Download or read book LeSourdsville Lake and Americana Amusement Park written by Scott E. Fowler and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2022-06-13 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For over 75 years, generations of children and their parents called LeSourdsville Lake and Americana Amusement Park their home for the summer. Despite the popularity of Kings Island, one of the largest amusement parks in the country located only about 20 miles away, LeSourdsville Lake thrived because of its family atmosphere, the tradition of receiving a great value for the money, and the attention paid to detail by the management. The park featured the legendary Screechin' Eagle roller coaster, rated one of the top 25 wooden coasters in the country by coaster enthusiasts. It was also home to the country's wettest log flume, where riders were guaranteed to get soaked. Although the park closed permanently in 2002, the area is being transformed into one of the largest recreational parks in the area and will feature an amphitheater, children's play area, walking trails, and a portion of the nation's largest paved trail network. Scott E. Fowler is a retired Ohio law enforcement officer who developed a passion for local history before his 36-year career began. He has written three previous books for Arcadia, including Images of America: LeSourdsville Lake and Images of Modern America: Fantasy Farm Amusement Park. He is a former curator of the Monroe Historical Society and a former board member for the Citizens for Historic and Preservation and Services (CHAPS) in Hamilton and the Fairfield Historical Society, all located in Ohio.
Download or read book LeSourdsville Lake Amusement Park written by Scott E. Fowler and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2011-05 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: LeSourdsville Lake, also known as Americana Amusement Park by a generation of visitors, was a popular recreational park for many decades despite being located within 15 miles of Kings Island, one of the premier theme parks in the country. Emphasis on providing quality food and personalized catering enabled the park to host hundreds of annual company picnics, high school proms, and family reunions. The park's success was maintained by featuring such classic rides as the Electric Rainbow and the Whip and the Screechin' Eagle and Serpent roller coasters, while the Stardust Gardens provided quality entertainment ranging from the best of the big bands to the greatest music and television stars of the 1960s. Families visited "the Lake" as religiously as they drove the same route to work every day.
Download or read book Fantasy Farm Amusement Park written by Scott E. Fowler and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2014-07-14 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Not many developers would build an amusement park next door to the successful LeSourdsville Lake amusement park, but Edgar Streifthau was a one-of-a-kind man in Butler County, Ohio. Streifthau, the original owner of LeSourdsville, was forced to sell his beloved park, but he still had the amusement-park bug, and in 1963 he built Fantasy Farm directly next to LeSourdsville. Fantasy Farms audience was young children, and the concept was successful for decades. The two parks coexisted for 28 years despite periodically appearing in court opposite each other. In 1982, Streifthau sold Fantasy Farm to local carnival owner William Johnson, who ran the park for another decade before finally becoming a victim of the economy. Johnson closed Fantasy Farm in 1991 and sold off all of its assets.
Download or read book Amusement Parks written by Jim Hillman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-05-10 with total page 119 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Jones's Woods, America's first amusement resort, to Coney Island during the golden age of the mid-1900s, and well beyond into the twenty-first century, the thrills of the amusement park have been a treasured part of childhood for Americans from coast to coast. Though many of the country's grand amusement treasures have now vanished, and many other parks are struggling for survival, their memory and legacy are very much alive: there will be a fascination with these American classics as long as the clatter of the old coaster cars and the thumping of the carousel band organ remains. Through thoroughly researched text and historic images, Amusement Parks author and park enthusiast Jim Hillman captures the sights, smells, and continuing vitality of a grand American tradition.
Download or read book Images of Modern America written by Scott E. Fowler and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Not many developers would build an amusement park next door to the successful LeSourdsville Lake amusement park, but Edgar Streifthau was a one-of-a-kind man in Butler County, Ohio. Streifthau, the original owner of LeSourdsville, was forced to sell his beloved park, but he still had the amusement-park bug, and in 1963 he built Fantasy Farm directly next to LeSourdsville. Fantasy Farm's audience was young children, and the concept was successful for decades. The two parks coexisted for 28 years despite periodically appearing in court opposite each other. In 1982, Streifthau sold Fantasy Farm to local carnival owner William Johnson, who ran the park for another decade before finally becoming a victim of the economy. Johnson closed Fantasy Farm in 1991 and sold off all of its assets.
