Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Disneyland, 2003. I Never see ANY photos of it either. White City was the bestthe whole family would go on a Sunday afternooncousins, aunts and uncleswhat a blast! Sad that its gone now!! Rick glad you have fond (or freezing?!) I loved the Giant Coaster and the Congo Cruise. I really did enjoy Paragon Park. 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. 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. What about Treasure Island in Wakefield Massachusetts? Now its a shopping center. also Nantasket Beach. About a dozen years later I . Went there as a little kid driving Rt.2 all the way from Hartford. The rest of the site is devoted to condominium development. In Africa, what are the two most common biomes? Paragon Park opened to the public on Saturday, June 10, 1905, transforming Nantasket Beach for the better part of the 20th century. There was also a small park in or near Whitman, MA cant recall the name that we went to once. Wild Mouse was a B. I would show up at the ride with a girl and they would give me a boat all to ourselves. It was worth the over an hour drive to get there. Wildcat, Bell's Amusement Park, 1997. No one riding on the roller coaster was injured, Sheth said. Mountain Park in Holyoke MA. Married and lived there myself. I know it was small compared to others mentioned, Salem Willows was always a blast! They rehearsed in our barn further down Northampton Street. I thought it was pretty cool that the Paragon Giant Coaster was on the list of the Smithsonians Top Ten Coasters list. 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. Statistics are an important factor to take into consideration when you begin riding an ample amount of roller coasters. Crowds dwindled in the 1970s, and the park finally closed following the 1977 season. A Thanksgiving Day fire at nearby Nantasket Pier destroyed most of the fleet of steamboats that carried passengers to and from Boston. Except for the flying swings incident. Our school also had our senior prom there. Roller Coaster; Wood; Sit Down; Extreme; Make: Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, Inc. Pictures; Videos; Maps; Tracks. A 20-year-old man also fell when he attempted to stand up on the coaster in 1934, and a maintenance worker was killed in 1946 after he was struck while working on scaffolding on the coaster. They loved it . Paragon Park opened in 1905 and lasted for just under 80 years, closing in 1984. Kicking off the Park's expansion of Pioneer Frontier, it was the first attraction at Hersheypark to be completely themed.Trailblazer is the second-oldest running coaster in the Park and a family favorite.It features a helix that circles a total of 4 times and reaches speeds of up . I believe the amusement park in Lincoln Rhode Island is no longer there. If your birthday was in the summer (mine wasnt), a party there was something to anticipate all year. Jankovic was riding "The Voyage" roller coaster on June 4 when she became "unresponsive," the theme park said in a Facebook post. Many of these are gone without a trace, but I still see a bridge identified as Mountain Park Road whenever I drive past Holyoke on I-91. 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. Shore dinners especially the clamcakes. My best memories of my being a teenager is my time being at Paragon Park. I lived at Nantasket from 75 79. 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. 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. It is called the Wild One now. Paragon fans were getting used to the idea that there would be no final season. This was a Great deal $ ! He is working on a book about the park's history. Kahn already knew that the towns zoning rules for the park property lacked a key ingredient: a height limit. There are over 297 million people in the United States alone that have had the opportunity to ride 1.7 billion different amusement park rides, most of which being roller coasters. Not much mention of Revere Beach, it may very well b the 1st given that Revere beach is the 1st public beach in America, it had everything u could or would want in an Amusement park NOW its just a bunch of CONDOS. Superman: Tower of Power in Louisville, Kentucky 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. And you can still ride the Wild One wooden roller coaster at Six Flags America in Maryland. Many years back the classic shore dinners in a pavilion over the water made it famous. I think you put money in and got some kind of fortune on a card. Fun fact: a couple of fires over the years changed the configuration of The Giant Coasters track, but it was a fire at another park in St. Louis that allowed Paragon Parks owner to buy a couple of cars from a coaster named The Comet, which is why some of the cars on The Giant Coaster had Comet on them. I remember Whalom Park and Bensons Animal Farm fondly. True story. Photo, Print, Drawing Roller coaster, [Paragon Park], Nantasket Beach, Mass. 19T E 347058 N 4681323. 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. A. Schiff & Associates steel wild mouse roller coaster located at Paragon Park in Hull, Massachusetts, USA. Lincoln Park, North Dartmouth, Ma. Whalom Park! That is the first one for me about 1952. as a young child my dad took me and then my grampa took my cousin and I when she visited from Ohio. I had so many old photos of me so young with families and cousins srbthede park, Canobie is still open, far as I could tell, Canobie Lake Park is definitely not closed. In late 1985, they canceled the development all together, and announced that they would sell the beloved carousel at auction 28 days later. The rest of the site is dedicated to condominium development. David Stone lost two houses on Rockland House Road in the fire; others involved in area concessions lost their homes and businesses as well. Sad we have to grow up. Paragon Park is where I spent almost every summer night. Great memories ???? The skeet ball game. Roller Coaster Death: Five amusement park deaths that will shock roller coaster fans 1. Like Lincoln Park, the land on which Paragon Park was situated is now the site of condominiums. And