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Philadelphia Toboggan Company

When last I focused heavily on carousels, it was October of last year, and I was telling you about the amazing Dentzel/Looff Carousel down at Seaside Heights in Florida. Well, that was a different time. It’s now March, we’re all inside, and recent updates are that the Dentzel/Looff Carousel has been disassembled for storage and refurbishment. 

This turned my mind to other carousels out there, so I went digging, and I found the subject of today’s episode: PTC #15. To explain, we must start at the beginning, and to start at the beginning, we must begin.

It starts with a guy, as always. Two guys. Henry Auchy, and his buddy, Chester Albright. In 1904, the two joined up and started a company. That’s what you did back in the day, you started a company instead of a podcast. They wanted to “build finer and better carousels and coasters”. These two guys did something smart, which was to purchase inventory from the E. Joy Morris Company.

E. Joy Morris

Now E. Joy Morris was a small carousel manufacturer right around the turn of the century, really lesser known, even in carousel circles. If you recall from the last carousel episode, there are three major styles of carousel carving: Coney Island style, Country Fair style, and Philadelphia style. It’s the latter that we’re going to talk about today, possibly unsurprising given the name.

So EJ Morris Jr. was a Philly man, born in 1860. Interesting tidbit, his father EJ Morris Sr, was US Minister to Turkey under Abraham Lincoln. With the family money, because of course there was family money, Morris was able to get in on the nascent amusement park trade. He patented a roller-coaster related invention in the late 1890s, and established his own company to build figure 8 toboggans (rollercoasters), carousels, and water chutes. Morris loved animals, loved children, and wanted to make them happy.

The famed Gustav Dentzel was Morris’ direct competition, and Morris aimed to outdo him by embellishing and adding incredible small whimsical details, perhaps also in a nod to his own playful nature. Morris also did something unique by keeping an inventory on hand. Prior to this, carousels were built on demand, but Morris’ firm built many carousels at once, perhaps as a way to keep the craftsman retained during slower months, or perhaps as a way of getting a leg up on Dentzel by being able to deliver carousels to customers faster.

Late in 1903, after building and selling well over 20 carousels and/or coasters, Morris’ business plans changed. For the sum of about $30,000, EJ Morris sold over 200 completed carousel figures to Auchy and Albright, allowing them to build four carousels outright and to jumpstart their business, recouping their investment almost immediately. 

Why’d EJ Morris sell his business? It appears to have been health problems – it’s said he was in the hospital shortly before he sold the manufacturing business, and though he lived another 20-some-odd years afterwards, it seems his health was always in decline. Though he divested himself of the manufacturing side, he did remain active in the business end of the amusement rides he already owned through about 1920.  

Philadelphia Toboggan Company

Morris then was a huge inspiration and jumping off point for the newly-formed Philadelphia Toboggan Company. As I said earlier, they quickly established themselves as a company after their inception in 1904, building four carousels in short order with their acquired E.J. Morris stock. Interestingly, this is why Morris isn’t as well known these days – his work is often mistaken for PTC work.  Neither Auchy nor Albright were carvers, unlike most other carousel companies at the time, so their house style varies quite a bit based on who was head carver at the time. 

I loved this quote from a 1904 Topeka State Journal article about Vinewood Park, one of the first PTC locations in the world. “The word carousell is probably a new-one in the west. The machine, which bears the name as its “official title,” is a revolving, circular platform about 80 feet in diameter, upon which is built a regular modern menagerie. All of the animals are fitted with saddles, and one can get a ride on anything from an elephant to a jackrabbit. The scheme is a new one, and has only been out of the factory for a few years. A number of the eastern parks have put in carousells, and they are proving very popular.”

Vinewood Park, interestingly, was one of the first Philadelphia Toboggan Company locations: carousel and rollercoaster #2 were both shipped to the same park. In fact, the first ten carousels and the first ten rollercoasters manufactured by PTC went to the same theme parks (ie, the park ordered both at once).

The carousel we’re interested in wasn’t built until 1907 – PTC #15. The PTC carousels are fairly unique in that each was numbered on their massive central poles. For historians, the numbering system did become confusing, as sometimes a new number was assigned to the same carousel after it went back to the factory for refurbishing. However, overall, it appears that the company kept excellent records based on the articles I’m reading. 

PTC #15 was built in 1907. This was PTC’s first four-row machine, as well as PTC’s first all-horse carousel (no other animals, no “menagerie” in carousel parlance). And, all the horses jumped (traditionally, the outer row of most beautiful carved horses were “standers” – stationary) – another first. Master carver Leo Zoller, head carver at PTC from 1906 to 1910, is said to have been responsible for many of the carved horses, as well as carver Daniel Muller, who often worked at Dentzel’s shop. 

PTC #15 was gorgeous, featuring large and highly animated figures with exquisitely-carved details. From the National Register of Historic Places entry, the horses on this carousel are “among the most realistically carved pieces ever done anywhere”. The carousel also featured two large, rare, well-carved lovers’ chariots, and handpainted rounding boards depicting animals frolicing in a mythical landscape. (Rounding boards, if you’re uncertain, are the painted boards decorating the tops of carousels – they hide machinery, and attract guests with both paintings and lights. Since they go “around”, the name is rounding boards.)

PTC #15 was built in 1907. (You already said that, I hear you saying.) That was one hundred and thirteen years ago. How many different places do you think this carousel has been since then? Let’s find out.

Fort Wendell / Fort George Amusement Park (New York, NY)

PTC #15 was initially delivered to Fort George Amusement Park in New York. This was located in New York City along the Harlem River, around West 190th St. This location is the northernmost tip of Manhattan, what is now Highbridge Park and George Washington Educational Campus, where George Washington fought the British during the Revolutionary War two hundred and fifty years ago. At the time of its construction, the park was of course, a trolley park, at the end of the Third Avenue Trolley Line. 

Fort George was known as Harlem’s Coney Island, and did its best to rival its Brooklyn amusement counterpart. This was a classic turn of the century amusement park resort, full of dance halls, roller rinks, fortune tellers, gambling, beer halls, restaurants, hotels, and of course, the latest in amusements: Ferris wheels, roller coasters, and carousels. It was less of an amusement park as we might think of today, and more of an amusement district, with many different owners and operators and many different smaller “parks” within the area. 

PTC #15 was actually not the first carousel at Fort George. In fact, 1905’s PTC #8 was the first carousel there, at Paradise Park within Fort George. (And though the RCDB lists the Fort George rollercoaster as “unknown”, a 2010 Carousel News and Trader article confirms that the first ten PTC carousels and coasters operated at the same parks. So PTC coaster #8 also would have operated here at Paradise Park at Fort George, a classic Figure 8 coaster similar to Leap-the-Dips, a coaster still operational today.)

Paradise Park was opened by two brothers, Joseph and Nicholas Schenck, who saw the potential in the area and wanted to develop it further with this separate, extra-admission park. They indeed made the park a huge success for the time – estimates in contemporaneous articles state 50,000 people in one evening in June 1906. The park was located on a hillside, and I saw an anecdote that in the earliest years, some guests had to climb unsafe ladders up the hillsides before more permanent stairs were added.

Different places will describe the location for PTC #15 differently: Wendell’s Park, Fort Wendel, and so forth. This was actually a small resort hotel owned by one Captain Louis Wendel, famed for its rooftop panorama views across the river. Here is where PTC #15 was said to have lived, a few years after its sibling began operation, and was operated by Henry and Frank Kolb. A contemporary photo from the Museum of the City of New York shows Fort Wendel located just across the street from the large Paradise Park entrance. A large faux castle turret facade stands atop the hotel roof, hoisting a big sign labeled “Wendel”.

It all must have been very glamorous at the time, especially on a hot summer night – feel the breeze off the river to cut some of the summer heat, have a drink, go dancing or roller skating, buy an ice cream or a beer, and ride an amusement ride: a coaster, a ferris wheel, a chair swing, a carousel. 

By 1910, however, public opinion of the locals was souring. Newspaper reports had headlines like “police will have their hands full there”, and other references talk about Fort George’s history describe “public drunkenness, noise, crime, and racial tensions”. Neighbors began pressuring the various local authorities and committees to shut down the amusement district.

The next year, 1911, saw an arson attempt. Perhaps related to the neighborhood sentiment, but who’s to say. The district reopened in 1912 after repairing the damages. Unfortunately, then came 1913. In June of 1913, another arsonist started a fire. Damages were reported at over $100k, with the entirety of the Paradise Park section destroyed completely by fire. 

This time, Fort George Amusement Park couldn’t recover. The local political groups ultimately took over the property and incorporated it (at the time) into Highland Park.

Now luckily, our hero, PTC #15, was located at Fort Wendel, across Amsterdam Avenue. Though the fire was said to have jumped across the street, where it destroyed a “four story frame building”, it did not apparently destroy PTC #15. 

