The American Amusement ParkFor more than a century, amusement parks from Brooklyn's Coney Island to Disneyland in Anaheim and today's chain parks like Six Flags have been among the most popular destinations for countiess Americans in search of fun, thrills and forgetting their troubles. This marvelous photographic retrospective distills more than 100 years of the sights, sounds, smells and vertigo-inducing thrills associated with the American amusement park. Nostalgic archival photography from private collections, period print advertisements and exclusive modern color photographs illustrate the stories behind thrill rides, arcades, architecture, park food, pavillion entertainment, fun houses, tunnels of love and much more. Special focus is given to the roller coaster, while sidebars highlight specific parks and rides whose influence on the development of amusement parks in general is undeniable. |
Common terms and phrases
American amusement park amusement area amusement park Astroland AUTHOR'S COLLECTION became began boardwalk building built California carousel cars Cedar Point Chicago Chute circle swing classic coast Coney Island Coney's Conneaut Lake Park Crystal Beach Cyclone dark rides Denver designed Disneyland DOBNICK Dreamland early electric Elitch Gardens entertainment Euclid Beach famous featured Ferris wheel fun house Giant Dipper Grove Idora Idora Park interurban Kennywood Park Kinney known lagoon Lakeside Park lift hill Luna Park McKane midway MIKE SCHAFER miniature golf Ocean Park Ohio opened operation OTTO park's patrons Pennsylvania Philadelphia Toboggan Company picnic Pier Playland popular railroad resort riders rides and attractions Riverview Park roller coaster Scenic Railway Sea Lion Park season Shoot-the-Chutes side-friction Six Flags Skee Ball SKEEBALL Steeplechase theme park thrill rides TICKET Tilyou tion track traditional amusement parks traditional parks trolley twentieth century Venice walk-through Walt Disney White City wooden coaster World York