|
 
The Racing Whippet, the Midway, The Dips and
the lake were some of the feature attractions at West View Park.
<Trolley Parks> <The First Picnic> <West View Park> <Kennywood Park>
Thrills, Chills and Good Times
Every June, at the end of the school
year, the Brookline community holds it's annual community picnic at a local
amusement park. The tradition dates back to the early 1900s. The picnic is
sponsored by the Brookline Chamber of Commerce. In the early days it was
hosted by the Brookline Board of Trade and the Brookline Business Men's
Association.
The first picnic was held at Kennywood
Park in West Mifflin. The following year, the venue was moved to West View
Park in Bellvue. The picnic remained at West View until 1977, when the aging
park closed. From 1978 to the present, the festivities have returned to
Kennywood Park, the Roller Coaster Capital of the World.
Although the Coaster Capital title
is in no way meant to signify that Kennywood can compare to mega-parks
like Six Flags, but as local amusement venues go, the historic trolley
park ranks as one of the finest in the land. Now, each June, the good
citizens of Brookline descend upon Kennywood Park for a day of thrills,
chills and good times with friends and neighbors.
For many years, complimentary strips
of tickets were handed out to all of the local students near the end of the
school year. It was a moment eagerly anticipated. Additional ticket strips
would be available at boulevard stores or at the park itself. Every ride
cost a certain number of tickets, and you could save the leftovers for the
next year. In simpler times, picnic day was more of a ritual event, and it
seemed as if the entire community was present for the big day.
Trolley Parks
Kennywood Park (1898-present) and West View Park (1906-1977) were
but two of several "trolley parks" established on or near the Pittsburgh
Railways trolley lines. From the late 19th century through the mid 1950s,
there were almost two dozen such parks in the Pittsburgh area,
including Luna Park (1905-1909) in Oakland. They became very popular places
for companies and communities to hold picnics due to the easy access via
the rail service.
Today, only Kennywood Park has survived.
Designated a national historic landmark in 1987, Kennywood began as a picnic
grove leased by the Monongahela Street Railway Company. Sold to private interests
and chartered in 1906, the park has weathered the passing of time and kept
pace with the advancements in the amusement industry. Kennywood's historic
coasters are highly rated among roller coaster enthusiasts.
Although not considered a traditional
trolley park, White Swan Park (1955-1989), located near the Greater Pittsburgh Airport
was another popular location for family and school outings. Easily accessible
along the newly constructed Parkway West, White Swan featured the Mad Mouse
and a giant slide.
Tribune-Review
article:
"Old-Fashioned Amusement Parks Once Beckoned,
Have Nearly Vanished"
 
The grand entrance to Luna Park in Oakland
and the popular Shoot-The-Chute splash ride.
The Lost Kennywood section of Kennywood Park is modeled after Luna Park
and includes
the Pittsburg Plunge, an attraction reminiscent of the Shoot-The-Chute
splash ride.
Other Western Pennsylvania parks
that Brookline families often visit, with roots in the 19th century,
are Idlewild Park (1878-present) and Conneaut Lake Park (1892-present). Idlewild, located near Ligonier, is the oldest
amusement park in Pennsylvania. It has been rated the second-best children's park
in the world. Conneaut Lake, located 96 miles north in Crawford County, is a
popular vacation resort. The park features the recently renovated Blue Streak, the sixth oldest wooden coaster
in the country, built in 1938.
Today, the three surviving parks give
visitors a unique blend of both past and present. Kennywood and Idlewild are owned
by Kennywood Entertainment, which until December 2007 was a closely held family
business owned by the Henninger and McSwigan families. Kennywood Entertainment
is now operated by Palace Entertainment, a subsidiary of Parques Reunidos, an
international amusement park company based in Madrid, Spain. Conneaut Lake
Park is owned by the Trustees of Conneaut Lake Park, Inc.
The First Brookline Community Picnic
One old-timer recalled the birth of
the School Picnic.
The community picnic has remained
a feature in Brookline to this day, but it seems to have lost a little of
the luster of the old days, when picnic day was generally the only day of
the year that families would make the trip to the amusement park.
In the old days, most people didn't
have their own cars, or if they did the husbands used them to go to work.
Families would meet on picnic day at one of the designated stops and board
the streetcars for the long trip to the park.
One of the big stops was Creedmore.
There would be hundreds of folks gathered there, all dressed up in summer
clothes and carrying big baskets of picnic lunches.
"The first picnic Brookline ever had
was at Kennywood Park. The only trouble with that was that it was so late
for the kids getting home on the specials. By the evening, almost all the
kids were tired, but no one was crying, because a young fellow named Joe
Butch got up in the front of the street car and sang song after song. After
that first attempt, the picnics were all held at West View Park."
West View Park, which opened
on May 23, 1906, was located on US Rt 19 and accessible, right to the park
entrance, via the 19-Bellvue trolley in about half the time. The price
of admission was a nickel. The choice was made to move the Brookline picnic
to West View, beginning a long and memorable tradition.
Sixty Years at West View Park
Year after year, for over six decades,
Brookliners flocked to West View for Picnic Day. Kids waited with baited
breath for their parents to get ready, and the lucky few rushed off to the
nearest trolley stop to make an early trip with their friends.
 