With the destruction of Paradise Park and the generally unfavorable neighborhood sentiment, any remaining amusements likely moved out over the next few years. 

(Oh, and remember Joseph Schenck? He ultimately moved to California, became president of a little company called United Artists, created the company Twentieth Century Pictures (which of course became Twentieth Century Fox), and then was said to have played a key role in launching Marilyn Monroe’s career.)

Summit Beach Amusement Park (Akron, OH)

Park #2 for our carousel is a bit of a question mark, in that it’s uncertain when exactly PTC #15 moved to Summit Beach or when it left. 

Summit Beach Amusement Park was located in Akron, Ohio. It went by the names “Akron’s Fairyland of Pleasure” and “Akron’s Million Dollar Playground”. Local businessmen conceived of the idea in 1914, and had incorporated an amusement company by 1916. They took applications from independent concessionaires to fill the park: the Dixie Flyer, a huge coaster; a Whip and a Ferris wheel and a motordrome, for racing. And of course, a carousel. 

Now here is the point of contention, because the recent 2017 retrospective newspaper article about Summit Beach claims that the carousel at the park was a Dentzel menagerie from 1917 with a Wurlitzer band organ. Indeed, another article (Akron Beacon Journal, 2010) shows many pictures of the carousel, and it’s definitely a menagerie – black and white photos show children gleefully perched atop lions and pigs, neither of which are on a equine-only PTC #15. 

However, despite this, the fairly official and well-referenced history of Philadelphia Toboggan Company from Carousel News and Trader states that PTC #15 did go to Summit Beach Amusement Park. 

One possibility is that PTC #15 went not to Summit Beach, but to the adjacent Lakeside Park, which was later absorbed by Summit Beach as it grew. Lakeside began as a trolley park and picnic grounds back in 1886, and was primarily known for its casino theater. One image, which I’ve only been able to find in a Google Books preview of a vintage Ohio postcards book, does show this carousel – located not far from some canoe rentals, next to an open air building. The carousel is decently visible, with at least one horse in the outer row. The scan or photo aren’t clear enough, but it’s possible that this was in fact a four-row all-horse carousel. 

However, the provenance on PTC #15 at Summit Beach is not very clear at all. So let’s not dwell on it. We’re all tired, it’s March of 2020. Let’s call it a mystery and come back to it another time.

(Summit Beach was ultimately quite successful, absorbing Lakeside Park and operating for about 40 years before shutting down in 1958. It was primarily notable outside of the local amusement scene for the 1918 coaster derailment that killed several.)

State Fair Park (Milwaukee, WI)

From here, PTC #15 moved to Wisconsin for a while, heading in 1924 to the newly-opened permanent amusement park at the state fair in Milwaukee. Land of some of my favorite food groups, beer and cheese! 

To talk about the Wisconsin State Fair, we’ve got to go back – way back. The first fair was held in 1851! That year, the fair had between 13,000 to 18,000 guests, and was the largest gathering in Wisconsin at that point. Abraham Lincoln delivered the annual oration at the 8th annual fair, in 1859, and spoke about free labor. For many of the early years, the fair rotated through Wisconsin’s bigger cities: Madison, Milwaukee, Janesville, and Fond du Lac. In 1892, the fair’s 40th year, a permanent home was chosen: West Allis, a Milwaukee suburb. Apparently this was a controversial choice, as many at the time were campaigning instead for a home in Madison, where Camp Randall Stadium is today – right on the university campus, in the middle of the crowded downtown isthmus. By contrast, West Allis was out in the middle of nowhere (at the time) near Milwaukee. It’s interesting to think how that one simple choice could’ve drastically changed an entire city’s downtown! 

Interesting anecdote for the football fans – apparently for several decades (between 1934 and 1951), the Green Bay Packers played several of their regular season games at the State Fair Park, including the 1939 NFL Championship. 

1924 saw the introduction of the signature Wisconsin State Fair food: the cream puff. But it was predated by a few years by the Midway, in 1922, the “old State Fair Midway” (https://www.westalliswi.gov/DocumentCenter/View/362/Historical-and-Architectural-Resources-Survey—Volume-1-of-2?bidId=) and the PTC #15. The midway was “Disneyland before Disneyland”, according to Jerry Zimmerman, the state fair historian, in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article from 2007. This new midway was a spot for permanent rides, operating under the care of a guy named Charles Rose, and supplemented by the annual travelling shows. Rides were open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. By some accounts, the area was called Fun City.

“”It had a great roller coaster that ran from the front of where the Expo hall is now down to Greenfield Avenue. There was a Ferris wheel, the bug, the hammer, the whip, the octopus, the electric scooter and the old mill that was a tunnel of love, and a great penny arcade,” Zimmerman said. 

The carousel, old PTC #15, was a fair staple for decades at State Fair Park in Wisconsin. I’ll link to a couple of historical photos. https://www.flickr.com/photos/uwmadarchives/5938518204/ https://content.mpl.org/digital/collection/HstoricPho/id/6027/ (Great photo gallery of the entire fair history here.) Apparently Zimmermann used to pretend he was the Lone Ranger when he rode it as a kid at the fair each year, which is an image of great delight to me. 

As these things always go, the old State Fair midway didn’t last. The fair saw a downfall in attendance after World War II, and it was nixed. The fair is still there in West Allis today, but the “old” permanent midway closed at State Fair Park after the 1960 season. 

Dandilion Park / Muskego Beach Park (Muskego, WI)

Following the closure of the permanent midway at State Fair Park, rides were sold to new homes. Our friend Carousel #15 didn’t go far – only about 15 miles southwest, in what is today an outer suburb of Milwaukee, a town called Muskego. 

At that time, the carousel’s new home was called Muskego Beach Amusement Park, or Muskego Beach Resort.

Muskego Beach Amusement Park had been in operation almost as long as the Wisconsin State Fair itself – since 1861! Not much information is available about the earliest years, but regular listeners could probably make a safe guess: that it started out as a picnic grounds type of park. It was opened by Civil War veteran John C. Schuet in 1861, a man called the “King of Muskego” in 1880s politics.

Back then, it was called Muskego Lake House and Beach Resort, where visitors could partake in “picnicking, fishing, boating, swimming and dancing”. (Here’s an interesting tidbit for you – the Muskego Center Cemetery was established on that property in 1881, bordered on three sides by the park. The little pioneer cemetery weathered poorly, stones weather-worn and indecipherable, described in an article as “a nuisance to the community.” Validity of that opinion is up to the individual, but it does seem the small cemetery had lost most interest. It wasn’t until 1955 that all the bodies in the cemetery were exhumed and moved to a different cemetery, Prairie Hill Cemetery in Waukesha.)

Schuet owned the park for over 60 years, selling it in 1928 to its second owner, a guy named William Boszhardt. The details are vague, but Boszhardt definitely added to the amusement park side of things, and is credited with changing the name to Muskego Beach Amusement Park. And while Boszhardt was the owner, a familiar name did the managing: Charles Rose, the same guy from the state fair. 

By 1929, a classic wooden John A. Miller coaster called Cyclone had been installed by Charlie Rose. There were all kinds of our favorite early and mid century theme park rides, like The Whip. But why Muskego?

Here’s the connection for you, and likely the reason that the carousel went where it did. In 1944, in the middle of the war, Charlie Rose bought Muskego Beach Amusement Park from its then-owner, the recently widowed Mrs. William Boszhardt – birth name Nellie Lou Krebs. The park was shut down for the war, but Rose reopened and renovated it afterwards.

For the better part of two decades, then, he owned both the midway at State Fair Park as well as Muskego Beach Amusement Park. When the midway shut down, it was a simple decision that most of the rides would be acquired by Muskego Beach Amusement Park (which Rose also owned), replacing the older and smaller rides at this regional park with bigger rides worthy of a state fair. And Muskego was a short electric rail ride away from downtown Milwaukee, too.

Under Rose’s ownership, the park expanded and developed further. There was a ballroom for dancing operated under private ownership called the Starlight Ballroom, operated by Elsie and Robert Schmidt. Open only on the weekends, it held an air of mystery for younger daytime park visitors. During the weekend days, the ballroom was used as a rollerskating rink. Weekly dances and regular bands were hosted there, and it was said to be a popular evening event. Big names like the Everly Brothers performed, all the way down to smaller local bands.

Other items around the park were upgraded as well. There was an even larger beach for bathing. New rides like the Rolloplane were added, and massive increases made to concession stands and other outbuildings. A man named George gave boat rides on the lake in a fancy Chris-Craft boat from Dandilion Park that were fondly remembered.

