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park in neutral
Sep. 29th, 2007 12:57 pm.
After we were here in western Massachusetts a little while, I started looking into the local scene. While intermittently paying some attention to the Palisades Park story I've been poking halfheartedly at for years, I learned that the rocket ride from there had been sold to Whalom Park in Massachusetts. Whoa! I could still see the rocket ride? I looked up Whalom Park, and -- long story short -- it's been out of business for years, and local attempts to revive it were stymied by a mysterious fire. It still shows up as a coaster and some well-kept rooftops on Google maps, but I understand those are out of date, and it's on its way to being condos.
Then there was Mountain Park, Holyoke's amusement venue on Mount Tom for about a century, until some time in the 80s (this info is all available online, but I'm just sketching it in without pausing to look up a lot). Parts of it survive -- the merry-go-round is active and well-maintained in Holyoke's Heritage Park, downtown near the police station, and the sounds of the pirate ride have been saved, and I linked to them in this journal not too long ago.
I figured out how to get to the old Mountain Park locale, and one day I took a field trip up there on my own initiative.
( photos and more text )
After we were here in western Massachusetts a little while, I started looking into the local scene. While intermittently paying some attention to the Palisades Park story I've been poking halfheartedly at for years, I learned that the rocket ride from there had been sold to Whalom Park in Massachusetts. Whoa! I could still see the rocket ride? I looked up Whalom Park, and -- long story short -- it's been out of business for years, and local attempts to revive it were stymied by a mysterious fire. It still shows up as a coaster and some well-kept rooftops on Google maps, but I understand those are out of date, and it's on its way to being condos.
Then there was Mountain Park, Holyoke's amusement venue on Mount Tom for about a century, until some time in the 80s (this info is all available online, but I'm just sketching it in without pausing to look up a lot). Parts of it survive -- the merry-go-round is active and well-maintained in Holyoke's Heritage Park, downtown near the police station, and the sounds of the pirate ride have been saved, and I linked to them in this journal not too long ago.
I figured out how to get to the old Mountain Park locale, and one day I took a field trip up there on my own initiative.
( photos and more text )