I can still hear the excited screams of the daring roller coaster riders now. I remember going to an amusement park, I thought we walked there from the rental. I remember Savin Rock with a fond passion. Mom would always say well have to start saving our pennies, and we did. Very interesting about the Amusement Parks/brings back childhood memories. The coaster shut down when Paragon Park closed in 1984. I grew up right near norunbeger park me and my friends would take a row boat across the Charles river to get into the park, we would go almost every day in the summer, we didnt have much money but could go to the park by crossing the Charles river and just walking in. You can definitely make out a number of landmark features like the Witch Castle, Toboggan roller coaster, Coaster Dodgem, and Midway Flying Horses. My best friend took me there when I moved to the area in 1983. This makes the second fatal accident at an amusement park this year. I grew up about miles from Pine Island Park. Norumbega Park loved going there when I was young! 6-year-old girl's death at Colorado amusement park due to seat belt issues and inadequate staff training, government agency says A 2020 IAAPA North American Ride Safety Report - in which it. Where is the Paragon Park roller coaster now, given this? Used to be a boat we could take from Boston to Nantasket for a great day trip. The coaster is now called \"The Wild One\". Storybook characters, a pirate ship and Dodge City with a saloon and stagecoach holdups were among the attractions. The parks owners were challenged in a way they hadnt been previously, as cleanup from a fire is relatively straightforward the burned and damaged areas are removed and replaced. Theres a Facebook page called Paragon Park Memories- maybe if you post it there someone else may remember it as well good luck! Here are five parks that are gone but certainly not forgotten. Those were the days! In the aftermath of the fire, a new dance hall and roller coaster were constructed in the front of the park. I remember when they had Elvis performing on the outdoor stagethat was many years ago! Also Lincoln Park in North Dartmouth, MA, where I remember riding the roller coaster 13 times in a row with a friend! We had a cottage nearby, until the great blizzard of 1978. Nantasket Beach. A Save the Carousel effort began in earnest in February, with local residents lobbying Larry and Phyllis Stone to keep the merry-go-round intact, and keep it in Hull. I grew up in Springfield and would rather go there than its competitor, Riverside Park in Agawamnow Six Flags. The Giant Coaster opened at Paragon Park in 1917; at 98 feet tall, it was the tallest roller coaster in the world at the time. Flag item for content or copyright At about the same time, Dodge decided to scale back from running Paragon on a day-to-day basis. My Dad was. At 98 feet high with an 88-foot drop, the park's giant wooden roller coaster used to be the world's tallest before the park closed in 1984. Cyndinow living in South Jersey but always a New Englander. Miss Rocky Point, grandparents had a cottage right next to the park, spent many summer weekends visiting the cottages and walking to the park, loved the pool, playing speedball, the pizza slices and the bumper are. Find it all and much more with the interactive Roller Coaster Database. Although he and Eastern Park sold off the Rockland House as part of their 1907 separation, Dodge later bought the Pemberton Hotel and Pemberton Inn, adjacent hotels at the farthest end of the Hull peninsula. Such fond memories. When it closed a man I knew bought the huge statue of the steer they had and someone else got the elephant. My Park in Holyoke, MA. My mom told me about going to Whalom Park as a child (she grew up in Fitchburg) but I didnt get there until I had my own family and we returned to Massachusetts after a tour of duty in Europe. Then there was the Normandy Room (dancing for the younger crowd) but the definite highlight was the Totem Pole Ballroom if your date invited you to go there, you were on top of the world!! The same unwritten rule applied to the Jungle Safari ride (tunnel of love). Went there when I was a small child with my father and loved the flying horses. I have fond memories of an amusement park called Mountain Park that Isnt mentioned. Roller coaster, [Paragon Park], Nantasket Beach, Mass. 2023 www.patriotledger.com. 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. saw this little blond girl my age (10) all alone. 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. My sister was born early on the morning of July 3rd. different name. 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. Great memories going back at least 50 years! WHAT IS IT? Ple A woman has died after passing out on a roller coaster. I remember watching Bea Lillie and Robert Emhardt among others. My favorite was Riverside Park in Agawam MA. On June 9, 1991, death stalked the grounds of Kings Island amusement park. The centerpiece of the complex a metal track on which riders raced their horses against each other, based on the old English horse race through the countryside, usually with a distant church steeple as the finish line was only part of the show. A perfect ending to another day in paradise at the shore! He proposed twin 18-story towers, each double the height of the world-famous roller coasters first hill. Miraculously, Paragon opened on time for the 1978 season, but not before family matters would complicate the family business. Newton High Schools Senior Prom was held there until, I think, the very early 60s..a special ending to your school years. A park worker's fatal joyride Raymond Boyd/Getty Images It would be two years before Stone and Golden would be able to assume full control of the park, canceling the lease that had been signed in 1919 and making improvements to the fire-ravaged amusement center. Feeling nostalgic. 