But it didnt take him long to see opportunity in the endless parade of locals coming by to catch a peek at his lions, elephants, monkeys, and other exotic animals. HOURS: Open Saturdays and Sundays through October 30, 2022, 11am-4pm. The park, which had been in the family of Larry and Phyllis Stone for 65 years, closed after the 1984 season and was sold for a condominium development. Roller skating, rides, swimming even a boat that gave rides around the lake. At about the same time, Dodge decided to scale back from running Paragon on a day-to-day basis. Mark Mason, the manager of the Wild World amusement park near Baltimore, paid $28,000 to buy the Giant Coaster, and promptly announced plans to dismantle the ride piece-by-piece and have it rebuilt in time for the next season. Well put. Benson opened his property to the public in 1924, and from there he added attractions such as rides, games, and concessions. Yet, in 14 years (1990-2004), there were only 54 amusement park fatalities. Those were the days! I showed off my roller skating expertise to my junior high classmates back in the 2022 Dennis Connors Photography. I remember riding the elephant at Bensons. As the story goes, were it not for the limited number of months in the year it could be open, Disney would have been more involved. Carousel Under the Clock, as it was known, operated as a private business until 1996, when the three businessmen who purchased the ride at the auction decided that they needed to recoup their investment. Whalom Park was a wonderful place for so many in the 60s. For out-of-state visitors, parking at Nantasket Beach will increase from $10 to $15 per day, and $20 per day. Part of its track bed would later be incorporated into the footprint of the amusement park. We had a cottage nearby, until the great blizzard of 1978. My brother and I had great times there. They closed long time ago. Share. Newton High Schools Senior Proms were held in the Totem Pole Ballroom ~ what a special memory!! On a dark winter evening homeward-bound in the front passenger seat in our 53 Chevy after Christmas shopping at the Paragon Parks Arcade Bazaar a warehouse-like fluorescent-lit discount toy store in Nantasket Beach my mom told me the heartbreaking truth about Santa Claus. I also recall a booth with a figure inside dressed like a gypsy woman. Went there when I was a small child with my father and loved the flying horses. Yet seeing these places thrill and entertain todays families also makes us nostalgic for the now-closed New England amusement parks that paved the way. There was a miniature golf course under the roller coaster. Paragon Park was great, noise, lights, smells(mostly good) the ocean, good times. In 1912, Dodge opened the Hotel Georgian in Park Square, an upscale nightspot in Bostons theater district that he operated until Prohibition forced it to close in 1919. Best wishes, and thanks for stopping by. I had a bad experience on one as a kid and never went on one until then. We used to go every year! He also would own the row of storefronts along Nantasket Avenue from the front entrance northward to Fascination, although to most observers, the separation was not noticeable. Subsequent owners added various entertainments, including a baseball field on which Babe Ruth once played. During the late Forties and early Fifties my father had a car Number 87 in those races. Dodge believed in his vision and bought out his partners in 1907. And in the early 1960s, there was Pleasure Island in Wakefield, MA, with a pirate theme. Police said the ride was going full-speed when the Ferguson was struck. I used to love Paragon Park! Dodge, a Boston businessman who had made a fortune selling whalebone, a substance that was used for so many products that it has been called the plastic of its day, was the prime mover behind the construction of Paragon. We were upset we had been looking forward to that ride. Eric- what cool memories! Lets not forget Savin Rock in West Haven CT! Kahn already knew that the towns zoning rules for the park property lacked a key ingredient: a height limit. It officially became an amusement park in 1980 and featured a number of flat rides mostly from HUSS Maschinenfabrik as it served as a U.S. showcase for new Huss rides during the 1980s. Rumors occasionally surfaced of a potential buyer showing interest, but as each winters gossip gave way to springs warmer temperatures, Paragons gates swung open to welcome the crowds. One day in June 1911 while the roller coaster company's owner was standing up in a roller coaster car delivering a speech to other passengers about safety, he ironically fell to his death. Among the amusement rides in operation during Paragon Park's history was a traditional-style Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel (PTC #85) built in 1928 with hand-crafted horses, a bumper cars ride known as "Auto Scooters", a Ferris wheel, a horror-themed dark ride called "Kooky Kastle", and a wooden roller coaster known as The Giant Coaster.