The Midway at West View Park was a
popular meeting place for family and friends.
During the Golden Years of West View
Park, the venue was well known for its thrilling rides, haunted houses, dance
halls, tree-lined Midway and Kiddieland. The park had three roller coasters,
The Dips and the Racing Whippet for those over the line, and the Little Dipper
located up on the hill in Kiddieland.
Constructed in 1910, the Dips were the first
roller coaster
in Pennsylvania with dips and drops of over 50 feet.
Other rides scattered throughout
the park were The Tumble Bug, The Cuddle-Up, Ride-N-Laff, The Mirror Maze,
The Whip, The Ferris Wheel, Scoota Boot Rides, Row-Boat Rides, Tilt-a-Whirl,
Bumper Cars, Loop-O-Plane, Chair-O-Plane, Flying Scooters, Round-up, Alpine
Sky Ride, the Haunted House, the Swings, the Antique Car Ride, the
Merry-Go-Round, and the Railroad Ride.
 
The Loop-O-Plane and the
Tilt-A-Whirl.
There were also the games on the
Midway and in the Penny Arcade Pavilion. They included the Milk Bottle Game,
Huck La Buck, Penny Pitch and Dart Balloons. Other favorites were the Shooting
Gallery and fishing. And, who can forget Davey Jones Locker and the Pirates
Cave?
 
The West View Park Ferris Wheel and
Danceland.
Dancing and roller skating in the
West View ballroom were also very popular. Neon lighting and air conditioning
were added in 1948, converting the dance pavilion into Danceland. Vaughn Monroe,
Tex Beneke, Les Brown, Guy Lombardo, Harry James and the Dorseys appeared for
one night stands before rock and roll and "Over-19" record dances appeared in
the 1960s. The popular Alpine Sky Ride was added in 1965 and operated as a
concession by its builder, John T. Gibbs.
The Racing Whippet
Trolley service was discontinued in 1965
and Danceland was completely destroyed by fire in 1973. After the tragedy, the
decline of this once proud family park was swift. At the end of the 1977 season
West View Park closed permanently.
My recollections go back to the late 1960s
when I was nearing ten. I don't remember much about Kiddieland but do recall
the Little Dipper and the kiddie cars that went in circles. As I got older my
days were spent along the Midway with my friends. Riding the Dips was always my
favorite, followed by the Racing Whippet. We'd ride them over and over. On the Alpine
Sky Ride we could glide along above the Midway, hollering down to those we knew, or
just admiring the view. The Bumper Cars and Davey Jones Locker were also a lot of
fun. At night a ride on the Ferris Wheel was an opportunity to marvel at the beauty
of the park with the lights on. Tradition dictated that we all got ice cream and then
waited in line for a final ride on the Antique Cars. Those were fun times.
The Antique Cars
West View Park may now be a relegated
to the status of shopping center, but for generations of Brookliners, it was a
magical place full of fond memories. The legendary park may be gone but it will
never be forgotten by those fortunate enough to have spent by-gone summer days
wandering the Midway.
Wikipedia: West View Park.
Kennywood Park - Home of the Thunderbolt
It was the summer of 1978 and Pittsburgh
was on the verge of being named the "City of Champions." Those of us who lived
in Brookline were on the verge of our first trip to another place with a
nickname. That year it was announced that the school picnic would be held at
the "Roller Coaster Capital of the World." For many, this would be their first
trip to Kennywood Park, and a few wondered if it would be equal to, greater
than, or less than West View.
 
