Location | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
---|---|
Coordinates | 30°01′55″N90°03′43″W / 30.032°N 90.062°W |
Status | Closed |
Opened | June 30, 1928 |
Closed | September 23, 1983, for a gala event. The last day of "Public Admittance" was September 5th, 1983 |
Pontchartrain Beach was an amusement park located in New Orleans, Louisiana, on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. It was founded by Harry J. Batt Sr. (grandfather of American actor Bryan Batt) and later managed and owned by his sons, Harry J. Batt Jr. and John A. Batt. It opened on Saturday, June 30, 1928, across Bayou St. John from an existing amusement resort at Old Spanish Fort. Pontchartrain Beach's original location is the present-day lakefront neighborhood of Lake Terrace.
In the early 1930s, subsequent to the construction of a seawall extending from West End to the Industrial Canal which created a new shoreline for Lake Pontchartrain, Pontchartrain Beach was moved to a new location at the lake end of Elysian Fields Avenue, a location formerly offshore of Milneburg.
Pontchartrain Beach included a beach with a large art deco style bathhouse and swimming pools, amusement rides (including a wooden roller coaster called the Zephyr), [1] and concession stands. The park featured live music concerts, including many local musicians and touring national acts such as Elvis Presley.
Other rides and amusements included the Zephyr Junior, Smoky Mary, the Wild Maus, Musik Express, Log Ride, the Ragin' Cajun (a modern, looping steel coaster), the Bug, Paratrooper, Scrambler, Calypso, the "airplanes", Haunted House, Ghost Train, bumper cars, carousel, Ferris wheel, the Monster, Trabant, Sky Ride, Hard Rock, Galaxy, Laff in the Dark, Magic Rainbow, Red Baron, and Kiddieland. As with other amusement or theme parks, over time certain older rides were changed out for new ones.
In addition to rides, there were also the summertime shows which changed every few years (Skipper & Dolly dolphin show, Great American High Dive Show, Merlin's Magic Rainbow Show). For a few years there was also a fairly large petting zoo with many farm animals and a huge red barn house. A miniature golf course was added, when this pastime became popular. Just outside the entrance gates was the Bali Hai Tiki-style restaurant. Another popular restaurant was the Ship Ahoy, which featured hamburgers and seafood.
Pontchartrain Beach was sold on September 23, 1983. The main reason it closed down was due to declining attendance. [2]
In 1943, Corporal Douglas O'Brien, a World War II serviceman from Springfield, Massachusetts, fell 75 feet (23 m) to his death from the top of the Zephyr roller coaster. He was 32 years old.
Several of the rides – including the Airplanes and many Kiddieland rides – ended up in Gulf Shores, Alabama, at a small amusement park, which was subsequently wiped out by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. The Ragin' Cajun moved to Six Flags Great Escape in 1984 and opened as Steamin' Demon. One of the four antique carousels is located on the boardwalk in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Also, the crest of the Zephyr currently resides at Kenner Memorial Park, among with remnants of Bali Hai restaurant.
The hand-painted carousel horses were donated by Harry J. Batt Jr. and John A. Batt to New Orleans' City Park. The Park did not acknowledge the gifts or recognize the Batts for their donation.
The land formerly housing the park is now occupied by the University of New Orleans Research & Technology Park, home to numerous corporate tenants, the Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SPAWAR) and the UNO Advanced Technology Center office building.
A mile-long sand beach is still at the same area where Pontchartrain Beach once was. It is inaccessible and off limits to the general public, having been deemed hazardous due to underwater drop offs and riprap which pose dangers for swimmers.
Water quality had increased dramatically in recent decades and the sand beach was reopened at one point,[ when? ] until a pair of drownings occurred and the beach was re-closed. The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation has undertaken the task of restoring Pontchartrain Beach for use as a public recreation area. While no opening date has been given officially, a phased approach was expected to begin in the summer of 2016.
Kennywood is an amusement park which is located in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, just southeast of Pittsburgh. The park opened on May 30, 1898, as a trolley park attraction at the end of the Mellon family's Monongahela Street Railway.
Cedar Point is a 364-acre (147 ha) amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. It opened in 1870 and is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the US behind Lake Compounce. Cedar Point, which is owned and operated by Cedar Fair, is the flagship of the company's amusement park chain. Known as "America's Roller Coast", the park features 16 roller coasters, which ranks third among amusement parks in North America behind Six Flags Magic Mountain (20) and Canada's Wonderland (18). One of Cedar Point's signature attractions, Steel Vengeance, opened as the tallest, fastest, and longest hybrid roller coaster in 2018.
The New Orleans Baby Cakes were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They were located in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, and played their home games at the Shrine on Airline.
Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) is one of the oldest existing roller coaster manufacturing companies in the world. Based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, it was established in 1904 by Henry Auchey and Chester Albright under the name Philadelphia Toboggan Company. The company manufactured carousels, wooden roller coasters, toboggans and later, roller coaster trains.
Lagoon is a privately owned amusement park in Farmington, Utah, United States, located about 18 miles north of Salt Lake City. It has eleven roller coasters, six of which are unique; Colossus the Fire Dragon, the last Schwarzkopf Double Looping coaster still in operation in the United States ; Roller Coaster, one of the oldest coasters in the world operating since 1921; Wicked, designed by Lagoon's engineering department and Werner Stengel in cooperation with ride manufacturer Zierer; BomBora, a family coaster designed in-house; Cannibal, built in-house with one of the world's steepest drops, and Primordial, an interactive dark ride coaster/3-D shooter game attraction built mostly inside a massive artificial mountain.