Download or read book The Coterian Retreat written by Timothy S. Simer and published by Vantage Press, Inc. This book was released on 2005 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the conclusion of a sixth-grade field trip to a local amusement park... "We exited the turnstiles and climbed onto a yellow school bus that was soon crammed with sunburned classmates wearing souvenir hats and lugging piles of worthless junk. I was flat broke, and my stomach was a little queasy-and the feeling was marvelous." On entering junior high school... "Except for a blessed few, seventh-grade males were an alien race of mutant geeks. We had disproportionate bodies, awkward and gawky mannerisms, and cracking voices that were constant reminders that we were trapped in an adolescent twilight zone."
Download or read book The American Amusement Park written by Dale Samuelson and published by Motorbooks International. This book was released on 2001 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A photographic retrospective covers more than 100 years of images from the history of the American amusement park.
Download or read book Geauga Lake written by Jim Futrell and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2015-06-01 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1968, three businessmen left their jobs at Cedar Point in Sandusky to purchase Geauga Lake Amusement Park. Geauga Lake had been a summertime escape since the 1870s, but by the 1960s it had fallen on hard times. The businessmen's company, Funtime, Inc., transformed the aging facility into a modern amusement park and established a reputation as an innovative operator in one of the nation's most competitive amusement park markets. Geauga Lake became the first park with two looping roller coasters and the first to integrate a full-scale water park, Boardwalk Shores. The company broke even more new ground in 1988 when it resurrected a classic roller coaster design to construct Raging Wolf Bobs. Images of America: Geauga Lake: The Funtime Years 1969-1995 captures the park's transformation and some of the countless memories that resulted from Funtime's 26-year ownership.
Download or read book Amusement Parks written by Jim Hillman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-05-10 with total page 65 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Jones's Woods, America's first amusement resort, to Coney Island during the golden age of the mid-1900s, and well beyond into the twenty-first century, the thrills of the amusement park have been a treasured part of childhood for Americans from coast to coast. Though many of the country's grand amusement treasures have now vanished, and many other parks are struggling for survival, their memory and legacy are very much alive: there will be a fascination with these American classics as long as the clatter of the old coaster cars and the thumping of the carousel band organ remains. Through thoroughly researched text and historic images, Amusement Parks author and park enthusiast Jim Hillman captures the sights, smells, and continuing vitality of a grand American tradition.
Download or read book Conneaut Lake Park written by Michael E. Costello and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2005-06-15 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1877, a humble boat landing was constucted on Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvanias largest natural lake. Colonel Frank Mantor, a visionary, discovered and purchased the property and convinced investors from the Pittsburgh, Shenango, and Lake Erie Railroad to extend the railroad line to a newly built resort on the site. In 1892, Exposition Parka permanent fair exhibiting machinery and livestockwas founded. Amusement rides were added alongside hotels, cottages, restaurants, and other businesses. The resort grew into an amusement park and was renamed Conneaut Lake Park in 1920. Conneaut Lake Park illustrates the evolution of this lakeside resort with images of long-gone attractions such as the Hotel Elmwood, Temple of Music, Jungle Cruise, Fairyland Forest, and Wild Mouse. Recent favorites such as the Blue Streak, Tumble Bug, Ultimate Trip, and Devils Den are also included.
Download or read book Middletown Pacemakers written by Ron Roberson and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2002-06-05 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hot Rodding began in Southern California in the 1930s and had spread throughout the United States by the mid 1950s, spawning the sport of drag racing and the advent of the Detroit "muscle cars" of the '60s and '70s. Hot Rod Magazine and the National Hot Rod Association promoted the formation of responsible car clubs to combat the delinquent reputation of hot rodders, earned through illegal street races and Hollywood's portrayal in "B" movies. And thus were born the Middletown Pacemakers in 1951. The Pacemakers brought southern Ohio its first reliability runs (1952), custom auto shows (1954), and drag racing competitions-setting national records (1958, '63, '64) and winning national championships (1963, '64, '65). When the hot rodders were not busy upgrading their drive train for more horsepower or "chopping" and "channeling" for improved performance, they could often be seen on the streets of Middletown feeding expired parking meters or rescuing motorists whose cars had broken down or run out of gas. By 1966, as was the fate of so many hot rod clubs, the mass production of Detroit muscle cars ushered the Pacemakers to fold.
