. My girlfriends father operated the roller coaster. Still learning how to compose a photograph, I think back and realize that my penchant for photos without people in them was in force then, and I went as far as to scribble out the lady who was in the foreground of this photo of the Snack-a-rama. Anybody know anything?!!! they actually replaced a section that burned in the 1960s so the coaster is the way it was originally designed. The coaster is now called \"The Wild One\". The coaster was rebuilt and reopened in 1986. I was a lonely kid wandering the park every night, until I What about Treasure Island in Wakefield Massachusetts? At its opening, Trailblazer was the first major coaster to be added to Hersheypark in 18 years. Collections: Detroit Publishing Company Part of: . Oh Rich, I know EXACTLY what you mean about smelling the beach before you even got there. We took our children there when there were young. The Philadelphia Toboggan carousel was rescued and now operates at Battleship Cove in Fall River. But my most vivid, and fond memory was Misquamucut, and this mystery park! The first, termed a roaring inferno by the Hull fire chief, ripped through the Arcade Bazaar and Funland, a toy store and group of attractions just up Nantasket Avenue from Paragon. Sundays: 11am-9pm (9:30pm for Creamery) Norumbega Park loved going there when I was young! The Bat featured cars shaped like bats, suspended below the track. A 14-year-old girl has died after a roller coaster car came off the track at an amusement park in Denmark. For out-of-state visitors, parking at Nantasket Beach will increase from $10 to $15 per day, and $20 per day. A Visit To The Retro Roadmap Photo Archives Photos from the American Roadside. Preservationists swung into action, mounting a publicity and fundraising campaign that drew awareness but far less than the nearly $1 million valuation that had been suggested for the 57-year-old carousel. Remember Revere Beach and Canobie Lake when I was a kid growing up in Somerville, Ma. Thanks for the great memories! Dogs will not be allowed on Nantasket Beach in the summer, regardless of whether the law passes. I found this video in my archives! Retro Roadmap Photo Archives- Do These Places Look Familiar To You? On Saturday, a 57-year-old woman died following an accident on a roller coaster called "The Hot Ride." The woman, identified as a German national, slipped from her seat while the coaster was. Pacific Coast Highway. All three suffered an electric shock, fatal to both Haithcoat and Robertson. The park's Ferris wheel was moved to the New Bedford waterfront and the Comet roller coaster was torn down on July 11, 2012. Dodge died from Brights Disease at a hospital in New Hampshire. Yes, Riverside Park was memorable as was Mountain Park. It was. Paragon Park was great, noise, lights, smells(mostly good) the ocean, good times. The wooden coaster was previously known as Giant Coaster when it was located at Paragon Park in Hull, Massachusetts. 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. 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. The Aftermath: Roller Coaster. Shortly after railroad executives signed the paperwork the following March, fire broke out in a paint shop at the park. As one of the most historic and popular highways in North America (and dare we say the world), Route 66 has gone through a series of changes since its inception in 1926, going from . Still remember the black rubber knife I bought as a souvenir. Movie Stars came from California The Three Stooges often preformed on stage I believe it closed in the late 60s. Hilarity Hall, a funhouse akin to the Steeplechase, was built next door, and a dance hall that later became a roller rink, toy store, and video arcade. So sad that it is gone. When you were at the very top, you would head downhill so fast that it looked like you were going to end up in the water. What a great story. When young my parents would take me tomthe Wonderland Park in Revere MA. On a dark winter evening homeward-bound in the front passenger seat in our '53 Chevy after Christmas shopping at the Paragon Park's Arcade Bazaar - a warehouse-like fluorescent-lit discount toy store in Nantasket Beach - my mom told me the heartbreaking truth about Santa Claus. I grew up about miles from Pine Island Park. Superman: Tower of Power in Louisville, Kentucky Many in Hull remained unconvinced. In 2019, there were 1,299 injuries in US amusement parks. We enjoyed quite a few evening visits in the 80s. While sad, the news contained one ray of hope a final season for nostalgia-filled fans to say goodbye. The amusement park closed for good in 1984. Thank you so much for this page! The park opened to rave reviews. Our graduating class of 1950 went there after our senior banquet for a fun evening. Yet some may have taken a day trip away from the New Bedford and Fall River areas to visit another of New Englands great amusement parks of old the seaside gem Paragon Park on Nantasket Beach in