1858, according to one source, picnics were held on the site, even though the ground was overrun with bushes and vines. Lenape Park is easy to miss. The area is now a nature park and picnic area. The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad built this park in 1880. The park reopened and then permanently closed in 1981. It changed hands a few times in the first decade but proved successful thanks to live music and theater. West Point featured a skating rink, roller coaster and other rides. It is right across from El Taco Loco and parallel to the railroad tracks. This trolley park went through a few iterations: Hanover Grove from 1880-1892, Hanover Park from 1893-1904 and Sans Souci Park until 1970. West View was the last Pennsylvania park to be serviced by a trolley line. Shohola and Shohola Glen are located in the northeastern corner of Pennsylvania in Shohola Township, Pike County. (Library of Congress). This trolley park succumbed to higher insurance costs and closed after the 1987 season, a few years before auctioning off the last of its rides in 1991. See more ideas about park, west chester pa, west chester. The Lenape Coaster wasn’t even a big one. This trolley park featured a roller coaster, railway and roller rink. Reports differ on its early history. A ferris wheel was added in 1908 and the park's first roller coaster in 1910. The pool closed in the 1960s as the result of declining attendance. It officially closed in 1984. Glen Amusement Park WELCOME TO THE SHOHOLA GLEN AMUSEMENT PARK HOME PAGE. Declining attendance in the 1970s forced the park to sell its rides and tear down the coaster in 1976. Property Description. I … Click to view the Park Reservation Policy. A roller skating rink was built, and in the winter, there was ice skating on the pond. The park's carousel found a new life in Philadelphia's Please Touch Museum, Brass Ring Carousel Company procured the 68-horse carousel, The United Traction Company opened Carsonia in 1896, Plans to transform the land into a state park fell through, Penn State purchased the land in 1947 and built its Altoona campus there, operated by the Pennsylvania Power Company, planned to restore it but never followed through with those plans, owned by legendary roller coaster designer Fred Ingersoll, It was torn down in 1909 by the Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation, The abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnels: How to find them, Abandoned Pennhurst State School and Hospital for the disabled. Rocky Springs Park was an amusement park in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This trolley park had a theater and fireworks every weekend. Ideal Park was built to capitalize on the growing popularity of swimming in the 1920s. This park operated from 1957 to … The park was boarded up in 1966. A broken dam flooded the entire region in 1903, killing 19 people in Oakford Park and causing $700,000 in damage (almost $19 million today) throughout the area. It contained rides built by his company, including the first coaster in the state with drops of more than 50 feet, as well as picnicking areas and a ballroom. In 1886, the Wilmington and Northern Railroad floated the idea of dropping off passengers nearby, with a footbridge across the Brandywine so that the crowds could reach the grounds. Rides were auctioned off and the remaining structures were later razed. By the summer of 1892, trolley riders could enjoy a picnic ground, a café, a 200-foot long, 12-foot wide boardwalk flanked by 18 settees, a boating wharf, a carousel, a beach created from several trainloads of beach sand; a man-made lake, and a covered dance pavilion. It closed after the owner retired in 1980, selling the land and rides. Note the lion in the sidecar. Scope & content: Lenape Park, ferris wheel, roller coaster, merry-go-round, and building. Most of its rides were auctioned off, though the skeleton of a roller coaster stands as one of the few reminders of the area's past. Attendance dropped after trolley service ended in 1965. The area was razed in 1980 and a mall was built in its place. Sunday Schools scheduled picnics at the park; The Mountain Springs Rifles of Ephreta, Lancaster County, and the Boys’ Brigade of Philadelphia held week-long camps; 1500 men, women and children with the Iron Moulders of Reading came to the park on a special train. At the outset, the electric supply was so limited that, when trolleys would leave to climb the hills on either side, there wasn’t enough power, and the lights would grow dim. Quick Description: An amusement park that includes the food. The park's demise is unclear, but Sue Nichols of Amusement Today estimated it was still in operation in the 1950s. A municipal park of the same name comprises the other part. Pittsburgh's Luna Park closed in 1909 after Ingersoll filed for bankruptcy. A dance pavilion and merry-go-round provided entertainment during its initial years. A postcard in Jack Hiddlestone's collection shows Lake Lincoln swimming area at Nay Aug Park, Scranton, Pa. (AP Photo/Jimmy May). Acton inherited a hotel on the property that the amusement park … This park is located on the eastern side of Lake Lenape and offers the most scenic views of the lake. Hurricane Agnes struck Rolling Green in 1972, and the park closed because of the destruction. Includes topographical survey of Lenape Park, May 1977. An old photo of the driver's ring at Lakeview Park in Royersford. Sunday night concerts on the park’s outdoor stage also drew a crowd. Main Line Amusement Park Lenape Park: Notes. Pocopson Township Historical Committee740 Denton Hollow RoadWest Chester, PA 19382 (610) 793-2151. 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