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. She convinced me to ride the corkscrew roller coaster and that was the beginning of my love of roller coasters. I loved the wooden roller coaster and the fun house with the mirrors as well as the riding fun house sitting in the red cars! There was a beautiful picnic area and was home to to the Mountain Park Playhouse for avid theater goers. I see lots of amusement parks in RI in this article, but I dont remember driving , but maybe we did go to the one mentioned in Warwick. I grew up there I really do miss it. 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. When Rose Stone died in 1969, the park lost one of its most familiar figures and its last link to the days when Dodge was still active in the parks operations. I remember going on it every summer as a child.such great memories!!! Your story brought back many memories. New England offers plenty of memorable amusement park experiences, from Six Flags New England and Canobie Lake Park to Story Land and Lake Compounce. Lots of fun and memories were made from my time spent at Whalom. My favorite ride was the music express but not too soon after eating. 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. Its assets were sold off in 1979, with the land being cleared for a housing development. I showed off my roller skating expertise to my junior high classmates back in the Share. Whalom Park was a wonderful place for so many in the 60s. The Philadelphia Toboggan carousel was rescued and now operates at Battleship Cove in Fall River. good memories. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This setting should only be used on your home or work computer. In fact, a penny would get you a lot in those days, especially in the penny arcade. NORUMBEGA AND TOTEM POLE BALLROOM, AUBURNDALE, MA. It was one of the first landmarks you would spot when driving into Hull on George Washington Boulevard: The Giant Roller Coaster of Paragon Park. Thanks for reviving a special memory! Over the winter, Stone and Golden began working on how they would secure the continuation of Paragon. Who makes these lists? but still good memories. The Palm Garden restaurant, function facility, and performance hall at the base of the hill drew guests of the surrounding hotels and larger parties of conventioneers, corporate dinners, and class reunions. My first job was parking cars in the lot across the street. You forgot Pleasure Island. It was small, but close to home, so we got there often! Golden. The carousel was always a favorite ride no matter how young or old I was. Thank you for the wonderful memories. 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. Benson opened his property to the public in 1924, and from there he added attractions such as rides, games, and concessions. Schuck said the normal force of the ride caused the tear in . But they would find that recovering from a flood was entirely different. Ill never forget Lincoln Park Great Great Memories. Skeeball and pinball machines were favorite games at Paragon Park's penny arcade. i lived in hull for 7 yrs between 1971 and 1978 best years of my life were spent there at paragon park and was sorry when the big developers came in and tore it down what a shame. At the time, the park was called Wild World; hence its new name. I still visit Nantasket when I can, thumbing my nose at the condos and visiting the carousel (PTC #85) that they saved and moved down the street. The reason for the hoopla appears to be "Paragon Park: The Musical," co-written by Zoe Bradford and Michael Hammond with music and lyrics by Adam Brooks. After all, when did Paragon Park first open? Back before we moved to Connecticut in the. All Rights Reserved. Bemsons was my other favorite with animals and rides. If anyone has a picture of this ride please let me know. Many in Hull remained unconvinced. I remember Savin Rock very well. Thoroughly rebuilt after the hurricanes of 1938 and 1954, what was by then called Rocky Point Amusement Park reached its zenith in the late 1950s and 1960s. Also, we often went to Jolly Chollys in North Attleboro as well. In addition to a massive saltwater swimming pool and a Ferris wheel with an ocean view, popular rides included the Corkscrew Loop Roller Coaster, the 13-story Freefall, the Log Flume, and the Castle of Terror. We would drive to Hull from our house in Boston. During the 1930s, part of the Giant Coaster was rebuilt and a brightly colored Art Deco main entrance was erected in 1937. Founded in 1886 in the Riverside neighborhood of East Providence, Crescent Park thrived for nearly a century. We would make sure to hit every ride and try our luck at the various games of chance as well. Then in myn40s met a man. The $6 million roller coaster replaced the Inverter, a ride that was discontinued in 2017 off the main boulevard. Long time ago. What a surprise to have Colossus live at our Zoo here, for many years. If youre on Facebook you might enjoy this page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paragon-Park-Memories/103289636409972?sk=wall, Or its sister website: http://www.paragonparkmemories.com/. Photo: Rich Koppelman. A wood coaster was just what the park needed for its 10th anniversary, and Predator delivered. The midway featured games of skill and chance and performances by Hugo Zacchini, aka the Human Projectile. So many wonderful memories. At about this time, a movement within the town of Hull to legalize casino gambling complicated Paragons status within the town vision for the future. The Massachusetts real estate market blossomed in the mid-1980s, and the factors that in the past had limited Paragons ability to expand now gave it extra value it was sandwiched between two bodies of water and the views that came with them. Doesnt anyone remember two of the most popular parks in CT Savin Rock in New Haven, CT and Pleasure Beach in Bridgeport, Ct that was a lot smaller than the Rock but had one of the best ballrooms in the country with constant top named performing bands in attendance. 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. We would start pressuring Mom and Dad to take us to Rocky Point as soon as the last of the snow melted. A. Schiff & amp ; Associates steel Wild mouse roller coaster Death: Five amusement this., closing in 1984 cyndinow living in South Jersey but always a blast a surprise to Colossus. 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