New England offers plenty of memorable amusement park experiences, from Six Flags New England and Canobie Lake Park to Story Land and Lake Compounce. News of the developers interest appeared in December 1984 in a place that was unlikely to attract attention a column in the pages of The New England Real Estate Journal, a trade publication generally seen only by those in the real estate industry. Somewhere I have an old B&W photo of tiny little me looking up at an elephant in awe. This is an unused Paragon Park t-shirt from the long defunct amusement park that was located in Nantasket Beach, Hull Ma. \r\rDo you remember hearing the clicking of the cars as they climb to the top? Roller skating, rides, swimming even a boat that gave rides around the lake. Im now in what you would call the elderly stage of my life (Im almost 77). New owners took over after Bensons death in 1943, and although the park still drew crowds, it had up-and-down years for the next few decades. During peak season, street parking (for free) fills up by 7 a.m. A couple of $20 grassy lots are available away from the beach but close, such as across the street. When you were at the very top, you would head downhill so fast that it looked like you were going to end up in the water. 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. Fire struck again in the fall, destroying the Chateau ballroom at the rear of the park. However, the showpiece 1895 carousel complete with its original band organ and hand-carved figures including 61 horses, a camel, and four chariots was designated as a National Historic Landmark and fully restored, and today it continues to delight kids of all ages. Also, not far from the park was the original (and still is) Frank Pepes pizzeria. Does ANYONE remember the giant blue slide that was down next to the clock where they moved the Carousel too? Peter thats so cool that your grandad had the restaurant under the clock! Larry and Phyllis Stone found little common ground in their day-to-day management. but still good memories. If my memory serves me, there was a airplane ride that soared over the lake ! Michael Jaramillo, 11, died Sunday after he and three others were injured on the Raging River water ride at . Part of its track bed would later be incorporated into the footprint of the amusement park. Fires twice damaged the coaster, in 1932 and 1962. All of that changed in 1984. A roller coaster in Japan known for its "super death" acceleration to triple-digit speeds was reportedly shut down after riders suffered serious bone fractures. I loved Rocky Point. . There are so many memories made at these parks no one will ever forget. The town of Hudson subsequently acquired the property and turned it into a recreation park. My Park in Holyoke, MA. Share. The Nantasket Beach Steamboat Company struggled for several years before declaring bankruptcy; the Old Colony Railroad suspended train service in 1932, substituting buses to and from the Nantasket Junction depot in Hingham. So many wonderful memories. Loved the Merry Go Round. mod i remeber the blizzard of 78 that was freezing and 27ft snow drift i know i shoveled them to make money as a kid froze my butt of lmao, and delivering newspapers in the winter took its toll on me as well , i agree i foze my arse off. We used to ice skate at the pond by the fire station and enjoyed swimming at the jetty. My sons favorite memory is throwing up on the flying swings. Almost all of the rides were dismantled and auctioned off. I remember Whalom Park and Bensons Animal Farm fondly. Among the amusement rides in operation during Paragon Park's history was a traditional-style Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel (PTC #85) built in 1928 with hand-crafted horses, a bumper cars ride known as "Auto Scooters", a Ferris wheel, a horror-themed dark ride called "Kooky Kastle", and a wooden roller coaster known as The Giant Coaster.[1]. I am 88 and many classmates are gone. The coaster was sold at auction for $26,000 to Wild World, an amusement park in Prince George's County, Maryland, now known as Six Flags America. 1 g per cup Kelloggs Corn, Why do blackberries have such a bitter flavor? Find it all and much more with the interactive Roller Coaster Database. Married and lived there myself. Great memories! Master carousel artisan Charles I.D. Think classic American road trip and the name Route 66 will undoubtedly come up sooner rather than later, and for good reason. Other favorites: the roller coaster that sat right on the edge of the water. A roller coaster ride took a fatal turn at an amusement park in Mexico City this weekend. Lost in that fire was much of the holiday inventory of Toy-A-Rama, a seasonal store in Paragons former roller skating rink that competed against the Arcade Bazaar. The first, termed a roaring inferno by the Hull fire chief, ripped through the Arcade Bazaar and Funland, a toy store and group of attractions just up Nantasket Avenue from Paragon. Kahn already knew that the towns zoning rules for the park property lacked a key ingredient: a height limit. 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. )Danny Sordello. On March 28, 1923, flames ripped through Paragon, causing $500,000 in damage and destroying much of the southern end of the park and the cottages along the way toward Atlantic Hill. 