TailSpin Coaster at Dandilion Park / Muskego Beach Amusement Park (WI)

The Cyclone coaster closed in the 1950s. I did see one news report of a death on the ride due to a rider standing up while the coaster was in motion and falling off. However, a line from another newspaper article indicates the Cyclone was damaged irreparably in a storm, so this may be the reason for the closure. Indeed, another short blurb from a 2015 issue of Amusement Today notes that the Cyclone was damaged twice in 1950 by wind, with some saying that it “fell over like a set of playing cards”.

Most of the broken ride was removed by the beginning of the 1951 season, according to Amusement Today. Rose was savvy, though, and 700 feet of the Cyclone’s easternmost turnaround was retained and incorporated into the newly-built TailSpin coaster, which opened in 1955. Rose himself designed the TailSpin, built to the tune of about $75,000.

TailSpin had a rough start though. A huge windstorm knocked over 250 feet of the TailSpin tracks, crushing the new Whip and Caterpilar rides in the process, two weeks before the park was set to open for the season and debut the coaster. Damages were estimated at around $125,000, but all save for the coaster were able to open on time two weeks later.  When TailSpin finally did open, it was worth the wait. This coaster is the park’s most famous and memorable. Remembrances online indicate this was a very good coaster – said to be one of the fastest and the steepest for its kind. The drop was a very high 75 feet!

Decline and Closure of Dandilion Park / Muskego Beach Amusement Park (WI)

In or around 1968, the park was sold to a man named Willard Masterson, who changed the name to Dandilion Park. It continued to be a popular place with local school groups, employer celebrations from small businesses and giant Milwaukee area manufacturers alike, reunions, and so forth. 

Around the same time, we had another addition to the park – choo choo, it’s time for The Abandoned Train! Yes, Dandilion Park rode the wave of all of the other theme parks in the mid-1960s and got itself a miniature steam train. Not only a generic train. Nope, Dandilion Park purchased a Chance C. P. Huntington direct from the factory in Wichita, serial number #61. It ran for the remaining years of the park’s operation. 

Trouble started brewing in the early 1970s, though. A young boy fell from the Ferris wheel and died, which may have led to rumors about the park’s safety. Additionally, rumors of a new, massive park being built only an hour away in Gurnee, IL. See, Marriott, the hotel chain, wanted to branch out in the tourism industry. They had three different regions planned: Chicago-Milwaukee, San Francisco, and Baltimore. The Baltimore park was to be the flagship park, but faced a series of bueracratic and local opposition. Ultimately, it was canceled. 

And in 1976, Great America opened, a park you now know as Six Flags Great America. With only two months separation, Marriott opened a Great America park in California and a Great America park in Gurnee, IL. The park was an immediate success, both due to the timing (the 1976 bicentennial) and the use of the licensed Looney Toons character theming. 

And Dandilion Park, only an hour away, felt the pinch. Milwaukee and Chicago residents started going to Great America over Dandilion Park. Why did Dandilion Park / Muskego Beach Amusement Park close? The inevitable economic cycle began – lowered crowds, less money, maintenance falters, crowds stay away, and eventually it became unprofitable to continue operating Dandilion Park. 

Dandilion Park closed in 1978.

The park stayed SBNO, standing but not operating, for several years, until 1983. Ultimately, the land was purchased in order to be turned into condominiums. The park was burned down as practice for the local fire department. Gone up in flames, all but memories.

(That’s not entirely true – the sign from the TailSpin was recovered, restored, and today is owned and displayed by the Muskego Historical Society. The CPH also did not get burned. It was sold to the Tulsa Zoo in Tulsa, OK, where it still operates today, with CPH #90 and #358.) At one point around 2010, a proposal went around to potentially rebuild a beach park at the lake. I’m not sure if that actually went forward or not. And as I said earlier, the land where the park used to be became condos. So it goes. 

Lost Years for Carousel #15

You might be saying, where did the carousel go?

Don’t worry, it didn’t get burned up. That sucker is 70+ years old by this point in our story and has already survived multiple theme parks and at least one fire. This little planned fire wouldn’t stop it.

Carousel in Oshkosh

No, our friend PTC carousel #15 survived. It was purchased prior to the fire by a private group in Oshkosh. At the time, the trend was for carousels to be broken up, selling the desirable horses at higher individual cost to private collectors. The Carousel of Oshkosh, Incorporated group was formed to prevent Carousel #15 from being served the same fate.

The goal was for the carousel to become part of a park in Oshkosh, WI, home of a very good chocolate shop, Oaks Candy. This was to be a new park located near the Oshkosh Airport, to open in 1980. “Scheduled to open in May, 1980, the park will be themed to the turn of the century and will include other amusement rides and attractions typical of that era.”

I’m sure it will come as no surprise to you that this never happened. Oshkosh is an incredibly small town, and the startup costs for a theme park are very large. 

Carol and Duane Perron of the International Carousel Museum of Art bought the carousel in 1984 from the defunct Carousel Oshkosh park company to the tune of $150,000, and began restoring it – almost 80 years old at this point, and the big carousel could certainly have used a day at the spa by then.

The Perrons lived on the West Coast, so the carousel got to take its biggest trip yet by this point, all the way to Oregon. Between 1984 and 1986, they restored the carousel fully to perfect working condition.

Touring with Carousel #15

1986 saw the carousel being sent out of country for the first and only time, up to Vancouver, British Columbia for the Expo ‘86. Interestingly, this move resulted in the carousel being removed from the National Historic Register, as the move was done without consulting the Register first. 

I had to Google this one, but Expo ‘86 was another classic World’s Fair, held in fall of 1986 in Vancouver. World’s fairs are designed to be places for nations to showcase their achievements for one another, and may or may not be themed. (These World’s Fairs are still a thing, by the way, if you didn’t know. I didn’t. The 2020 Expo will be held in Dubai, UAE in October of this year, 2020, should gatherings of more than 10 people be allowed by then.) The very first Ferris wheel was invented for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, for instance, as a rival for the previous stunner, 1889’s Eiffel Tower.

Anyhow, back to the Expo ‘86. The theme was “Transportation and Communication: World in Motion, World in Touch”, so you can see how a carousel fit nicely. In a quote from the NY Times writeup: “Its scientific theme should not dissuade vacationers because there is something for everyone, from rival United States and Soviet space stations to a painstakingly restored 1907 carousel with hand-carved and painted wooden horses.” (Again, sidebar: another interesting attraction from this Expo was something called “McBarge”, a floating McDonalds. It’s the subject of a great Bright Sun Films YouTube documentary – check it out.) The carousel lived at the Expo for several months, and was quite a popular attraction, especially for young guests. Here’s a video of the carousel in action at the fair – fast forward to timestamp 19:26.

After the Expo, Carousel #15 spent the next three years traveling on various exhibits up and down the West Coast. While the carousel was not built as a portable model per se, it was clearly able to be assembled and disassembled without much fuss.

Carousel #15 at the Mall

As Robin Sparkles might say, let’s go to the mall, today! Well, at least virtually Following the carousel’s travels with Perron’s International Carousel Museum of Art, Carousel #15 was installed at a California mall.

Puente Hills Mall (City of Industry, CA)

The Puente Hills Mall is located in City of Industry, CA, a made-up-seeming town name that is in fact real, and located in a Los Angeles suburb. The mall opened in 1974 and is still operational today. My perusal of Wikipedia tells me it was most notable for being the filming location for the parking lot scenes from Back to the Future, aka “Twin Pines Mall”. Puente Hills also was home to the first ever Foot Locker store, apparently. 

One of my newest favorite YouTube channels is called Retail Archaeology – videos of malls from active to “dead malls” – malls that are on the verge of closure. Erik from Retail Archaeology did a 2018 video on Puente Hills, and it was nice to watch that last night while doing podcast research on the topic. 

Anyhow, in 1991, our friend Carousel #15 moved to the Puente Hills Mall. It was located on the first floor, in the center of the plus-shaped mall, underneath some massive skylights that really illuminated the newly refreshed carousel. Patrons shopping on the upper levels could easily look down to watch the carousel spin in the atrium below. The carousel seems to have done well for a period of time, and I’m sure all the wooden horses appreciated being inside a nice air-conditioned space instead of weathering decades of Wisconsin winters and summers.

Unfortunately, the late 90s were a period of struggle for Puente Hills Mall, and they had less than 50% occupancy around this time, a terrible sign for a big mall. Things did slowly rebound, but our friend Carousel #15 was removed in 1998 – too expensive, and losing money for the mall operators. 

Today, Puente Hills Mall is operational but struggling again, despite a 2007 remodel. Where the carousel once stood is now just boring carpet, and where visitors once walked through bustling halls, today few gather. Several of the larger stores have been closing in the last few years, including Sears and Forever 21, and anecdotal reports online are that more store closures are inevitable. 