[1]. The 25.9-acre amusement park the nations largest at the time included roller coasters and other rides, games, vaudeville and movie theaters, a funhouse, and a health center where premature infants in incubators were put on display. It is called the Wild One now. A friend, 20-year-old William Haithcoat, and a 20-year-old park employee named Darrel Robertson, attempted to rescue him. In the aftermath of the April fire, Paragon reopened without its signature front entrance. I got to Paragon Park just once, the year before it closed; I was amused that the condo development the park was torn down for was one of the first to go bust when the economic bubble burst. Great place. Beginning with the 1920 season, Stone and Golden took over management of the entire Paragon operation, leasing all of the rides and concessions controlled by Dodge. A scenic railway was added in 1900. What about Treasure Island in Wakefield Massachusetts? The park reopens for the season April 6. They flew around the 2,456-foot circuit and the coaster utilized two lift hills, each almost 100-feet high. Built in 1917, the wooden. STILL one of my fave attractions there and it wasnt even part of the park REALLY. Thanks so much for adding them to the thread here on Retro Roadmap. Retro Roadmap Photo Archives- Do These Places Look Familiar To You? What a wonderful and very interesting article about the history of amusement parks in New England. All rights reserved. Thanks for the memories. I can almost picture it. See it here at. Ple Wonderland itself was inspired by the massive Worlds Fair exhibits that had been an international sensation since the mid-19th century. With the dragon that breathed real fire that you could see from the main Route. News of the developers interest appeared in December 1984 in a place that was unlikely to attract attention a column in the pages of The New England Real Estate Journal, a trade publication generally seen only by those in the real estate industry. And as young teens roller skating. Selling the 18-story development to the public was a harder task than the developers had imagined, however, and by fall, even with a compromise reduction to 12 stories, Kahn and Quinn faced stiff opposition. In the aftermath of the fire, a new dance hall and roller coaster were constructed in the front of the park. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paragon-Park-Memories/103289636409972?sk=info. Dawn R. Jankovic, from Brunswick, Ohio, fell unconscious while riding The Voyage roller coaster at Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana . It was similar to another of its kind in the Adirondacks north of Schroon Lake, Frontiertown. It must have been about 1956 when we went to Cowboy Village. We lived in Hamden and Dad thought it was fairly close by in Killingworth. He was the manager and operator of the Green Streak roller coaster in Paragon Park located in Nantasket Beach, Massachusetts. . The coaster was rebuilt and reopened in 1986. (Water World had room to expand because both of DCs older parks had closed some years before.) Correct, Leo, only the name was Pleasure Island. See my post below. Maybe 5 +. It was a Big Deal! Is there a wave on Nantasket Beach? Mountain Park in Holyoke MA. Touted as the strangest farm on earth, this park was developed by John Benson, a British animal trainer who had originally purchased a 200-acre lot about an hour north of Boston to serve as a temporary home for animals he would buy and sell. The Giant Coaster sat silent, and the undulating tracks looked like the skeleton of a dinosaur carcass, being slowly dismantled and eaten away at by the vultures that couldn't wait to turn the site into a condominium complex. as a young child my dad took me and then my grampa took my cousin and I when she visited from Ohio. "They preserved the spirit of the ride," amusement park aficionado B. Derek Shaw told USA Today. Makes me a bit homesick for Mass, summer, the beach and childhood. Fortunately, there were no deaths involved in Valravn's 2019 crash at Cedar Point. It was where the class went after graduation of Grammar School in 56 too we also would go to the speedway. The amusement park closed in 1994 and sat abandoned for years before its remains were finally demolished out of concern for public safety. Believed by many to have helped inspire the future Magic Kingdom, this amusement park flashed briefly across the New England entertainment scene, opening in 1906 and closing at the end of summer in 1910. I thought the title of the article said New England Amusement Parks. About this Item. I Never see ANY photos of it either. Some items, such as the motors and machinery of most rides, arcade games, prize inventory, needed