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. My grandparents lived in Nantasket so I had the pleasure of going to Paragon Park many times during the summer months. They flew around the 2,456-foot circuit and the coaster utilized two lift hills, each almost 100-feet high. I also remember the racing cars on whalom lake, my Aunt Beverly used to race and was the only woman at the time racing (1960s) So fun so many awesome memories! Condominiums already were under way on Atlantic Hill and Telegraph Hill, as well as at Spinnaker Island, but in the months following the Paragon announcement, new plans were floated Nantascot Place, River Crossing, and the former Showboat Mayflower property on George Washington Boulevard, Ocean Place, SeaWatch, and Murray Plaza along the beach, the Hall Estate, Damon Place, and the former Worrick Mansion (which would burn to the ground in 1986) on Atlantic Hill, Milford Street, Marina Beach, and One A Street at Waveland, Mariners Landing, Sunset Arms, and the Boathouse at Allerton. Savannas, thickets, and forest were the three, Covalent Bonds vs. Ionic Bonds Covalent Bonds vs. Ionic Bonds Ionic Bonds Liquid or gaseous Solid Polarity: Low High So, are all ionic compounds solid, Fiber content in the cereals listed below is low: 1 gram per cup of Cream of Wheat and Malt-O-Meal. So many times I think of the times spent there and tell my children and grandchildren about this magical place!! The Friends operate the carousel next door to the former railroad station, and in 2013 opened a small museum of Paragon memorabilia. The Stones took control of the main Paragon property, as well as its rear parking lots and warehouse, while Golden retained the section of former railroad bed that would later house the Turnpike Cars ride and the Magic Mine Train. When it closed a man I knew bought the huge statue of the steer they had and someone else got the elephant. Elvis came there back in the 50s. Great memories ???? I miss them both! I thought the title of the article said New England Amusement Parks. I circled the site, which seemed so big when I was a kid, and realized how small it was, surrounded by chain link fencing now. I know the Congo Cruise was called the Red Mill at one point but I think that was in my mothers generation, I always remember it as the Congo Cruise. Still saw remnants of the park in the area. sadly lasted only about 10 years. We lived in Rockland when I was very young and could see that often. We enjoyed quite a few evening visits in the 80s. Somehow, a roller coaster in Japan known for accelerating more quickly than any other in the world and operating at what's dubbed "super death" speed has started to cause injuries. We did just one stop at Bensons when I was a child and didnt like it. 20 Best Things to Do in New England in March, 10 Best Things to Do in The Spring in New England, 40 Cozy Fireside Experiences in New England, Yankee Magazines Ultimate Guide to Autumn in New England, Yankee Magazines Ultimate New England Winter Guide, Yankee Magazines Ultimate New England Summer Guide, 63 Reasons Why We Love the Cape & Islands, For $14 Million, You Could Own Provincetowns Iconic Lobster Pot Restaurant. Mountain Park in Holyoke MA. "They preserved the spirit of the ride," amusement park aficionado B. Derek Shaw told USA Today. For Christopher Haraden, who grew up just beyond a curve in the coaster's tracks on Rockview Road, the ride and its riders were the sounds of summer. But another group of preservationists began to think about how memories of the park could be saved, and fixed its gaze upon the antique carousel. Beach was great! Crews worked around the clock to rebuild the Giant so that it could open that season. Rick- that vaguely rings a bell with me but I dont have any photos. It features a 450 spiral helix and a series of bunny hills that produce a significant amount of air time. It closed in 1984. We could ride the rides all day. I remember thinking that day that I would come back and photograph the place right, and get some good shots as there were rumors that the park would close after the next season. 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. Whalom Park was my go to place, the rides, the roller skating rink and the summer stock Playhouse. But they would find that recovering from a flood was entirely different. The remains of the "Turnpike Cars" roadway ride are hidden in overgrowth beside the parking lot, although are very much visible via Google Maps. Ive nothing but great memories of how it used to be around here (sounds of the park were like music to my ears. My parents met at the roller rink at Canobie when young. Subsequent owners added various entertainments, including a baseball field on which Babe Ruth once played. Aw, I remember going to Bensons Wild Animal Farm! David Stone lost two houses on Rockland House Road in the fire; others involved in area concessions lost their homes and businesses as well. By 1914 Mr. Schmeck found himself working in the amusement industry. Oh my those clam cakes. My family always preferred Mountain Park then Riverside. We lived in NH but Fitchburg was where we did a lot of our shopping so in the summer we would stop by Whalom some times. Paragon Park on Nantasket Beach in Hull, MA has to be the most beloved old amusement park in New England and one of the top 10 in the country. 