Playland, often called Rye Playland and also known as Playland Amusement Park, is an amusement park located in Rye, New York, along the Long Island Sound. Built in 1928, the 280-acre (110 ha) park is owned by the Westchester County government. Beginning in 2018 the park has been operated under contract by Standard Amusements.
Six Flags Great America is a 304-acre (123 ha) amusement park located in Gurnee, Illinois, within the northern Chicago metropolitan area. The amusement park originally opened as Marriott's Great America on May 29, 1976, as one of two theme parks built by the Marriott Corporation. Six Flags acquired the amusement park in 1984 after the theme park division was an earnings disappointment for Marriott. The sale gave Six Flags rights to the Looney Tunes intellectual properties.
Conneaut Lake Park is a summer resort and event venue located in Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, United States. It has long served as a regional tourist destination, and was noted by roller coaster enthusiasts for its classic Blue Streak coaster, which was classified as "historic" by the American Coaster Enthusiasts group in 2010. Conneaut Lake is Pennsylvania's largest natural (glacier) lake, and is a popular summer destination for recreational boaters due to there being no horsepower limit on the lake.
Six Flags New Orleans is an abandoned theme park located near the intersection of Interstate 10 and Interstate 510 in New Orleans. It first opened as Jazzland in 2000, and a leasing agreement was established with Six Flags in 2002 following the previous operator's bankruptcy proceedings. Six Flags invested $20 million in upgrades, and the park reopened as Six Flags New Orleans in 2003. Following the substantial damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the park remained closed to the public in order to make efforts to repair and reopen it. However, in 2009, the city of New Orleans ended its 75-year lease with Six Flags, and the park consequently became permanently closed due to the extreme damage that was too severe to be repaired.
Lincoln Beach was an amusement park in New Orleans, Louisiana, functioning from 1939 through 1965. The park was for the area's African American population during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation.
Harry Guy Traver was an American engineer and early roller coaster designer. As the founder of the Traver Engineering Company, Traver was responsible for the production of gentle amusement rides like the Tumble Bug and Auto Ride. His roller coasters became legendary for their unique twisted layouts and thrilling, swooped turns. At a time when most coasters were built from wood, Traver was the first coaster builder to utilize steel for the primary structural material. He also built the first motorized fire engine in New York City.
Kiddieland Amusement Park was an amusement park located at the corner of North Avenue and First Avenue in Melrose Park, Illinois. It was home to several classic rides including the Little Dipper roller coaster, which opened in 1950. The park closed on September 27, 2009, and was demolished in 2010 to make way for a new Costco store. The sign for the amusement park was relocated to the Melrose Park Public Library, where it can be seen in the parking lot.
The Allan Herschell Company was a company that specialized in the creation of amusement rides, particularly carousels and roller coasters. The company manufactured portable machines that could be used by traveling carnival operators. It was started in 1915 in the town of North Tonawanda, just outside Buffalo, New York, USA.
The Pike was an amusement zone in Long Beach, California. The Pike was founded in 1902 along the shoreline south of Ocean Boulevard with several independent arcades, food stands, gift shops, a variety of rides and a grand bath house. It was most noted for the Cyclone Racer (1930–1968), a large wooden dual-track roller coaster, built out on pilings over the water.
Waldameer Park & Water World is an amusement park and water park in Erie, Pennsylvania, located at the base of Presque Isle. Waldameer is the fourth oldest amusement park in Pennsylvania, the tenth oldest in the nation, and one of only thirteen trolley parks still operating in the United States. The park is admission-free, with a midway, and covered picnic facilities. The roller coasters and other major rides require either the display of a paid wristband scanned upon riding, or the use of "Wally Points" on their "Wally Card" system. The water park operates an assortment of water slides and pools, and is admission by fee only. The name "Waldameer" can be translated roughly as "Woods by the Sea" in German. Waldameer's operating season runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Sunnyside Amusement Park was a popular amusement park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that ran from 1922 to 1955, demolished in 1955 to facilitate the building of the Metro Toronto Gardiner Expressway project. It was located on the Lake Ontario waterfront at the foot of Roncesvalles Avenue, west of downtown Toronto.
Mega Zeph is a wooden roller coaster located at the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans theme park, in the Eastern New Orleans area of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally opening on May 20, 2000, as Jazzland's signature ride, the coaster has been abandoned and left in a state of decay as a result of the park's closure following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It is currently standing but not operating.
An animal theme park, also known as a zoological theme park, is a combination of an amusement park and a zoo, mainly for entertainment, amusement, and commercial purposes. Many animal theme parks combine classic theme park elements, such as themed entertainment and amusement rides, with classic zoo elements such as live animals confined within enclosures for display. Many times, live animals are utilized and featured as part of amusement rides and attractions found at animal theme parks.
Bertrand Island Amusement Park was located on Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey in the Borough of Mount Arlington, New Jersey. It was actually located on a narrow finger-shaped peninsula, surrounded by water on three sides, that jutted into Lake Hopatcong.
B.A. Schiff & Associates was a roller coaster manufacturing firm based in Miami, Florida, United States. Founded by its namesake, Ben Schiff, the company produced family style roller coasters including a variety of kiddie roller coasters and Wild Mouse roller coasters. The company operated from approximately 1948 into the early 1970s.