complete replacement, while the buildings themselves needed to be dried out. Here on the SouthCoast, many have fond memories of riding the Comet roller coaster at Lincoln Park in Dartmouth. I took my children there all the time ides were reasonable for a family. I have vague memories of Savin Rock in West Haven, CT. well i will stop babbling tc and bs all!! The park featured wild-animal shows, shooting galleries, performances by natives of far-away lands, a foolish house, the dragons den, the haunted swing, the laughing show, an arcade and man smaller buildings, according to the opening-day press. Not only did they have the rides which we loved as kids, they had a fabulous summer theater, the Valley Players, owned and operated by Jean and Carleton Guild. And you can still ride the Wild One wooden roller coaster at Six Flags America in Maryland. Whalom Park! Larry and Phyllis Stone decided to divorce, and Klayman, caught in the middle of a dispute between the owners, found himself looking for a new job after 30 years. mod i remeber the blizzard of 78 that was freezing and 27ft snow drift i know i shoveled them to make money as a kid froze my butt of lmao, and delivering newspapers in the winter took its toll on me as well , i agree i foze my arse off. Chuck Lawrence. Yes. My first job was parking cars in the lot across the street. He loved the junior rollercoaster! A great park for a day trip with the family. It was located off route 5 on Mt Tom in western Massachusetts. Its assets were sold off in 1979, with the land being cleared for a housing development. Chester Kahn, a condominium developer whose summer residence was one block away from the Stones Hull home, floated the idea of turning Paragon into a high-rise condominium complex. One year I went to Rocky Point Amusement part, this would have to be about 1984-1985 and my Dad at the time worked for Sealtest Ice Cream and they would have a big summer thing down there and we would spend the day first doing carnival activities hosted by the company, then spend the rest of the day at the park. In Africa, what three biomes are the most common? We used all our tickets there. Launched as a trolley park (parks at the terminus of trolley lines were all the rage at the time), the property soon evolved from a series of serene walking paths to a bustling destination filled with midway games and rides like Ferris wheels and carousels. It had a great wooden roller coaster as well as a Ferris Wheel and other attractions. It is a warm summer day and Paragon Park is busy with visitors. Yes, cant believe they forgot Norumbega Park!! Today, all that remains of the park is the carousel that was built in 1928, which now is housed in a pavilion a bit down the road from where it once stood, yet still allows for children to ride its hand-carved horses almost a century after they were first created. well, all was fine till halfway home and my brother starts getting sick I was on top of my step sister out the window most of the ride home Still great times and I miss when we used to have no cares but having fun.. You forgot my favorite, Paragon Park on Nantasket Beach in Hull Ma. I remember Whalom Park and Bensons Animal Farm fondly. Except for the flying swings incident. Now 67 Grew up close to Canobie Lake Park and Bensons Wild Animal Park and spent so much time at both. They married in 1935. I remember as a young girl with some friends taking the train to Revere Beach Amusement Park in the 50s many times. We used to park before we got to the park, because there were so many pretty girls we couldnt keep our eyes on the road. The 1917 season would bring with it major changes at Paragon. Through the decades, the venues Palladium Ballroom hosted a lineup of performers that ranged from Janis Joplin to the Ramones and Pearl Jam. Thanks for addding your history to the thread of Paragon Park. We moved to Gulf Breeze, FL and several years later they started . Ill always remember my trips to Whalom Park with my family and especially the rides on the Whip and Tilt-O-Whirl with my grandfather. Boy, do the pictures bring back memories, coldest water you ever swam in but Pargon Park was so much fun on a hot summer day. Real estate interests were inspired both by the removal of what some considered the honky tonk amusements and by the zoning loophole Kahns plans had exposed. 