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The Tumble Bug: The Midway’s Classic Flat Ride

**Update: Sadly, I have to update this post to say that in the summer of 2021 Conneaut Lake Park lost their Tumble Bug when its mechanism was scrapped. The cars, however, were saved and apparently sold to a collector who has aspirations to rebuild the ride. I would love to again update this post to …

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Cascade Park’s Legacy of the Roller Coaster in the Woods

*Note: Special thanks to Fedele Musso, who took most of the vintage photos from the 1980s when the park closed. I was able to come across Mr. Musso’s photos on Ebay and purchased them for use in my own collection. While they are watermarked with the blog’s name so they cannot be stolen, they were …

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Abandoned Storyland Park in Schellsburg Pennsylvania

Note: Storyland is located on posted, private property and trespassing is strictly forbidden. Enjoy the trumpeter and statues that can be seen from the road from exactly that — the road. I’ve visited a lot of amusement parks over the years. While I love the historic value and unique rides that can be found at …

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The Fall of Aliquippa Park and Rise of the Aliquippa Works

It might surprise you that in the late 1800s and early 1900s, amusement parks were much more common in Western Pennsylvania than they are today. In fact, dozens of parks were operating all around the Pittsburgh area including Woodlawn’s Aliquippa Park located in Beaver County. I’ve written in the past about how I was shocked …

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Ivyside Park: How An Amusement Park Became a University

I’ll let you in on a little secret. When I was in college I was one of the students who would give campus tours to prospective students. One of my favorite stories to tell the families was the story of how a one-time amusement park, Ivyside Park, eventually became the branch campus of Penn State …

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Aspinwall’s Short-Lived Ross Grove Park

While I was working on my new book, Lost Amusement Parks of Western Pennsylvania I ran across a curious little park located in the Aspinwall section of Pittsburgh. The problem is that some of these parks were so small and lasted for such a short amount of time that they have been almost completely lost …

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Finding Fairyland Forest at Conneaut Lake Park

There is something about storybook parks that has always fascinated me. Maybe it has something to do with Storyland in Schellsburg being my first love along the Lincoln Highway, or maybe because they have all but disappeared. Regardless, when I found out about Conneaut Lake Park’s Fairyland Forest I was intrigued.  I saw some old …

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From Killarney Park to Mill Run’s Camp Christian

If you know me and you know my blog you know that I love discovering the hidden history of locations that we know and love. Especially if those histories are hiding right under our noses. This is the case of Killarney Park which eventually became Camp Christian, a Christian summer camp.  I’ve been familiar with …

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Rainbow Gardens: A Look Back at the White Oak Former Amusement Park

I’ve previously written about White Swan Park in Coraopolis, but for those on the eastern side of the city, Rainbow Gardens was the place to go. The Start of White Oak’s Rainbow Gardens Located in White Oak at the intersection of Lincoln Way and Route 48, Rainbow Gardens got its start as a roller rink …

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The Final Ride: Nine Closed Pittsburgh-Area Amusement Parks

There is something about amusement parks that bring out a sense of nostalgia. This is especially true for amusement parks that are no longer around. If you can believe it, at one time there were more than two dozen Pittsburgh amusement parks, many of them being trolley parks.  Trolley parks were an attempt by the …

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