Dead malls are a topic I don’t think I’ve touched on at all here on the podcast yet, but they’re fascinating and I’d say quite relevant given our present day state. Check out Retail Archaeology, Sal’s Expedition Logs, or Dan Bell’s Dead Mall Series on YouTube for days of interesting content on the subject.

Palisades Center Mall (West Nyack, NY) 

So 1998, the Philadelphia Toboggan Company Carousel #15 was removed from Puente Hills Mall in California. It didn’t stay idle, however. 

No, the carousel went on another cross-country trip, back to New York, back to another mall. 

This mall was brand new at the time, though it had been under plan and development for around 16 years. Palisades Center Mall was built on the site of two former landfills, surrounding an old cemetery, and faced down opposition from locals who feared noise and crime well before any construction was even begun. When it opened in 1998, it became the second-largest shopping mall in the New York metro area, and the eighth-largest shopping mall in the US. 

PTC #15 was installed in the third-floor food court, a glorious anachronism against modern tubular white architecture and pipes (“industrial style”). There it spun, tinkling organ bouncing amongst the fast food restaurants and tables and trashcans, shimmering and brightly colored against the white of its surroundings.

Palisades Center Mall is apparently popular on YouTube with elevator enthusiasts, for having high speed “Montgomery Kone traction elevators”. (Did you know there’s an elevator Wiki? Of course there is. https://elevation.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Montgomery_elevator_fixtures)

Here is where the carousel was re-added to the National Register of Historic Places, in 2001. The carousel lasted for eleven years there in the mall food court, until mall management decided to replace the vintage machine with a modern double-decker masterpiece. In 2009, then, the PTC #15 was last seen operational in public, there in West Nyack, New York.

Carousel #15 in Oregon

Evicted from Palisades Center Mall, Carousel #15 was returned to the Perrons in Oregon. 

For some time, there were plans for a physical carousel museum. Well, there was a physical carousel museum, in Hood River, Oregon. It opened in 1999, and featured over 100 carousel animals on display for visitors to photograph. From an article about the museum, I learned that basswood is what both carousel horses and rulers are made out of, as it is a wood that doesn’t buckle, sweat, crack, or change shape. (The more you know!) 

Whether one or more horses from Carousel #15 was ever on display is not clear, but it’s unlikely, given that the carousel returned to Oregon in mid-2009.

The museum closed in 2010, with the intent of relocating, but this never occurred, and the museum stayed permanently shuttered. 

Conclusions

This then is the last time we hear from the Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel #15. By all accounts, the carousel is in storage there in Oregon, awaiting a new home. Out with a whimper and not a bang.

As recently as 2018, Jerry Zimmerman at the Wisconsin State Fair was still hoping to get PTC #15 back to Wisconsin – a news article from 2018 described it as his white whale.  “I have tried for years to find someone to bring that back, and I would like to tie that merry go round into a standalone unit on State Fair Park, anchoring a Wisconsin State Fair historical collection,” he said. “I would need a sponsor for about $1.5 million to bring it back to Milwaukee.”

At the height of the American carousel boom, there were said to be thousands of carousels, big and small, mostly handcarved. As the Depression wore on, production slowed, machines were dismantled or lost to fire, and today, there are said to be less than 150 vintage carousels remaining, with less than 50 of the caliber of PTC #15.

At this point, the magnificent carousel is still is storage somewhere in Oregon, under the care of the Perron family after Duane Perron passed away in 2018. Waiting.

56 horses. 52 feet in diameter. Many “firsts”. 600 lights. Four theme parks. Two malls. 

One truly historical carousel: Philadelphia Toboggan Company’s carousel #15.

Remember that what you’ve read is a podcast! A link is included at the top of the page. Listen to more episodes of The Abandoned Carousel on your favorite platform: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RadioPublic | TuneIn | Overcast | Pocket Casts | Castro. Support the podcast on Patreon for extra content! Comment below to share your thoughts – as Lucy Maud Montgomery once said, nothing is ever really lost to us, as long as we remember it.

References

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The post Carousel #15 appeared first on The Abandoned Carousel.

Credits: Podcast cover background photo is by 4045 on freepik.com. Image of Santa billboard from Santa Claus, AZ is public domain. Theme music is from “Aerobatics in Slow Motion” by TeknoAXE. Incidental music includes “Jingle Bells (Calm)”, “Deck the Halls (A)”, “Deck the Halls (B)” by Kevin Macleod / incompetech.com; and “We Three Kings” by Alexander Nakarada (filmmusic.io). Effects all via freesound.org: “Jingle Bells” by JarredGibb (CC0); “Jingle Bells” by nfrae (CC0); “Arizona Walking” by kvgarlic (CC0); “Howling Wind in Chimney” by Maurice JK (CC by SA); “Merry Christmas” by metaepitome (CC0); and “Merry Christmas” by maestroalf (CC0).

The First Theme Park?

When you’re researching anything, an easy question to ask is, what was the first? What was the first fast food restaurant? (White Castle, 1921) What was the first interstate highway in the US? (A complicated answer, but either a portion of what is now I-70 in Missouri, which had the first contract signed in 1956; a portion of I-70 in Kansas for being the first to actually start paving in 1956; or part of I-70 in Pennsylvania, as it was opened as a highway in 1940 and later incorporated into the interstate system.) 

To bring it around to The Abandoned Carousel, what was the first theme park? 

Not the first amusement park, to be clear. Let’s draw some lines with terminology. Amusement parks in the US go back a century and a half, at the least, with trolley parks in the middle of the 19th century considered to be some of the first true amusement parks in the US. Lake Compounce in Connecticut is said to be the oldest continuously operating park in the US, opened in 1846. The earliest amusement park in the world still in operation is called Bakken, located near Copenhagen, Denmark, and said to have opened in 1583. But these are “just” amusement parks – places where visitors are amused, with rides and leisure activities and so on.

A theme park is a horse of a slightly different color – an amusement park, but with a theme or themed area to organize it. Society in general popularly likes to point to Disneyland and the enormous influence Walt Disney’s first park had on the theme park concept, but as I mentioned in the last episode – theme parks existed before Disneyland. And that’s what I’m going to talk about today – the first theme park in the US. Coincidentally, several of the first theme parks had Santa Claus as a theme. So seasons greetings to everyone here in the end of 2019 – let’s talk about the history of Santa Claus and a few of his homes in the US.

Christmas and Santa Claus

What’s the deal with Santa Claus, after all, if we’re going to talk about him a lot today?

Santa as we know him today is an amalgamation of the 4th century saint, Saint Nicholas; the British Father Christmas; the Dutch Sinterklaas; and the Germanic god Woden, associated with Yule. He is associated with the holiday of Christmas.

Christmas as a holiday has meant a lot of different things throughout the years. I’ll only touch on this briefly here. We have the obvious association of December 25, considered the birthday of Jesus Christ in Christian religions. In the Roman calendar, December 25th was also the date of the winter solstice. The medieval calendar was dominated by Christmas-related holidays, early versions of Advent and the Twelve Days of Christmas known today. The Middle Ages saw an association of Christmas with lewdness, debauchery, and parties. The Puritans and the Pilgrims actually banned Christmas in the mid-1600s for being too strongly associated with drunkenness. In response, the churches called for the holiday to be celebrated in a more devout and religious fashion. 

From the 1800s onward, public perception of Christmas began to be re-shaped as a time for family and gift-giving. This was popularized by Charles Dickens’ 1843 A Christmas Carol, which created or combined much of what we now consider a Christmas celebration. It’s been referred to as the “carol philosophy”, promoting goodwill towards all men, values that could be espoused by both religious and secular alike. By 1870, the Puritan attitudes had shifted, and Christmas was declared an official US holiday.

Santa Claus’s Origins

Today, of course, it can be argued that Christmas, and particularly Santa Claus, are largely commercial juggernauts more than anything.

As the North American colonies developed throughout the late 1700s and early 1800s, his familiar accoutrements were established. Rivington’s Gazette was the first American paper to establish the name Santa Claus, back in 1773. Santa was immortalized in print, with poems and story books, and of course, The Night Before Christmas, published in 1823. 

Washington Irving’s 1809 parody of New York culture was the first to take the traditional bishop dress (derived from St. Nicholas) away and give Santa a pipe and a winter coat. 

Thomas Nast and Santa Claus

But it was a political cartoonist during the Civil War that gave us the modern image of Santa Claus, the man we think of today. 

Thomas Nast was a Bavarian-born immigrant who came to America as a child. He did poorly at most school subjects, but showed an early passion for drawing. By the age of 18, with several years of artistic study under his belt, his drawings first appeared in the magazine Harper’s Weekly. 