Hull, Massachusetts. I remember going to Paragon Park during those same years. "It has stood the test of time." In Africa, what are the two most common biomes? Kids ride tickets were only 15 cents . Within a few weeks, Kahn announced that the developers would ride to the rescue and keep the ride operating, either on-site or at a separate location within the towns borders. I would add Norumbega Park in auburndale Mass, and pleasure Island. My parents had season tickets on Tuesday nights for years. They rehearsed in our barn further down Northampton Street. Roller coaster, [Paragon Park], Nantasket Beach, Mass. Activist Judeth Van Hamm Wiers, who had initially raised the issue in February and started the fundraising drive in earnest in November, pulled together three local businessmen who pooled their resources to submit the winning bid of $598,800 only $1,200 short of their credit limit in dramatic fashion at the auction. Among the most popular attractions of that era was a 500-pound silverback gorilla called Colossus, who was promoted as being among the largest in captivity and once ran for president as a publicity stunt. Loved Whalom park took several girlfriends there. Shore dinners especially the clamcakes. Kelley McLaughlin, 13, and Ann Nigro, 14, of Hull, rode past the Giant Coaster at Paragon Park in Hull on their way home from school on March 24, 1984. We were upset we had been looking forward to that ride. Its assets were sold off in 1979, with the land being cleared for a housing development. One of the most intriguing to me is Holy Land, USA in Waterbury, CT. Its one of those in-between places that some might say doesnt belong on the list because its being, well, you might say resurrected. I felt so sorry for that creature. I remember watching Bea Lillie and Robert Emhardt among others. First, patriarch David Stone died during the off season in Miami; three years later, his oldest son, Joseph, died in the middle of parks 1949 season. Owner / Operator Lincoln Park in Dartmouth, MA, just part of New Bedford, MA! I took my children there every Wednesday . They loved it . Built in 1917, the wooden roller-coaster stood 98 feet high at its peak and was the tallest roller coaster in the world for eight years until the Cyclone roller coaster was built at Revere Beach. Aw, I remember going to Bensons Wild Animal Farm! Also, we often went to Jolly Chollys in North Attleboro as well. 2023 www.patriotledger.com. It is called the Wild One now. I grew up in The Berkshires and looked forward every summer to making a trip to Mountain Park and stopping at the nearby dinosaur tracks along with way. In the winter racing cars on the lake. Think classic American road trip and the name Route 66 will undoubtedly come up sooner rather than later, and for good reason. I spend my life in that park. That is the first one for me about 1952. This thing was the greatest. Most definitely Riverside in Agawam. Thanks for reminding me of some really great times. Photo, Print, Drawing Roller coaster, [Paragon Park], Nantasket Beach, Mass. Skeeball and pinball machines were favorite games at Paragon Park's penny arcade. Larry and Phyllis Stone found little common ground in their day-to-day management. The coaster itself was shortened in order to be ready by the Fourth of July holiday, with its final circular turns left off the drawing board in the interest of time. Paragon Park opened in 1905 and lasted for just under 80 years, closing in 1984. You forgot White City Amusement Park in Shrewsbury MA. With the economy still climbing out of a recession, they faced stark reality years of deferred maintenance and the rising popularity of larger theme parks meant that significant investment would be required to modernize Paragon and make it competitive as a destination. Over the winter, Stone and Golden began working on how they would secure the continuation of Paragon. I never liked to see animals who were unable to have some freedom from confinement. My wife and I had our first date there. good memories. I never saw that girl again. My Dad was. The 25.9-acre amusement park the nation's 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. 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. They also hosted many concerts and special shows! Lincoln Park, North Dartmouth, Ma. (A fun bit of trivia: The first words ever spoken into a telephone by a U.S. president were uttered at Rocky Point, during an 1877 visit by Rutherford Hayes. Mountain Park in Holyoke MA. Was it destined to become a cornerstone of the casino economy, or was its presence an obstacle to further development? Good memories! Following the show, wed watch the fireworks from the parking lot. Does anyone remember Funland Park worked there too. That park put $1 million into renovating the coaster, and it has been refitted and redesigned multiple times over the decades. But I do have a copy of the book Savin Rock Memories by Gil Johnson and Bennett W. Dorman. 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