1 g per cup Kelloggs Corn, Why do blackberries have such a bitter flavor? Davids son, Joseph, entered into negotiations with the Old Colony Railroad to purchase the land under Paragon. When I drive around that corner approaching Paragon park I am still a little startled when I see a bunch of condos instead of the roller coaster. "It has stood the test of time." Their 1928 purchase of a Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel would become the centerpiece of the park, replacing concessionaire John J. Hurleys previous carousel in the same location. I got to ride on the roller coaster again after it moved to Maryland, long before Six Flags took over Water World; they restored a piece that had been taken out at Paragon after a fire. Today, the only surviving remnant of Paragon Park on the boardwalk is the historic Paragon Park Carousel, which was moved from its original site. Aw, Les that sounds like a lot of good times! Nantasket Beach. Each week, it seemed, brought a new development proposal. one year it was HOT and we were gorging on clam cakes at the end of the day but decided one more ride cant hurt.. the one that starts leve and ends up having the rider flying upside down. It is now adjacent to the old train station and clock tower. There was a beautiful picnic area and was home to to the Mountain Park Playhouse for avid theater goers. Rollercoaster, FunHouse, Clambakes at the Pavillion, roller skating rink, Dancing ( with name bands, my Aunt sang there with a band for a while! By then, the Stone family found itself in an unfamiliar position: unsure of how long the park could survive. save the carousel effort was launched, but this time the result would be the formation of the non-profit Friends of the Paragon Carousel and the purchase of the antique merry-go-round for $1.1 million. A second or was it actually the third? You forgot Pleasure Island. So folks, remember tomorrow never knows if theres someplace or something you like go there now, enjoy it, take photos, and do what you can to make sure it sticks around, because some day it might not be there anymore! Loved Kings Castle land as a fun place to take my grandson when he was young. This article is a stub. Paragon Park on Nantasket Beach in Hull, MA has to be the most beloved old amusement park in New England and one of the top 10 in the country. The parks next transformation would not come from fire, but from Mother Natures wrath. But another group of preservationists began to think about how memories of the park could be saved, and fixed its gaze upon the antique carousel. Of course, we miss Rocky Point and Crescent Park, they were in our state of RI; however, Jolly Chollies was an equally amazing amusement park. Also, we often went to Jolly Chollys in North Attleboro as well. The two men would face their first challenges early in their tenure. I can always remember when we were getting close to the the beach and we would pick-up the scent of the ocean and we could hear the screams coming from the riders on the coaster. Great memories going back at least 50 years! On that trip my Dad and I and the oldest boy from the other family went to Mystic Seaport. The remains of the "Turnpike Cars" roadway ride are hidden in overgrowth beside the parking lot, although are very much visible via Google Maps. Skeeball and pinball machines were favorite games at Paragon Park's penny arcade. I remember watching Bea Lillie and Robert Emhardt among others. Can not believe Canobie is closed. Paragon Park opened to the public on Saturday, June 10, 1905, transforming Nantasket Beach for the better part of the 20th century. the wonderful carousel at nearby Lake Quassapaug! My first date with my now wife of 38 years was there! It remained on the site for a short time after the closing, a hulking ghost of the parks past. Lincoln Park had an awesome roller coaster. Pleasure Island, Wakefield, Mass. Many made the pilgrimage to photograph the park for the last time, and members of the American Coaster Enthusiasts visited to see the Giant, at one time the worlds tallest coaster, before it met its fate. Yes ! All of that changed in 1984. Hi Joanne, I skated most every week end at the roller rink, Lil and her husband were great. Believe it or not: You can still ride the historic coaster today, if you dare. This was perfect! Dad saw Mom and went over and told her he was going to marry her. The amusement park closed for good in 1984. Growing up, Paragon Park, a small amusement park in Hull MA just across from Nantasket Beach was my idea of the ultimate place to go, and wed hopefully go there once a summer if we were lucky. Fire struck again in the fall, destroying the Chateau ballroom at the rear of the park. At the center of the park was a lagoon that served as the splashdown point for the popular Shoot the Chute gondola ride. Youd once drive into Hull on George Washington Boulevard and watch the horizon for the rising coaster in the distance; now, its a monstrous condo building. The worst came in 1930, when a car on Omaha, Nebraska's Big Dipper roller coaster fell 35 feet to the ground, killing four and injuring 17. And Paragon Park 's penny arcade at Nantasket Beach, Massachusetts marry her thanks addding. The rides on the Whip and Tilt-O-Whirl with my family and especially the rides on the for... 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