He had a long history with that magazine, and has come to be known as the “father of the American cartoon”. He advocated for the abolition of slavery and opposed racial segregation. He also created the modern political symbol for the Republican party (the elephant). His cartoons were instrumental in public sentiment for the 1860s elections of Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant, and are said to be responsible for the election of Grover Cleveland, the first Democrat elected after almost thirty years of Republicans. “In the words of the artist’s grandson, Thomas Nast St Hill, “it was generally conceded that Nast’s support won Cleveland the small margin by which he was elected. In this his last national political campaign, Nast had, in fact, ‘made a president’.””

And amongst his list of credentials, he created the modern image of Santa Claus, originally used for political commentary.

The Christmas issue of Harper’s Weekly for the 1862-1863 season was published in January of 1863. It was the middle of the Civil War, the year of the battles of Shiloh, Manassas, and Antietam; it was a year with the Union experiencing both extreme trial and intense hope. The nation was divided by Civil War, and the celebration of Christmas brought conflicting emotions. 

Nast drew several images, including the cover image. It was titled “Santa Claus at Camp”. His drawing depicted a Santa Claus figure, arriving by sleigh in a Union army camp to distribute gifts and good cheer. His Santa is shown in an American flag inspired outfit – stars on top, stripes on the bottom, everything fur trimmed, with a pointy hat. It was originally political commentary or even pro-Union propaganda. Lincoln reportedly once said that NAst’s images, politicizing Santa, were “”the best recruiting sergeant the North ever had””. Despite the political roots, Nast’s images set the seeds for today’s Santa. 

Nast was reportedly also responsible for fixing Santa’s home address as the “North Pole”. This was done after the Civil War, and was reportedly done “so no nation can claim him as their own”, for propaganda, as Nast himself had done.

He continued drawing Santa, publishing at least 33 Santa images for Harper’s Weekly over his time there. His 1881 image “Merry Old Santa Claus” is probably his most famous, showing a twinkly-eyed bearded man, dressed all in red, clutching bundles of toys. But like the Santa Claus at Camp image, this is more political commentary, actually relating to the government’s indecisiveness over raising the wages of the military. It’s odd and fascinating that political cartoons could shape our cultural images so strongly.

20th Century Santa

In the 20th century, literature and promotional images continued to shape and refine our images of the jolly old man. L. Frank Baum, the very same author who penned The Wizard of Oz series, actually wrote a book about Santa in 1902, called The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. This book established much of the Santa mythology. And as an interesting sidebar, Santa has a small cameo – he appears in The Road to Oz, one of the sequels to Wizard of Oz.

Even more influential were yet more promotional images. 

As we’ve already discussed, Santa was shaped by political commentary, so it’s not surprising he moved on to the world of commercial promotion through the late 1800s and early 1900s. His image, however, was not consistent from artist to artist. Much relied on the famous poem, the line “a little old driver, so lively and quick”, with many interpretations. Images were tweaked and edited, still not the consistent idea of Santa from our modern times. Sometimes Santa was tall and thin, sometimes he was elven, and so on. 

This time, they were the promotional campaigns of that beverage giant, Coca-Cola.  In the 1930s, they were looking for a new way to increase soda sales during the winter, with the slogan, “Thirst Knows No Season.” Enter stage left: Haddon H. Sundblom. 

Sundblom worked for Coke, and was assigned to draw a new Santa for the Coca-Cola company, then. He came up with a modern image of Santa – friendly, warm, pleasant, plump. He was a cheerful, rotund man with white hair and a red suit, red cheeks, and a jolly affect. Sundblom’s first ads with new Santa debuted in 1931.

They were a hit, to say the least. Coke still sometimes uses Sundblom’s original art in their ads to this day. And not only is it Coke. After the 1931 ads, this was the image of Santa that was codified in cultural imagination. No longer were there interpretations of Santa, tall and thin, elven, etc. No, Sundblom’s characterization of Santa became the ideal image of the legend that still carries on today. 

Charles Howard’s Santa Claus

People, of course, had dressed up as Santa as far back as the legend goes. Early costumed Santas were often used around the holiday season to ring bells and solicit monetary donations for the poor. It’s said that the first department store Santa appeared in 1890, when a man in Brockton, Massachusetts named James Edgar dressed as Thomas Nast’s jolly Santa for the delight of children in the store. 

Said a man who saw Edgar as a child: “You just can’t imagine what it was like. I remember walking down an aisle and, all of a sudden, I saw Santa Claus. I couldn’t believe my eyes, and then Santa came up and started talking to me. It was a dream come true.”

By the turn of the century, the idea had caught on and the department store Santa was a common figure, so much so that some papers of the time issued cries for “only one Santa Claus per town”.

Charles Howard

The big name in the Santa Claus field, as I’ve learned, was a guy named Charles Howard, apparently quite well known in the Albion area, some 60 miles north of Buffalo.

Charles Howard was born in Albion, NY around the turn of the century, in 1896. He was a farmer and a toymaker and a secretary for the county fair association. Some describe him as having a flair for the dramatic. As a child, his mother sewed him a suit, a Santa Claus suit, so that Howard could play the role of Santa as “a short fat boy”. He continued with the role as he got older, making new suits as he grew. 

Somewhere in the early 1930s, he suggested that a local furniture store hire him to play the role of Santa while making toys in the front window during the holiday season. Eventually, he moved to the big city, 35 miles from Albion in Rochester, NY, where the owner reportedly took one look at Howard dressed in his suit and asked him “when can you start?” 

The popular story of Howard realizing the importance of Santa, immortalized by Howard himself, goes as follows. “One morning a little girl came in and watched him work. She stood there for some time before she ventured closer. Then a step at a time she walked up to him and very timidly asked, ‘Santa, will you promise me something?’ Santa looked at the child and said, ‘What is it you want me to promise?’ He had already learned that promises sometimes meant heartaches. He did not want to make any mistakes. However this child seemed so sincere, so earnest, he took her little hand in his. The child drew closer, looked up into his face with all the love and trust that a five year old could and whispered, ‘Will you promise me you will never shave?’”  

This triggered a curiosity for Howard – if Santa meant so much to one, he must mean so much to many. “Who was this old fellow who meant so much to the children? Where did he come from? What did he stand for? Why did he wear that red suit? Why was it trimmed with white fur? Why this? And why that?”

At the same time, in his regular life, Howard was a traveling toy salesman. He saw many Santas throughout his travels, and reportedly “frowned on the unkempt costumes and lack of child psychology displayed by many department store Santas”. So in 1937, Howard established the Santa Claus School.

Santa Claus School

Charles Howard’s first class was a single student, but as he raised tuition, attendance grew at his Santa Claus school. He held classes on his farm, offering lessons on “psychology, costuming, make-up, whisker grooming, voice modulation, the history and legend of St. Nicholas and learning the correct way to “ho-ho-ho.””. It was Howard’s opinion that being Santa was about what was in your heart and head, not about the girth of your belly. 

He also developed a line of Santa Claus suits. They were fancier than the standard costume at the time, but as Howard said, “worthy of the character as we knew him”. Students at his school flocked to the suits, and took in the lessons. The details of being Santa were important, and Howard was reportedly a stickler for them. “How the suit should lay on you. How your beard should be; it had to be the right shape and the right length. And how your glasses should look … everything had to be perfect. He wanted every [Santa] to be as close as possible to each other.”

Santa Claus, Indiana

We’ll get back to Charles Howard and Albion in a little while. 

For now, let’s turn our attention away from New York and look down south some, to a small town in Indiana. We’ve got to turn our clocks back, too.

The year, as it goes, was 1855. 

A small town in Indiana was working on establishing a post office. They were already known as Santa Fe (pronounced ‘fee’, apparently). The trouble was, there was already another town in Indiana by that name. A meeting was held to pick a new name. Legend has many versions of the story after that point. Some say the wind blew the door open and with it a Santa Claus, barging into the meeting. Some say a child heard a passing sound of jingle bells and exclaimed “Santa Claus!”. Some say it was the fact that the meeting was held on Christmas Eve.

Whichever story you believe, all are certain to be fanciful versions of the true story, which we’ll never know. What we can know is that in 1856, the post office granted the town the official name of Santa Claus, Indiana. 

Well, this was the first time that there was a town by this name in the US. So the post office started sending some of the children’s letters there, the ones addressed to Santa Claus. It became this huge barrage of mail in the holiday season. Since at least 1914, various groups of people began answering the children’s letters that were sent to Santa, both nationally and locally. 

The town began to attract national attention in 1929, when the post office in Santa Claus was featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not! cartoon strip. And then we enter the 1930s.

1930s: A Big Decade in Santa Claus Operations

The 1930s were a big decade in Santa Claus operations here in the US, away from the North Pole, with a lot of Santa-related things happening simultaneously. On a socio-political front, the recovery from the Great Depression was beginning, with FDR’s First New Deal alphabet soup agencies being put into place. And big changes were happening all over – Route 66 was being built, among many other events not relevant to the show. Perhaps the attitude was one looking for hope and light. 

