Noah's Ark is a type of amusement park walk-through attraction built between 1919 and 1936. It features a fun house in the shape of the biblical vessel found in the Genesis flood narrative. As such, most Noah's Arks featured scenes depicting animals and the biblical prophet Noah alongside traditional fun house gags.
The first Noah’s Ark appeared at Venice Pier (California) in 1919. The attraction was designed and built by Leroy Ramond who sold the manufacturing rights to William Dentzel the following year. [1]
There is only one remaining Noah's Ark in operation at Kennywood Park near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Although there is a Noah's Ark at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, England, it has not been operational since 2008 and now serves as a decorative element at the park entrance.
| Location | Opened | Closed | Builder | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Blackpool Pleasure Beach | 1922 | 2008 | William Strickler | Closed |
 Kennywood Amusement Park | 1936 | – | Philadelphia Toboggan Company | Refurbished in 1969, 1996, 2016 |
| Venice Pier (California) | 1919 | 1940 | Dentzel | First installation |
| Frontierland, Morecambe | 1920s | 2000 | Park demolished 2010 | |
| Steeplechase Park | 1923 | 1929 | ||
| Old Orchard Pier | 1929 | 1969 | Destroyed by fire [2] |
Noah appears as the last of the Antediluvian patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible, the Quran and Baha'i writings. Noah is referenced in various other books of the Bible, including the New Testament, and in associated deuterocanonical books.
Noah's Ark is the boat in the Genesis flood narrative through which God spares Noah, his family, and examples of all the world's animals from a global deluge. The story in Genesis is based on earlier flood myths originating in Mesopotamia, and is repeated, with variations, in the Quran, where the Ark appears as Safinat Nūḥ and al-fulk. The myth of the global flood that destroys all life begins to appear in the Old Babylonian Empire period. The version closest to the biblical story of Noah, as well as its most likely source, is that of Utnapishtim in the Epic of Gilgamesh.
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often featuring multiple areas with different themes. Unlike temporary and mobile funfairs and carnivals, amusement parks are stationary and built for long-lasting operation. They are more elaborate than city parks and playgrounds, usually providing attractions that cater to a variety of age groups. While amusement parks often contain themed areas, theme parks place a heavier focus with more intricately-designed themes that revolve around a particular subject or group of subjects.
Luna Park Melbourne is a historic amusement park located on the foreshore of Port Phillip Bay in St Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria. It opened on 13 December 1912, with a formal opening a week later, and has been operating almost continuously ever since.
Southport Pleasureland is an amusement park located in Southport, Merseyside, England. The park originally operated from 1913 to 2006 as Pleasureland Theme Park under the ownership of the Blackpool Pleasure Beach company. In 2007, the park re-opened under the ownership of Norman Wallis.
Noah's Ark Family Park Inc. is the largest outdoor water park in the United States. It features 51 water slides and dozens of various attractions. The park is located in the village of Lake Delton, Wisconsin.
Ronald Eldon Wyatt, was an American nurse anesthetist and amateur archaeologist, who claimed to have made almost 100 biblical archaeology discoveries. One of his more notable claims is the supposed landing place of Noah's Ark at the Durupınar site.
Noah's Ark was the vessel built by Noah in the Bible and the Quran.
Noah's Ark Zoo Farm is a 100-acre (40 ha) zoo developed on a working farm in Wraxall, North Somerset, 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Bristol, England. It is home to the largest elephant facility in northern Europe.
Playland was a 10-acre (40,000-square-meter) seaside amusement park located next to Ocean Beach, in the Richmond District at the western edge of San Francisco, California, along Great Highway, bounded by Balboa and Fulton streets. It began as a collection of amusement rides and concessions in the late 19th century, and was preceded by Chutes at the Beach, opened in 1921. Playland closed Labor Day weekend in 1972.
Ma Wan Park is a park on Ma Wan island, New Territories, Hong Kong. It is operated by Sun Hung Kai Properties with investment from the Hong Kong Government. Ma Wan Island is connected to Tsing Yi Island by the Tsing Ma Bridge.
Parques Reunidos is an international entertainment operator based in Madrid, Spain. The group operates over 60 parks in about dozen countries. Parques Reunidos operates theme and amusement parks, zoos, water parks, family entertainment centers, and cable cars. These facilities are located in Spain, Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and the United States. Through acquisitions of established names such as Kennywood Entertainment Company, Dutch Wonderland and Palace Entertainment, Parques Reunidos greatly expanded its presence in American amusement operations beginning in 2007 through today. Annual visitors to the group's attractions exceed 22 million, with revenue exceeding $570 million (USD). In 2008 it had the fifth-highest attendance figures for worldwide chains with 24.9 million, ahead of United Parks & Resorts and Cedar Fair.
A creationist museum is a facility that hosts exhibits which use the established natural history museum format to present a young Earth creationist view that the Earth and life on Earth were created some 6,000 to 10,000 years ago in six days. These facilities generally promote pseudoscientific biblical literalist creationism and contest evolutionary science. Their claims are dismissed by the scientific community.
The Pleasure Beach Great Yarmouth is an amusement park located in the seaside resort town of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, on the English east coast. It opened in 1909. The largest and most popular ride at the park is the wooden Roller Coaster which opened in 1932. There are also 25 other large rides at the park, as well as children's entertainment, amusement arcades, catering facilities, sweet shops and ice cream parlours.
Noah's Ark is a tourist attraction located on Ma Wan Island in Hong Kong. It is an evangelical Christian theme park centred, according to its own materials, on the themes of nature, art, education and love. The overarching theme of the park is a creationist narrative. It was built by Thomas and Raymond Kwok, Hong Kong real estate developers who own the real estate company Sun Hung Kai.
Pleasure Beach Resort, formerly known as Blackpool Pleasure Beach, is an amusement park situated on Blackpool's South Shore, in the county of Lancashire, North West England. The park was founded in 1896 by A. W. G. Bean and his partner John Outhwaite. The current managing director is Amanda Thompson.
Noah is a 2014 American epic biblical drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ari Handel. Inspired by the biblical story of Noah's Ark from the Book of Genesis and the Book of Enoch, it stars Russell Crowe as Noah, along with Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, and Anthony Hopkins.
Numerous interpretations of Noah's Ark have been built and proposed. Some were intended to be replicas, as close as possible to the Biblical Ark, the builders assuming that such a boat did exist and that it is not a mythological vessel. Others are looser derivatives which were inspired by the idea. The Biblical description of the Ark is brief, beyond the basic measures of length, height and width, and the exact design of any "replica" must largely be a matter of conjecture. Some interpret the Ark as simply a chest-like structure with rectangular sides; other reconstructions give it a rounded bow and stern.
Luna Park Glenelg was an amusement park that operated at Glenelg, South Australia from 1930 until 1935. Plans for an amusement park at the seaside town were first raised in 1928, but not acted upon. In 1929, a lease to build a scenic railway at Colley Reserve was granted by the Glenelg Town Council. This lease was expanded in 1930 to include other rides and attractions, and Luna Park Glenelg opened on 8 October 1930.
Ark Encounter is a Christian theme park that opened in Williamstown, Kentucky, United States, in 2016. The centerpiece of the park is a large representation of Noah's Ark, based on the Genesis flood narrative contained in the Bible. It is 510 feet (155.4 m) long, 85 feet (25.9 m) wide, and 51 feet (15.5 m) high.