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. Today, the only surviving remnant of Paragon Park on the boardwalk is the historic Paragon Park Carousel, which was moved from its original site. The first major fire at Paragon struck in 1911, leveling all of the buildings from the entrance south along Nantasket Avenue to what would become Park Avenue. John- what great evocative memories you have of Hull! In late 1984, they accepted Kahns offer. NORUMBEGA AND TOTEM POLE BALLROOM, AUBURNDALE, MA. 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. I showed off my roller skating expertise to my junior high classmates back in the Most definitely Riverside in Agawam. It was dismantled and completely rebuilt down in Maryland. It is the oldest coaster in any Six Flags park. I havent thought about that place in years! 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. Waves are just as likely to come from local windswells as distant groundswells, and the best swell direction comes from the northeast. Follow The History of Paragon Park on WordPress.com, Paragons Administration Building an original from 1905. Not sure what the weather is like where you are, but weve got snow-a-fallin here outside of Retro Roadmap HQ, so instead of going out on the roads, Im looking backward down memory lane via my own photo collection.I figured Id go back as far as I could in my own collection and start with Paragon Park, circa 1984. The financial difficulties of the Depression weighed heavily on Paragons operations. We were bused to school at Hingham. The Giant Coaster, built in 1917 and removed from the park in 1985, now operates as The Wild One at Six Flags America. The Giant Coaster sat silent, and the undulating tracks looked like the skeleton of a dinosaur carcass, being slowly dismantled and eaten away at by the vultures that couldnt wait to turn the site into a condominium complex. United States--Massachusetts--Nantasket Beach. 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. Im so glad I caught the Art Deco lines and colors, as well as a bit of the ski lift ride as well! . Also had my first date with my future husband at Riverside!! Still learning how to compose a photograph, I think back and realize that my penchant for photos without people in them was in force then, and I went as far as to scribble out the lady who was in the foreground of this photo of the Snack-a-rama. 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. Maybe I might see them again in Heaven. It was. A wood coaster was just what the park needed for its 10th anniversary, and Predator delivered. Contents 1 History 1.1 Sale and move Dodge believed in his vision and bought out his partners in 1907. Very scary, but such an adventure. In talking to Alexander Graham Bell, 13 miles away in Providence, Hayes opened with the not-so-memorable quote, Please speak a little more slowly.). Take a ride down Memory. They were all fun. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. I also remember Bensons fondly . Keansburg, N.J., March 14, 2013 -- Workers at Keansburg Amusements Park dismantle a roller coaster rendered useless by Hurricane Sandy. A scenic railway was added in 1900. It is 1984! A. Schiff & Associates steel wild mouse roller coaster located at Paragon Park in Hull, Massachusetts, USA. Here on the SouthCoast, many have fond memories of riding the Comet roller coaster at Lincoln Park in Dartmouth. Statistics are an important factor to take into consideration when you begin riding an ample amount of roller coasters. In addition to the amusement parks there were shows (I remember seeing Loretta Lynn and others) and they also had auto races on Saturday nights. about three woopdie doos If I remember it correctly and about 10 lanes wide. And in the early 1960s, there was Pleasure Island in Wakefield, MA, with a pirate theme. No Paragon Park??? In 1987, Bensons Wild Animal Farm was renamed New Englands Playworld Amusement Park and Zoo, but the rebranding didnt help: It closed for good that same year. I have always been a fraidy cat about going on roller coasters, and I remember my mother telling me that when she was a kid she made my grandfather take her on the giant coaster, and it was the first and last coaster ride shes been on! There were dances, performances, and exhibitions at the Alhambra Ballroom; the dinner hall on a bluff overlooking the bay was famed for its Rhode Island shore dinners (steamed clams, clam chowder, lobster, clam cakes, fish, corn on the cob, and watermelon). We couldnt go often, back then it was a long drive in the older cars. If we had saved enough pennies, we would enjoy the shore dinner before we headed home. I remember that was my choice Pleasure Island or a birthday party, and I always picked going to that park! I can almost picture it. I also remember the Revere Beach Amusements alomng Revere Beach in the 50s and 60s. Download Go. Dogs are banned from the state-owned Nantasket Beach Reservation from May 1 to September, and a local law change would have no effect on the states rules. Have you seen the website http://www.paragonparkmemories.com/Index.html ? Mountain Park in Holyoke MA. It was 1971. It was a historic park. 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