Santa Claus, IN in the 1930s

The 30s were a big time for the small town of Santa Claus, IN. 

Santa’s Candy Castle

We start with an entrepreneur by the name of Milt Harris. The tale goes that he looked around the town of Santa Claus and saw no Santa. The big guy wasn’t anywhere to be found. So Harris began creating the first true tourist attraction in Santa Claus, apparently in conjunction with the town postmaster James Martin. First, though, he leased nearly all of the land in and around the town – something like 1000 acres. And he began securing sponsorships from various business entities.

His attraction, Santa’s Candy Castle, was dedicated in December of 1935. It was sponsored by Curtiss Candy Company, the inventor of the Butterfinger and the Baby Ruth candy bars. Today,  they’re unsurprisingly a Nestle subsidiary. Sandy’s Candy Castle was the first tourist attraction in the town of Santa Claus, and by some accounts, the first themed attraction in the US, although that seems an unlikely claim, hard to prove.

Santa’s Candy Castle was a red brick building shaped like an actual castle, with a crenellated tower, turret, and rotunda. The next year, new attractions were added, and collectively, they were called Santa Claus Town. The Toy Village was incredibly popular, with multiple fairytale-themed buildings, each sponsored by a national toy manufacturer. This was reportedly quite popular, with children able to play with all of the hot new toys they’d heard about, for free. As the years rolled on, Harris reportedly managed to negotiate a sweet deal. For a period of time, retailers (including Marshall Fields) would arrange for toys purchased in Chicago to be shipped from the Santa Claus post office in Indiana, with that official Santa Claus postmark. 

Santa’s Workshop was also added, where children could watch a Santa Claus making wooden toys. (Though our friend Charles Howard was a Santa who could actually make wooden toys, it doesn’t appear that he performed the role at the Candy Castle, though that parallel would’ve been delightful.)

The Candy Castle was a success, in no small part because it was a free or cheap attraction to provide entertainment for kids during and after the Great Depression. 

Martin and Yellig: Making Dreams Come True

Now, as I mentioned earlier, the town postmaster, James Martin, was pretty heavily involved in all of this, because as town postmaster, he had his finger in the pie, so to speak. He noted the increased volume of letters being sent by children to “Santa Claus” around the holidays, and he took it upon himself to begin answering the letters. (This was a not insignificant amount of mail. In the 1940s, the post office reportedly handled 1.5 million pieces of mail, and in the 1950s, a newspaper article noted that the park handled over 4 million pieces of mail during the Christmas season each year. A 2014 article, though, has revised this number down to half a million pieces per year, and a 2017 article indicates the number is down around 200,000.)

Martin had a friend, a guy named Jim Yellig. Born Raymond Joseph, but known to his friends as Jim, Yellig was another guy with a Santa association from early on. While he was serving in the Navy during the first World War, his ship was docked in Brooklyn, NY, and the crew was throwing a Christmas party for underprivileged children. Yellig was chosen to play Santa Claus. The story goes that he was apparently so touched by the children’s happiness at seeing “Santa” that he prayed “If you get me through this war, Lord, I will forever be Santa Claus.”

Yellig opened a restaurant called The Chateau in Mariah Hill, Indiana, a few miles north of Santa Claus, Indiana. He began driving to Santa Claus to visit his friend Martin, the postmaster, and soon after, Martin enlisted Yellig’s help in responding to the children’s Christmas letters. By 1935, Yellig formed the Santa Claus American Legion Post in order to assist with the letters as Santa’s helpers, and he began dressing up as Santa and making appearances around the town of Santa Claus, including at Santa’s Candy Castle. He actually took a class from Charles Howard’s Santa Claus School. Held at Santa’s Candy Castle in 1938, this was the only time these two incredibly famous Santas were known to have met. (A picture of this meeting can be found here.) From this point, Yellig began being known as “The Real Santa from Santa Claus”.

A Tale of the Santa Claus Statue

At the same time that Yellig was coming onto the scene, Harris’ plans for the Candy Castle caught the attention of another entrepreneur, reportedly Harris’ arch-rival, a guy named Carl Barrett. Now, Barrett decided that he didn’t like Harris’ “materialism”, and so Barrett began planning his own attraction, called “Santa Claus Park”, in direct competition with Harris, just down the road, less than half a mile away.

On Christmas Day 1935, just days after Harris’ Candy Castle opened, Barrett dedicated a 22-ft tall statue of Santa, erected on the highest hill in the town. He claimed it was paid for by the people, that it was built on the spot where a meteor had landed and therefore was divinely inspired, and that the statue was made out of granite. At least one of those claims later was revealed to be false.

Barrett’s plans were just as big as Harris’. Barrett wanted to make his Santa Claus Park a world shrine, a children’s dream paradise with log cabins, a giant doll house, and an ice village. It never moved forward, however, as in January, Harris sued Barrett, essentially derailing both their grand plans. 

Lawsuits went back and forth, mostly regarding land ownership, and even made it as high up as the Indiana Supreme Court. They were battling over the right to Santa. Harris and Martin were able to continue expanding Santa Claus Town due to their sponsor partnerships, but Barrett’s more principled “of the people” stance relied solely on personal donations due to his spectacular Santa.

But the thing was, people began to notice the statue didn’t look so great. In fact, it had started cracking and crumbling. And obviously, granite sculptures don’t do that. As it turns out, the statue was made out of concrete, and Barrett had lied. This obviously didn’t sit well with the townsfolk. Unfortunately, war broke out, World War II, more than just a petty squabble between business rivals. Things grew quiet in Santa Claus, IN, and the attractions there, especially Barrett’s Santa Claus Park, fell into disrepair and neglect.   

Santa Claus, AZ and Santa Claus, GA

Let’s step back in time a bit, and interrogate something I mentioned earlier. 

Now, apparently, by 1928, the US post office supposedly decided that there would be no other post office with the name of “Santa Claus” due to the influx of holiday mail and the staffing problems it caused over in Indiana. This is an unsubstantiated fact from Wikipedia, but it does appear to be technically accurate. There is only one post office in a town named Santa Claus, and that’s Santa Claus, IN. But there are two other towns by this name: one in AZ, and one in GA. 

Santa Claus, GA

I’ll discuss the latter first. Established in 1941, Santa Claus, GA is one of those cute little small American towns. Located a few miles from Vidalia (home of the onion by the same name), the town of Santa Claus, GA is tiny, with only a couple hundred people. It’s quaint, with holiday-themed street names, a Santa Claus mailbox (but not a post office!), and an oversized Santa statue that people can pose for pictures by. There’s nothing particularly noteworthy about the place for the purposes of our podcast – the town was reportedly named in an effort to drive traffic to local pecan farms. It’s too small for any fancy restaurants or attractions beyond the name, but it’s still there.

Santa Claus, AZ

Now, let’s get to Santa Claus, AZ. Santa Claus, in Arizona? Yup.

I grew up in the Arizona desert myself, and the notion of a Santa Claus town there has tickled my funny bone since I first heard about it. There’s just something so absurd about trying to focus on Santa and icicles and snow when you’re surrounded by creosote and tiny lizards and endless brown desert dirt, and don’t even own a winter coat. 

Santa Claus, AZ was the brainchild of a realtor named Ninon (sometimes spelled Nina) Talbot who was born in 1888. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to focus on a woman for part of this podcast, finally. 

The famous sci-fi writer Robert Heinlein had nothing but praise for Talbot, describing her thusly: “In her own field, she was an artist equal to Rembrandt, Michelangelo, and Shakespeare.” No, this was not the kind of caliber of person I was expecting when I set out to shape a holiday episode of a podcast about abandoned theme parks and attractions.

Talbot promoted herself as the biggest real estate agent in California, a fun play on words since she also was apparently over 300 pounds at the time. “The Biggest in the Business!” was her slogan, and thank goodness, we’ve got a person who has a sense of humor. Talbot and her husband moved from Los Angeles to Kingman (AZ) in the late 1920s or early 1930s, with the goal of selling land or setting up a resort or otherwise making some money. Kingman was a hub of sorts, functioning as the big city to service all the small mining towns that littered the hills. Too, it attracted folks stopping off old Route 66, the Mother Road.

Talbot established herself with a hotel first, called the Kit Carson Guest House, located right in the heart of Kingman at the intersection of what is now I-40 and US 93. Here she honed her skills in charisma and cooking, enticing guests. Said a person who knew her at the time “She knew how to treat people. She could sell you anything you didn’t even want.”

After a few years, Talbot sold the Kit Carson Guest House, with a new profitable venture in mind. She purchased 80 acres of land, some 14 miles north of the town of Kingman. (That’s probably meaningless to non-locals – the town in question is in the northwest section of the state, about an hour and a half south from Las Vegas, three and a half hours north of Phoenix.) 