Busses were chartered and the locals
headed to the designated departure areas. Somehow, the thought of something
new put a buzz in the air, and those who had experienced Kennywood before
reassured everyone that this would be worth the trip. The skeptics soon found
out what they had been missing. Kennywood turned out to be better and more
exciting than West View, and a new chapter in the picnic tradition was
born.
Kennywood Park is the home of the
Thunderbolt (formerly the Pippen), the Jack Rabbit and the Racer. As
technology moved into the age of the steel coasters, Kennywood added
the Laser Loop, which ran from 1980 to 1990. The Loop was dismantled in
favor of the lightning fast Steel Phantom, complete with loops and a
top speed approaching 90 MPH. Renovation in 2001 tranformed the Steel
Phantom into the Phantom's Revenge, a smoother but no less speedy
coaster. The Skyrocket, built in 2010, launches riders skyward and into
a series of maximum-G pullouts. There is also the stomach churning
Exterminator and the Lil' Phantom in Kiddieland.
 
 
Noah's Ark, The Carousel, The
Log Jammer and The Pirate Ship
This former trolley park is steeped
with tradition, and boasts some rides that are nearing 100 years of age.
The Whip and the Carousel, Noah's Ark and the Old Mill (now Garfield's Revenge)
are historic landmarks, and age has done nothing to dampen their charms.
The Jack Rabbit was built in 1920, the Pippen in 1924, and the Racer in
1927. The Pippen was altered to produce the Thunderbolt in 1960, retaining
much of the original track. The Auto Race, an amazing wooden race car track
built in 1930, is the only one of its kind still in existence.
 
 
The Enterprise, The Old Mill,
The Round-Up and The Original Racer.
The passage of time and the need
for space to build newer and grander attractions has relegated some of
Kennywood's old rides the scrapyard or into storage. Gone are classic
favorites like The Old Mill, The Enterprise, The Round-Up, The Gold Rush
and The Turnpike.
On its 90th anniversary, Kennywood
opened a new section called Lost Kennywood, dedicated to the rebirth of some
of Kennywood's classic rides, like the Whip and the Bavarian Swings. The
themed area is modeled after the long-lost Luna Park in Oakland. The Pittsburg
Plunge is similar to the popular Shoot-The-Chute splash ride. At night, colorful
lighting illuminates the large reflecting pool and is a wonderful place to relax
and rest after a long day. Back in the bygone days, a large swimming pool stood
in the area now occupied by Lost Kennywood.
The park management team does a good
job of keeping up with the changes in the amusement industry and each season
they seem to open up a new and exciting attraction. Rides like the Kennywood
Arrow, the Sky Coaster, the Pit Fall, the Volcano, the Exterminator, the Bayern
Curve and Garfield's Revenge were added. The Sky Rocket coaster is the latest
in the list of new thrill rides.
The Kennywood Railroad, built in 1945, uses
locomotives from the 1939 World's Fair.
A Ski Lift called Kenny's Parkway now
transports visitors to and from the upper parking lots. A leisurely round-trip
ride gives riders a birds-eye view of the park as it slowly descends into the
park. The additions are perfect compliments to age-old favorites like the
Kangaroo Hop, the Paddle Boats, the Raging Rapids, the Log Jammer, the Turtle,
the Bumper Cars, the Kennywood Railroad, and, of course, the classic Roller
Coasters!
 
The Racer and The Jack Rabbit are
classic roller coasters.
There are also plenty of games like
the Cat Rack, and lots of places to get snacks, ice cream and hot meals.
The Pavilion, the Pagoda, and the Potato Patch offer tasty delights, while
live performers liven things up at the Kennywood stage.
Each year, Brookliners prepare for
that special June day. The kids are up early with anticipation of the
thrills to come. The tickets are no longer free, but reasonably priced
discount tickets are available at most Boulevard stores.
  
The Racer, The Pit Fall and the
park's official mascot, Kenny Kangaroo.
The Brookline Community Picnic has
always been one of the most anticipated days of the calendar year, and for
good reason. It is one of those special days when Brookliners come together
as one big family at one of the nicest family amusement parks in the country,
Kennywood Park. As traditions go, "Kennywood Day" ranks as one of
Brookline's finest.
The sleek and speedy Phantom's Revenge
can hit speeds of over 90mph.
Learn more about
present-day Kennywood Park at www.kennywood.com.
Wikipedia: Kennywood Park.
|
