Print ArticleThe 1890's saw the birth of a unique experience - the "Trolley Park". Every city worth its salt had one, including ours. Here's a look at the rise and fall of America's original amusement park.
Other Ubiquitous Trolley Parks
Idora Park in Youngstown, OH. You'll want to note that their trolley loop was a carbon copy of Jacksonville Traction Company's at the Florida Ostrich Farm. Photo, http://reference.findtarget.com/search/Idora Park, Youngstown/
Luna Park, Coney Island, NY, about 1905. The architecture was quite fanciful, and the park's founders were recently inducted into the Amusement Park Hall Of Fame. Photo, Wikipedia.
Dorney Park in Allentown, PA. Photo, Wikipedia.
Maryland's Glen Echo Park still displays a PCC streetcar at its front gate.Photo, Hang Yaun via Flickr.
At Quassy Park in Middlebury, CT. It is one of the few remaining in the U.S. Photo, R.Mann Collection.
Trolley Parks: What's Left
Electric Park, Detroit, terminus of three streetcar lines. Photo, R.Mann Collection.
Idora Park. Photo, Theme Park Review.
Maryland's Glen Echo Park. Photo, http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/2010/09/spooky-glen-echo-parks-abandoned-crystal-pool/.
Abandoned Trolley Park trackage, New York City. Photo, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Trolley_Park_jeh.jpg.
Last Parks Standing
CAMDEN PARK: Huntington, W.Va., http://www.camdenpark.com/
CANOBIE LAKE PARK: Salem, N.H., http://www.canobie.com/
CLEMENTON PARK AND SPLASH WORLD: Clementon, N.J., http://www.clementonpark.com/
DORNEY PARK: Allentown, Pa., http://www.dorneypark.com/
KENNYWOOD: West Mifflin, Pa., http://www.kennywood.com/
LAKEMONT PARK: Altoona, Pa., http://www.lakemontparkfun.com/
MIDWAY STATE PARK: Maple Springs, N.Y., http://bit.ly/9ZH48q
OAKS AMUSEMENT PARK: Portland, Ore., http://oakspark.com/
QUASSY AMUSEMENT PARK: Middlebury, Conn., http://www.quassy.com/
SEABREEZE AMUSEMENT PARK: Rochester, N.Y., http://www.seabreeze.com/
WALDAMEER & WATER WORLD: Erie, Pa., http://www.waldameer.com/
Jacksonville's are gone and like so many things, our parks, at least seven in all, have met the wrecking ball when they could've easily become a symbol of our city. Long before a little mouse that would be named Mickey ran across the desk of a starving cartoonist in Kansas City, the largest park in the state, Dixieland, was built on the Southbank in Jacksonville. Thus, the true grandfather of Disney World was born here.
Article by Bob Mann.
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