The town of Santa Claus, with the obvious theming implied by the name, was officially incorporated in 1937.

She called it Santa Claus as a promotion, as a way to attract folks to the town to buy the 1-acre plots of land she was selling surrounding it, called Santa Claus Acres. Spoiler alert: it never really worked, and it’s generally accepted that the only people who actually lived in the town were the workers at the various town attractions.

Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam)

You might be asking yourself, though, why someone would think it was a good or profitable idea to try and sell land up in this remote area of the state, and to have it make sense, I need to tell you about what else was going on in AZ at the time. 

In the early 1900s through the 1920s, it was settled that a dam on the Colorado River would provide flood control, irrigation water, and hydroelectric power generation for a growing number of people occupying these desert towns. Additionally, it would allow US 93 to connect Arizona and Las Vegas, instead of the ferry boat in use prior. President Coolidge authorized the Boulder Canyon Project Act in December of 1928, and construction began in 1931 on one of America’s “Seven Modern Engineering Wonders”. 

Suddenly, tens of thousands of workers were moving into the area to begin building the massive dam, many living in the model city of Boulder City, Nevada. Not only that, but the construction of the dam was on such a huge scale that it became a tourist attraction before it was completed in 1936, and after. Suddenly there was this huge new audience driving past to see the Hoover Dam (originally called the Boulder Dam). 

Talbot was on to something.

Santa Claus AZ as an Attraction

At the time, drivers still expected to be surprised around every bend of the road. They wanted to have a great time, and not make great time, as the saying goes. Or perhaps didn’t have a choice – this was the age before the implementation of the interstate highway system (remember the beginning of the episode? It always ties in somehow!).  Thus, the proliferation and success of roadside attractions, corridors with wild theming and over the top names to entice drivers to stop. (Remember Prehistoric Forest in Irish Hills, MI, back in episode 4 of TAC?) It didn’t matter if the attraction itself was makeshift, a bit garish, and something of a let-down. It was the idea that mattered.

Santa Claus, AZ was one of these, enticing visitors as they drove to and from Vegas, Hoover Dam, Kingman, Phoenix, and so on.

See, while people didn’t actually want to live there, Talbot managed to create a fun roadside attraction nonetheless. Everything had a Santa theme or a North Pole theme, with candy-cane striped buildings and green roofs. It kind of had a Swiss chalet feeling, which was certainly startling in the desert (especially back in the day, it was a lot of adobe and cheap wood, not Swiss chalets with gingerbread trim). 

Talbot called her town “The Pride of the Desert”, and it was said that in its heyday, Santa Claus could rival anything else along old Route 66. (Only back then, it was new: Route 66 began paving in 1931.) Talbot’s charisma and excellent home cooking were perfect bedfellows for the incongruous theming at this otherwise lonely desert gas stop.

As famed writer Robert Heinlein, known for Starship Troopers among others, wrote of the town in his 1950 story “Cliff and the Calories”, as it arose from the “grimmest desert in the world”. “You know what most desert gas stations look like — put together out of odds and ends. Here was a beautiful fairytale cottage with wavy candy stripes in the shingles. It had a broad brick chimney — and Santa Claus was about to climb down the chimney! Between the station and the cottage were two incredible little dolls’ houses. One was marked Cinderella’s House, and Mistress Mary Quite Contrary was making the garden grow. The other one needed no sign: the Three Little Pigs, and the Big Bad Wolf was stuck in its’ chimney.”

The centerpiece building was named the Santa Claus Inn. Though some retellings of the town’s story indicate this was solely a renamed Kit Carson Guest House, this was a brand new building, designed by Talbot’s husband and built by local Kingsman contractor W. J. Zinck. In addition to the holiday decoration and prominent Santa Claus, a Christmas tree too stood outside (the building was later renamed the Christmas Tree Inn). 

Inside, the restaurant was decorated with nursery rhyme paintings from a former Disney animator, Walter Winsett. Breakfast was $0.75, about $13 in today’s money; lunch $1; and dinner $1.50. The restaurant was famed for its Chicken a la North Pole and Rum Pie a la Kris Kringle. Talbot dressed as Mrs. Claus, and brought her vivacious energy to the task at hand. “Any known or asked-for dish or delicacy asked for will be served. The everyday routine provision of ordinary food is not the policy of this cage,” she once said. Year round, she served five course meals every day. A historical postcard shows a sample menu: olives, celery, iceberg; fruit or shrimp cocktail; tomato or chicken soup; chicken, lamb chops, or filet mignon; sherbet; salad; multiple desserts like ice cream, pie, or cake; and coffee and mints. All, of course, with appropriately holiday-themed names. 

Talbot’s cooking brought some modicum of fame to the attraction. Famed food critic Duncan Hines (now best known for the cake mixes bearing his name) made early Zagat-type guides of good restaurants across the country for his friends – an essential at a time prior to GPS, cell phone data, or the internet. One of his recommendations was the Santa Claus Inn, which in addition to good food offered a moderately air-conditioned space through the use of swamp coolers, a relatively new technology at the time. Hines considered the Santa Claus Inn to be one of the best places to eat in Arizona, and even included her rum pie recipe in one of his cookbooks. “Perhaps the best rum pie you ever ate, chicken a la North Pole and lots of other unusual things.”

Other “attractions” included the tram shaped into a train, called “Santa Claus Arizona Express” with the “locomotive” called Old 12-25. A donkey wandered the grounds. Inside the two small cottages, nursery rhyme dioramas amused the children.

And of course, the special postbox. Although there was never an actual post office, a mailbox was available, with a special postmark – “Santa Claus, Arizona, via Kingman”. Talbot responded to every child’s Christmas letter. They also sent postcards to every visitor who stopped, whether for gas or food, reminding them to come back. 

The 30s through 50s in Santa Claus, AZ were a magical time.

Christmas Park, NY

We return to Albion, NY after the war, where our friend, Santa legend Charles Howard, had established his Santa Claus School. It ran for two months, in October and November, of each year. Howard continued to busy himself in the Santa Claus field. He served as Macy’s Santa-in-chief and reported was Santa in the first nationally televised Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. He continued this appearance for the next 17 years, and even served as a Santa consultant for 1947’s “Miracle on 34th Street”.

Locally to Albion, Howard decided to expand his Santa Claus School with an attraction for the children, as well. It was called “Christmas Park”, and it was located right on his farm, where the school itself was located. 

In comparison with any true theme park, this is honestly closer to a playground with a theme, as honestly most summer festivals in my town have more rides and attractions today. Nonetheless, it was a draw for people of the time, when America was still recovering from the war and traveling locally. 

“Christmas Park” had a themed playground, a petting farm with goats and real reindeer, a wishing well, something called “Santa’s Gold Mine” (perhaps a pan for gold type attraction), a toy and gift shop, and a diesel-operated miniature train called “The Railmaster” that was memorable for going through a tunnel. Here’s a link to photos of the park in operation. Howard reportedly had a collection of antique sleighs placed throughout the park for theming purposes, as well. There was also a “Christmas Tree” ride, a specially made version of the classic Allan Herschell helicopter ride; instead of helicopters, the ride buggies were themed as Christmas ornaments. Inside the various barns and outbuildings, there were Christmas-themed displays, fake snow, and a constant stream of Christmas music.

The park opened in 1953, with a short 13-week summer season.

In later years, the park was open year round. According to accounts online from people who visited the park as children, there was no trouble believing in Santa Claus, because they lived in the same town and could see him anytime! 

Santa Claus Land: America’s First Theme Park

Back in Santa Claus, IN, the post-war landscape saw a lot of run-down attractions. A local businessman named Louis Koch entered the scene, looking for a retirement project. He and his wife had nine children, and loved the holidays. He thought the town of Santa Claus, with that wonderful name, needed more attractions that appealed to children, especially ones that featured Santa himself. In the early 40s, then, he purchased some lots of land in Santa Claus. The war postponed development on his attraction, and the family was able to break ground in 1945. 

The attraction was christened as “Santa Claus Land”, and it opened in August of 1946. And without much fanfare at all, I present to you the recognized first theme park in the US. That’s right, Koch’s little retirement project,“Santa Claus Land”, is considered America’s first theme park. 

It started out small, a sort of family business that Koch ran with his son Bill. Originally, the park had no entrance cost. It featured toy displays, Santa’s toy shop, a restaurant with a Bavarian village theme, and a few children’s rides, including the “Santa Claus Land Railroad”, a miniature train ride that went through Mother Goose-themed displays. And of course, there was Santa, portrayed by the legendary Jim Yellig who we talked about a little while ago, the so-called Real Santa Claus from Santa Claus.

