Entertainment - Amusement Parks, Dancing, Bowling, Skating

AMUSEMENT PARKS

The world’s first amusement park opened in Chicago, Illinois in 1894. Besides amusement parks, people were entertained by the circus, dance halls, roller-skating rinks, burlesque, vaudeville and movies. Amusement parks opened in cities all across America. Ohio was home to 54 amusement parks by 1912.

Cleveland’s first amusement park was Euclid Beach which opened in 1895. Puritas Springs Park opened on the west side in 1898. Cleveland’s Luna Park was built in 1905. New parks were built up until the 1920’s, but by the time of World War I, the industry tapered off. By the late 1920’s many amusement parks closed their gates while a few survived. Many park owners sold their parks to real estate developers. Cleveland’s Euclid Beach Park closed in 1969.

THE EUCLID BEACH PARK COMPANY was formed in 1894 and began construction on land eight miles east of Cleveland’s Public Square. Euclid Beach opened in 1895 and was purchased by the Humphrey family in 1901. Since Euclid Beach was far from downtown Cleveland, a pier was built and two steamships would travel from downtown Cleveland to the docks at the park. This steamship service lasted through the 1900 season. Euclid Beach was a “dry” park, meaning no alcoholic beverages were served. It was known for its beautiful sycamore trees. Who can forget Laughing Sal at the Surprise House. There was also a skating rink at Euclid Beach, which had a large band organ. Couples would dance there. The buildings were painted a dull green that became known as “Humphrey Green”. Customers would purchase tickets that could be used for rides and food. Speaking of food, who can forget the popcorn, popcorn balls, and candy kisses. These candy kisses were a type of taffy that came in only one flavor. Today, in 2007, these kisses and the popcorn balls are sold at local Marc’s stores. There was also the Frozen Whip which had a flavor of its own. They also sold boiled ham sandwiches, hamburgers, cotton candy, and candy apples. Some of the rides were the Thriller, the Rocket Ships, Laff in the Dark, The Flying Turns, The Toboggan, the Flying Ponies, The Flying Turns, Over the Falls, the Bug, The Euclid Beach Chief (a train), The Mill Chute, and the Dodgems. The park closed on September 28, 1969 as the owner made plans to convert the park into high-rise residential housing. Some of the rides were moved to Shady lake Park in Streetsboro, Geauga Lake Park, and others.

PURITAS SPRINGS PARK, was located on the west side and was built in 1898. It was located on the north side of Puritas Rd. overlooking the Rocky River Valley. The park was named after a bottling plant for spring mineral water that was found on the park property. Most of the parks built between the late 1890s and 1910 were situated at the end of city streetcar or interurban electric lines. These pars were called “Trolley Parks”. This was the case with Puritas Springs. Puritas Springs Park featured a roller rink, dance hall, picnic spots, and a ball field. The park was best known for its fast, thrilling rides, especially the Cyclone roller coaster. This roller coaster was constructed in the ravine. It ascended 85 feet and then ran down through the ravine making 80 and 90 degree turns. When Luna Park closed in 1929, the carousel was installed at Puritas Springs. Puritas Springs Park also had the Moon Rocket and a smaller roller coaster, the Comet Jr. In the 1950’s, Jungle Larry created “Circus Africa” at Puritas Springs Park. From 1942-1946 several people were injured on the Cyclone. The ride was closed and inspected but in 1953 another man fell from the car. The end of service by the interurban line was a huge blow to Puritas Spring Park. The park remained open until 1958, when the land was sold to a land development company. A fire the next spring caused much damage and the park was torn down in order to build a housing development and shopping center. The carousel was moved to Indian Lake in western Ohio, and later moved to St. Louis. The Cyclone was torn down in 1960.

LUNA PARK, was located on a 35-acre site bounded by Woodhill Rd., E. 110th St., Woodland Ave., and Ingersoll Ave. Construction began in 1904, and the park opened in May of 1905. Streetcars would bring customers to the park. Luna Park made huge profits from the sale of alcoholic beverages. When Prohibition hit in 1919, Luna Park went into a downward spiral for a decade until it’s closing in 1929. Luna Park was known for the beautiful architecture blending Arabic, Teutonic, Chinese, Japanese, French and Byzantine styles. Luna park was known for it’s waffles and Monkey Island. A pool marked the center of Luna Park. In 1910 it was sold to Matthew Bramley who installed many new rides. The favorites were the carousel, ferris wheel, Shoot-the-Chutes, Jack Rabbit and Pippin roller coasters, Scenic River, Shooting the Shoe, The Caterpillar, and Trip to Rockaway. There was also a funhouse, roller rink and dance hall. There were national bands that played at the dance hall as well as local Cleveland Bands. There was also the Motordome which opened in 1912. This stadium allowed spectators to see motorcycle racing. In 1931, the park was razed. The roller rink, which was the last thing standing in Luna Park was burned on Dec. 12, 1938. By 1941, there was no trace at all of Luna Park. It was replaced by a housing project called Woodhill Homes.

GEAUGA LAKE PARK began as a resort area. It was turned into an amusement park and opened to the public on June 20, 1925. At that time there were tennis courts, picnic groves, rental rowboats, a shooting gallery and midway games. There was also a roller coaster called the Skyrocket, carousel, Whip, Dodgem, Aerial Swing and a miniature railroad. In 1925 Geauga Lake’s Olympic-size swimming pool opened. The park’s ballroom opened during the Big Band era. Many famous bands played there. A severe windstorm swept through the park in 1941. A portion of the roller coaster was destroyed. In 1968, the park was purchased by former Cedar Point executives. In 1969 the monorail system was added and a new kiddieland and ferris wheel. In 1970 Sea World opened across the lake from Geauga Lake. Rides added at this time were the Himalaya, Tilt-A-Whirl, Spider and the Trabant. There were also giant fiberglass slides which people would ride down in sacks. The waterpark opened in 1983 and in 198, the Raging Wolf Bobs roller coaster arrived. The Texas Twister was installed about 10 years later. In the mid 1990’s, Premier Parks bought the park and later named it Six Flags in the year 2000. In 2004, the park was purchased by Cedar Fair, the parent company of Cedar Point. They changed the name back to Geauga Lake. Geauga Lake is still there today, entertaining thousands every year.

