Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Four Vintage Amusement Park Postcards

For those who enjoy looking at amusement parks from the 1930s, here are four nice examples. First up is the Steeplechase at Steeplechase park in Coney Island, New York. Knott's attempted an update on this ride using motorcycles instead of horses. According to Ed Soto, the problem was that the riders on the Knott's version would fall off or fly over the handle bars.

Old Orchard Beach in Maine still has an amusement park on a pier. However, the original pier was damaged twice and then torn down in the 1970s. One of the main attractions was a Noah's Ark, as well as a large Ferris Wheel.

The island of Galveston was home to a free wheeling and wide open amusement area in the 1930s. The pier was home to several speakeasies, gambling parlors and houses of ill repute. But the pier also held several rides including a Ferris Wheel as well as a Whip. The pier still stands and is now home to several restaurants and other stores.

The final postcard is a scarce view of my favorite Denver amusement park. The park is Lakeside Amusement Park and it is a blast to visit at any time,but more so at night. If you are ever in Denver during the summer, make sure you visit Lakeside.

5 comments:

Andrew said...

Neat old parks! That Steeplechase looks dangerous AND fun!

Major Pepperidge said...

As soon as I saw the Steeplechase photo I thought of Eddie Soto's comments! These parks are so great... wish I could have visited each of them. Didn't you post your own photos of Lakeside Amusement Park a while ago?

Katella Gate said...

Ditto Soto's comments re the motorcycle ride at Knott's. I saw the ride there many times, but never went on. Frankly, I was too worried that I'd fall off or get thrown.

Anonymous said...

I have a couple nice postcards from coney island n.y I have The Whirlwind scenic ride bathing beauties steeplechase park nit sure how to share my pictures about to post on ebay.

Anonymous said...

Not sure how to post with my name or Google account?