There Was Once An Amusement Park Here: The Long Gone Amusement Parks of New York City

Earlier this year four kiddie rides were added next to the Carousel in Flushing Meadows Park, creating the new amusement park called Fantasy Forest. The press touted this as the first amusement park in Queens in nearly 30 years. That was not exactly true. There was another Playland in Queens that would remain open until the late 90s. Has it really been that long since Rockaway Playland closed? Queens was once the home of many many amusement parks. But then they all disappeared. Two generations grew up without them, having to settle for video games. And not just in Queens. The Bronx has not seen amusements in ages. Staten Island lost it's last amusement park in 2004, now a decade ago. The urban amusement park has become an endangered species. But not because Americans lost their taste for amusements. In fact, even as the urban amusement park went into decline, great big multimillion dollar theme parks built by the likes of Disney and Six Flags turned record profits. People are willing to travel cross state, even cross country, and pay a $30 or higher admittance fee, just to be in an overcrowded theme park with hour long lines on most of the attractions. The urban amusement parks offered something, maybe less thrilling in concept, but far less expensive, far less crowded, just as fun and just a few minutes drive away.

http://ift.tt/1n4fRgH


With the rise in popularity of the automobile came a new breed of amusement park. The roadside attraction. While the first amusement parks were built as destinations, the roadside attraction was designed to be a stop during the journey. For example, the amusement parks of Coney Island were built to take advantage of the crowds visiting the beach. In contrast, a roadside amusement park was designed to be spotted by the children of motorists while they were on their way somewhere else. In New York the trend began with amusement entrepreneur William Nunley who in 1939 co-owned the carousel that operated in the Golden City amusement park. When Robert Moses began eminent domain proceedings against the park, Nunley had the carousel and it's building moved to the town of Baldwin in Long Island. Nunely wanted to take advantage of the Sunrise Highway, a busy road used by thousands of motorists. His carousel was built adjoining a restaurant, with the idea that families looking for a place to eat would chose the one with an attached ride for the kids. The building expanded to include an arcade, and more amusements were added to an adjoining lot which was dubbed Happyland.

http://ift.tt/1n4fQcB

There Was Once An Amusement Park Here: The Long Gone Amusement Parks of New York City