MEMPHIS KIDDIE PARK opened in 1952 on Memphis Avenue by Stuart Wintner. The rides included a carousel, ferris wheel, boat ride, Pony Carts, Crazy Jeeps, Comets, Speedway Cars, Space Shuttle, and the Big Creek and Memphis Railroad Train. There were also the Hodges Cars which were moved by the children turning a wheel. The best ride in the park was the Little Dipper roller coaster. Also built in 1952, it was recognized by the American Coaster Enthusiasts as the longest standing steel roller coaster in the world. The rides were designed and built by engineer, Al Herschel. Outside Buffalo, New York is the Al Herschel Museum, which shows the work of Al Herschel. The rides were paid for by tickets and still are to this day. An arcade and miniature golf course were added. Memphis Kiddie Park receives more than 100,000 visitors each year. Not only does the Wintner family operate Kiddie Park, but they also operated the Memphis Drive-In across the street.

Other Parks:

Scenic Park was situated along Rocky River Railroad near Clifton Blvd.

Lincoln Park opened in 1906 at the site of the former Scenic Park.

Willoughbeach Park opened in 1907. It was located on Lake Shore Blvd. near Shoregate Shopping Center.

Orchard Lake Park opened in 1927 at the corner of Northfield and Peninsula Roads.

Gordon Gardens was located at E. 72nd St., across from Gordon Park

White City opened in 1905 at the site of Cleveland’s Manhattan Beach Park on E. 140th St.

Sources:

The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

Cleveland Amusement Park Memories by David and Diane Francis

DANCE HALLS

Dancing was all the rage in Cleveland in the 1900's. It was a place for the young and old to go to have a good time. Between the 1920's and the 1950's, there were over 150 dance halls in Greater Cleveland. There were also numerous dances held in hotels and private halls. Some people went as far as Conneaut Lake Park in Pennsylvania and to Cedar PointPark in Sandusky. You could board a ferry at the East 9th Street pier and go out to Cedar Point for the day.

Musicians knew that Cleveland was a great place to start their career. As they became popular, they would move on to larger venues. By 1910 dancing became quite the craze and in some cases was more popular than swimming and other sports. Our ancestors were known to visit some of the dance halls that were found in nearby parks. They attended dances at Edgewater Park and Gordon Park. There was also a dance hall at Brookside Park that they attended. Another park that had a dance hall was Woodland Hills Park. By the 1920s these park dance halls no longer existed and at this time various amusement parks had installed dance halls on their grounds. There was the dance hall at Luna Park, Euclid Beach Park, and Puritas Springs Park.

Before World War I, dance halls were not considered proper places for nice young ladies or for the affluent. Dances were usually private functions, held in private halls with a lot of supervision. Many wealthy Clevelanders built dance halls on the third floor of their home. My husband�s great-grandfather, who lived in Mantua, for instance, built his mansion with a dance hall on the third floor. There was a balcony on the front of the mansion where people could step out and get a breath of fresh air.

Radio broadcasts often took place from various dance halls. My grandfather's sister, Martha Halos, had a place called martha's Dine and Dance, located in the E. 55th and Broadway area at 5420 Broadway. The lower floor held

the restaurant. On the second floor, (during prohibition), they had slot machines and allowed drinking on this floor. The dance hall was located on the third floor and they had a few bands come in and play over the years. One radio station broadcast the music that was played there. On the fourth floor was living space and my grandparents lived there for a while. My grandfather told me that they would have an 8-piece orchestra come in to play. They sold 30 half kegs of beer per week. My grandfather told me that one day during prohibition, two police officers came into the bar. Grandpa gave them a drink while his sister and brother-in-law were very worried, but, my grandfather knew what he was doing - he more or less paid them off with drinks, so that they wouldn't shut down their business. My grandfather was threatened by the mob one time because they bought whiskey from another man at a cheaper price. They poured out the whiskey and he never bought from anyone but the mob again.

The Encyclopedia of Cleveland history tells us that with the increased popularity of dancing in the 1910s and 1920s, many localities enacted laws to regulate conduct in the dance halls. By 1930 there were 28 states that had adopted laws to regulate public dancing. Cleveland enacted legislation that included restrictions on liquor, gambling, decorum of behavior and dress. By 1930 there were nearly 150 dance-hall inspectors in Cleveland. Dance halls also had employees who checked people's decorum and dress.

As dancing diminished, many of the dance halls changed into party centers, roller rinks or bowling alleys. The last remaining ballroom in Cleveland was the Aragon Ballroom which was located at 3179 W. 25th Street. This was a favorite to many members of my family. My grandparents met there in the 1920s and their children, my parents, went there as late as the 1980s. The Aragon was originally built in 1919 and was called the Olympic Winter Garden. In 1930 its name changed to Shadyside Gardens. Several years later it became the Aragon.

The Crystal Slipper was located at 9810 Euclid Avenue. This later became the Trianon and was later torn down for a parking area for the Cleveland Clinic. Danceland was located at 9001 Euclid Avenue and was later changed into a roller rink named Skateland. The Ritz was located at 3705 Euclid Avenue. Springvale Ballroom was located in North Olmsted.