Hoffman's Playland

Hoffman’s Playland
Location	608 New Loudon Rd, Latham, New York, United States
Status	Defunct
Opened	1952
Closed	2014
Owner	David & Ruth Hoffman
Operating season	Late March/Early April–September
Attractions
Total	17
Roller coasters	1
Water rides	0

Last updated December 10, 2024

Hoffman's Playland was an amusement park located in Latham, New York on Route 9. The park featured 18 rides along with food stands, a Subway restaurant, a party area, an arcade, and an open-year-round gift shop. The park operated from 1952 until its closing on September 14, 2014. The amusement park rides were purchased by Huck Finn's Warehouse and now operate as Huck Finn's Playland at the furniture store's Albany location.

History

In 1952, William Hoffman founded Hoffman's Playland in Latham, New York. The park originally featured a miniature train, and a Merry-Go Round. William Hoffman and his eventual wife Hedy expanded the park over the years to include more children's rides to cater to the baby boomers. Hoffman's Playland opened during a golden era of children's amusement parks. William Hoffman's son David Hoffman took over as the park's owner in the 1970s and operated the park with his wife Ruth until its closing in 2014.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the park expanded to include more children's rides including many popular Allan Herschell Company rides. In 1953, the Boat ride was added, along with live animals. in 1955, the Caterpillar ride was added and 1956 brought the addition of the Sky Fighter Jets. 1958 saw the addition of the Helicopter ride. The park expanded again in 1960 to include a Herschell Turnpike ride and a Herschell Little Dipper Roller Coaster.

As the park progressed into the 1960s and 70's, it was evident there was a need for larger rides that adults and teenagers could ride, along with additional rides to handle growing crowds. In 1962, the Playland purchased a set of Lusse Auto Skooter Bumpers Cars, and in 1965, an Eli Bridge Company Scrambler was added. In 1971, the park added a 50-foot Eli Bridge Ferris Wheel, and 1974 saw the addition of a Frank Hrubetz & Company Paratrooper. The 1980s brought major change to the park as a large entrance building was added and featured offices, a Subway (restaurant), ticket booths, a new train station, and a gift shop. In 1983, a Samba Space Ship ride was added, and in 1985 a Tilt-a-Whirl opened after being relocated from the closed Hanson's Amusement Park. Additionally, the 1980s brought change to the park's miniature railroad; the original train could no longer accommodate the larger crowds, so in the early 1980s the park bought and refurbished an Allan Herschell S-24 Iron Horse train with 3 coaches and put it into operation for the 1980 season. The park would find another identical engine with three coaches eight years later and refurbish it to be ready for the 1988 season. The original turnpike ride was also retired for a new car ride, the 4x4 trucks.

The park would continue expanding into the 1990s and early 2000s. The year 2000 brought the addition of the Balloon Flight and Rock-Spin-Roll rides, bought at auction and relocated from the closed Hamel's Amusement Park in Louisiana. This resulted in the relocation of the Sky Fighter Jets and 4x4 truck rides to the back of the park. In 2007, the park opened it's final ride, the Red Baron, a plane ride which was purchased and refurbished from the recently closed Catskill Game Farm. This addition forced the relocation of the Helicopter and Samba rides, with the Samba being retired shortly after.

In 2013, rumors surfaced that the Hoffmans would retire and close the park. The park remained open for the 2013 season, however at the start of the 2014 season, the owners, Dave and Ruth Hoffman, announced their intent to retire and close the park in September. The park officially closed at 6pm on September 14, 2014. Large crowds on the last day of operation resulted in rides being run well past closing time and into the evening.^[1]

Throughout the last season, the Hoffmans searched for a local buyer of the rides but were not successful. The park's rides and equipment were scheduled to go to auction, however shortly after the park closed, Huck Finn's Warehouse in nearby Downtown Albany made an offer to purchase the amusement rides and equipment. The park was dismantled and moved to a newly built park next to Huck Finn's Warehouse. The new park, Huck Finn's Playland, opened in June 2015.

Operating Schedule

The park generally operated from late March/early April (depending on the year) through the end of September. The park was open on weekends during the spring and fall, and daily during the summer months. The park opened at noon on operating days and closed as early as 6 p.m. during the spring and fall, and 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. during the busy summer months.

Post-Closure

Since the park closed in September 2014, the land in which the amusement park once sat has vacant and overgrown. The site is currently being considered for a Senior Housing project.^[2]

Rides

The park offered 19 rides at its peak and as of the parks closing in 2014, the park offered the following 18. All, with the exception of the Samba ride and the Bumper Cars were moved to Huck Finn's Playland. The Samba ride was retired after the 2007 season and the Bumper Cars were put into storage and later sold to Knoebels Amusement Resort.

Ride	Year Opened	Year Closed	Manufacturer	Notes
Hoffman's Playland Railroad	1952	2014	Miniature Train Company/Allan Herschell Company	Original train manufactured by the Miniature Train Company. The 1980 and 1988 replacement engines were manufactured by the Allan Herschell Company as were their 6 cars
Merry-Go-Round	1952	2014	Allan Herschell Company	36-foot Merry-Go-Round with 3-abreast horses and 2 chariots
Boats	1953	2014	Allan Herschell Company	Circular wet boat ride
Little Wheel	1960's	2014	Eli Bridge Company	Miniature Eli Bridge ferris wheel
Red Baron	2007	2014	Chance Manufacturing	Aerial plane ride with individual controls to lower/raise the plane. Relocated from the Catskill Game Farm
Balloon Flight	2000	2014	Bradley & Kaye	Aerial balloon ride. Relocated from Hamel's Amusement Park in Louisiana
Umbrella Ride	Unknown	2014	Hampton	Hampton combo ride
Caterpillar	1955	2014	Allan Herschell Company	Circular revolving Caterpillar ride
Rock-Spin-Roll	2000	2014	Hampton	Hampton Rock-Spin-Roll ride. Relocated from Hamel's Amusement Park in Louisiana
Helicopters	1958	2014	Allan Herschell Company	Circular helicopter ride with individual bars to control height of Helicopter
Bumper Cars	1962	2014	Lusse Brothers'	Classic Lusse Bumper Cars
Scrambler	1965	2014	Eli Bridge Company	Classic Eli Bridge scrambler ride
Paratrooper	1974	2014	Hrubetz	Hydraulic-lift Paratrooper ride
Tilt-a-Whirl	1985	2014	Sellner Manufacturing	Classic Tilt-a-Whirl ride. Relocated from Hanson's Amusement Park
Roller Coaster	1960	2014	Allan Herschell Company	Little Dipper Herschell roller coaster
Big Wheel	1971	2014	Eli Bridge Company	50 foot Eli ferris wheel
4x4 Trucks	Unknown	2014	Venture	Individual cars that ran along a tracked route
Samba	1983	2007	Zamperla	Space themed elevating ride
Sky Fighter Jets	1956	2014	Allan Herschell Company	Aerial jet ride with shooting guns

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References

↑ O'Brien, Tim (2014-07-11). "For Hoffmans, playland's closing an end of thrilling ride". Times Union. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
↑ Nearing, Brian (2018-12-03). "Senior housing eyed for former Hoffman's Playland site". Times Union. Retrieved 2019-09-05.

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[1] O'Brien, Tim (2014-07-11). "For Hoffmans, playland's closing an end of thrilling ride". Times Union. Retrieved 2018-01-20.

[2] Nearing, Brian (2018-12-03). "Senior housing eyed for former Hoffman's Playland site". Times Union. Retrieved 2019-09-05.

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