Download or read book Billboard written by and published by . This book was released on 1950-01-07 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In its 114th year, Billboard remains the world's premier weekly music publication and a diverse digital, events, brand, content and data licensing platform. Billboard publishes the most trusted charts and offers unrivaled reporting about the latest music, video, gaming, media, digital and mobile entertainment issues and trends.
Download or read book Abandoned Amusement Parks written by Dinah Williams and published by Bearport Publishing. This book was released on 2013-08-01 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is something both sad and creepy about an abandoned amusement park. Perhaps it’s because a place that was once packed with fun seekers has become slowly choked with weeds. Or maybe it’s because the sound of kids’ excited laughter has been replaced with the quiet creaking of rusted rides. When the only visitors are the spirits of those who died there long ago, an amusement park can be a scary place to visit. Among the 11 amusement parks in this book, children will discover a roller coaster left to rot after nearly killing its passengers, a theme park that is now home to alligators and snakes, and the ghost of a man who is still trying to take a ride on a Ferris wheel that stopped working years ago. The haunting photographs and chilling nonfiction text will keep children turning the pages to discover more spooky stories.
Download or read book Butler County written by Cheryl Bauer and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2006-09-27 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Settlement in Butler County began when Fort Hamilton was built on the Great Miami River in 1791. For the next century, water shaped the countys fortunes. Settlers built towns, commerce moved on the river, and mills and factories grew up along the Miami and Erie Canal and its hydraulic canals in Hamilton and Middletown. The devastating 1913 flood tested residents resolve and reshaped parts of the landscape. Despite losses caused by the flood, the countys important landmarks remained. The vintage postcards presented here illustrate Butler County life from the days of the fort through the 1950s. A special chapter honors Miami University, which was chartered in 1809. Miami has become a beacon of learning set among the fields and the alma mater of thousands.
Download or read book Lost Treasures of Cincinnati written by Amy E. Brownlee and published by Reedy Press LLC. This book was released on 2022-10-01 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lost Treasures of Cincinnati traverses the Queen City’s cultural and physical history, from museums to movie palaces, basketball teams to tea rooms, subways to supper clubs—from what always was to what might have been. A collection of archival photographs, artifacts, and anecdotes, Lost Treasures captures the stories and details of dearly departed local buildings, institutions, events, and attractions. Look for crosstown favorites like Cincinnati Gardens, the 50/50 Club, Tall Stacks, and Crosley Field—places and performances that brought Cincinnati together to spectate and celebrate. Explore destination shopping in downtown Cincinnati at long-shuttered department stores like Gidding-Jenny and Pogue’s. And take in a show at the RKO Albee Theater. Menus and photos recall restaurants and eateries like the Virginia Bakery, Gourmet Room, and the Chili Company. And Lost Treasures looks back to unearth long-lost settings and hidden gems like The Highland House, Mrs. Trollope’s Bazaar, Kenner Toys, and an indoor ice rink at the Netherland Plaza Hotel. These items are more than the sum of their parts: Taken together, they represent a spectrum of experience in our recent and distant past that rings true for Cincinnatians young and old.
Download or read book Ohio s Amusement Parks in Vintage Postcards written by David W. Francis and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2002 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By 1912, there were 54 amusement parks in Ohio. The parks came in all sizes, and featured such attractions as the Flying Ponies carousel, the Chute-the-Chutes water ride, and the Cyclone, Racer, and Dip-the-Dips roller coasters. Some, like Cleveland's White City, seemed to be courted by bad luck from the beginning, and folded after only a few disappointing seasons. Others, like Youngstown's Idora Park, enjoyed long lives and fostered beloved memories, but eventually closed down in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. A few, like Sandusky's Cedar Point, have grown to be considered among the greatest amusement parks in the world. But most are now forgotten.
Download or read book Middletown written by David C. Clendenin and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2011 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Middletown, Ohio, is a city of over 50,000 people that has a history stretching back over 200 years; this book will look at the last century through postcards. During much of the last 100 years, Middletown had many diverse industrial concerns, including paper, tobacco, and steel. These are all part of the city's history, but there is more. Along with industry came many excellent churches, schools, and civic involvement of its people. As the 20th century started, Middletown still had a horsecar and a canal. Changes came and continue to come to the city, and many will be seen here.