Not only that, but the Santa Claus post office moved that same year, to a new building on the property of the Santa Claus Land park, when the former building was reported in bad condition. The original building itself was also moved and restored, renamed as House of Dolls, a doll exhibit.

Bill Koch, though initially pessimistic about the park’s chances for success, was buoyed by the first few years of operation, and he took over from his father. He expanded the park, adding a ride area (“Rudolph’s Reindeer Ranch”), the first Jeep-go-round ever manufactured (in 1947), and in 1948, a deer farm with a few of Santa’s reindeer. There were “educated animals” like the Fire Chief Rabbit and the Piano Playing Duck. There was a wax museum, called Hall of Famous Americans. 

The 1946 Christmas Room Restaurant was an incredibly popular “attraction” in the early years, like the Knotts’ serving chicken dinners that attracted long lines. Bill Koch was quoted as saying that their business in the early years was built on those chicken dinners.

In 1952, the Koch family put the park up for sale, with quite a few strings attached. The family was worried about the effect of managing the park on the Sr. Koch’s health. However, at the same time, they did not want to see the park commercialized. Reportedly, many of the townsfolk and park workers were opposed to the sale. Jim Yellig, said to have been Santa to more children than anyone else in the world, was quoted as saying “I hope it’s never sold. I’d be lost without this job. I love it so much.”

After a year on the market, the Koch family decided to retain ownership of the park. There had been several interested buyers, but none were willing to abide with the requirements on non-commercialization, so the decision was made to keep it within the family. 

By 1955, the park began charging admission: $0.50 for adults, kids free. A 1960 video is available on Youtube, showing a delightful scene of the park as it was.

In 1960, Bill Koch married Santa’s daughter, Patricia Yellig, daughter of Jim Yellig, a poetic reminder of the importance of the two families to the city of Santa Claus, IN. 

The Decline of Santa Claus, AZ

Back in Arizona, Talbot’s time at Santa Claus was coming to an end. World War II hadn’t necessarily been kind, closing US 93 road access across Hoover Dam for several years in the 1940s and slowing tourist traffic. Talbot’s husband Ed passed away in 1942, and she remarried two years later, still operating the restaurant and promoting her Santa Claus Acres lots. Several of the lots sold, but none were ever built upon, despite the proximity to the booming tourist attraction of the Hoover Dam and the location along the route to Las Vegas. Why?

Water, as always is the story in the desert. 

Santa Claus, AZ had unexpectedly been built atop land where the water table was very deep, due to a nearby geologic fault. No successful wells were dug, so water had to be hauled by tanker the 14 miles from Kingman, an expensive task. Notes on each dining table reminded guests not to waste water, signed “Mrs. Claus”. 

Talbot also began losing interest in running her tourist attraction due to her increasing gambling habit, reportedly gambling away entire days’ profits at a time. Her second husband died in 1947, and she was getting older, becoming less interested in water conservation and constant food service, especially with the lure of the gambling tables nearby. In 1950, she sold Santa Claus and moved back to Los Angeles near her children. 

The new owners, Doc and Erma Bromaghim, carried on where Ninon Talbot had left off, and for a decade, it was still a holiday at Santa Claus. However, business began to slow, and the Bromaghims began closing the attraction December through February starting in the mid-50s, in order to save money. Water again was a big issue. They were exhausted with trucking water, and reportedly drilled down a staggering 2,000 feet deep, still not finding water. This was the last straw, and they sold Santa Claus in 1965.

And from here, it was nothing but downhill for Santa Claus, with the common end-of-life tale for roadside attractions like this. At least eight different owners spun through the place, which clearly drew in those who didn’t give thought to the practicalities of water and customer service. But of course, no owner lasted long, and no one invested any money in improvements or even upkeep. Maintenance slipped, and things got shabby. The new owners stopped answering the children’s Christmas letters each year.

The holiday aesthetic of the neat and charming Santa village was lost. 

Where once there was Mrs. Santa Claus and her Rum Pie, there now was microwave sandwiches. The gas station closed, becoming a very slow moving antique and curio shop specializing in music boxes. One owner reportedly favored using mannequins in parked cars in an attempt to give the attraction an air of business. 

Author Mark Winegardner described the latter days of Santa Claus in his 1987 book “Elvis Presley Boulevard: From Sea to Shining Sea, Almost”: “Styrofoam silver bells, strands of burned-out Christmas lights and faded plastic likenesses of Old Saint Nick garnished this little village. A lopsided, artificial twenty-foot tree whistled in the wind beside a broken Coke machine and an empty ice freezer. Two of the three buildings were padlocked; through their windows, encrusted with layers of sand and decade-old aerosol snow.”

Drivers in the second half of the century weren’t looking for roadside attractions and surprises like their parents and grandparents had, either. People wanted to get where they were going, be it to the glimmers of Phoenix in one direction or Vegas in the other. 

A variety of new uses for Santa Claus were proposed throughout the years, but nothing went beyond the dreaming stage: a foster home, a trailer park, a cocktail lounge, a shopping center. Ultimately, the town was wiped from the official maps, and officially closed services in 1993 (some sources say 1995).

The entire “town” has been for sale off and on since. As of this recording, you can buy Santa Claus, Arizona for the princely sum of $440,000. The real estate listing (which you can view here) dully lists a brief history of the place, ending with the following in a scream, sans punctuation and with several typographical and grammatical errors: “4 ACRE ON MAJOR HWY BRING BACK THE ORGINAL TOWN OF SANTA CLAUSE ONCE HAD ITS ON POST OFFICE NUMBER THINK OF A GREAT SHOW CAR AND BIKE STOP MAKE A STATEMENT, REBUILD AND DRAW IN THE TOURIST AND LOCALS”. 

Route 93, where Santa Claus is located, is still the sole route between Vegas and the major Arizona cities, yet Santa Claus sits abandoned, covered in graffiti and dilapidated on the side of the road, in the middle of the harsh and unyielding Mojave Desert. 

It’s a cautionary note for the future of many desert cities, as water in the area becomes more scarce. What happens when a place is no longer habitable? Here lies Santa Claus, Arizona. 

Images of the abandoned interiors: http://www.placesthatwere.com/2015/07/christmas-tree-inn-in-abandoned-santa.html

The End of Santa Claus Land and Christmas Park and Santa Claus School? No.

It was reportedly one of Charles Howard’s great dreams, that modest little theme park called “Christmas Park”, sitting next to the school for Santa Clauses in Albion, NY. It was ultimately not a long-lived park, however. Howard became distressed with the direction the park was heading in 1964, quoted in an article at the time as saying, “They put in merry-go-rounds and ferris wheels. I have nothing against these things, but in Christmas Park a ferris wheel should be in the form of a Christmas wreath, and a merry-go-round should have reindeer to ride on.” His complaints came along with reports of financial troubles, and the next year in 1965, Christmas Park filed for bankruptcy, about ¾ of a million dollars in debt in today’s money. 

The entire operation was sold at auction; a man named Vincent Cardone purchased the school and theme park, and a woman named Elizabeth Babcock purchased the Santa suit business she’d been managing for several years. Other items and tracts of land were sold to other buyers. 

Howard died in 1966. Said by a journalist at the time, he “guided his sleigh into the limitless great beyond.”

http://nyhistoric.com/2012/12/santa-claus/ The remnants of Christmas Park were left alone, untouched by all accounts over the last 50 or so years, and still remain to this day, including the old train tunnel and the barns, some still with signs attached and Christmas wreaths decorating the insides. Today, a historical marker stands on the site. It reads: “Santa Claus. Charles W. Howard, 1896-1966. In 1937 he established here a world famous Santa Claus School, the first of its kind, and 1953 Christmas Park. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Santa Claus”. 

What about Santa Claus Land? 

The park continued to add new rides through the 60s, 70s and 80s, delightfully detailed on the park’s official timeline page: https://www.holidayworld.com/holiblog/2019/05/15/timeline-santa-claus-land-holiday-world-splashin-safari/  In the 1970s, the park moved its entrance, signalling a major focus change from kid-focused to whole-family entertainment. They added nine major rides over the next decade. By 1984, the park changed its name to Holiday World, expanding with two new holiday-themed areas, Halloween and 4th of July. Jim Yellig served as Santa at the park from its opening in 1946 until a few months before his death in 1984. There’s also been a couple of community housing developments from the Koch family, called Christmas Lake Village and Holiday Village.

1993 saw the addition of a major waterpark called Splashin’ Safari, and 2006 saw the addition of a Thanksgiving themed area to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the park. The park is of course, still open today, a major, award-winning theme park and waterpark, and at least four generations of the Koch family have owned the park. In 2004, it won the international Applause award, honoring “foresight, originality, and creativity, plus sound business development and profitability,” the smallest theme park at the time to ever win said award. 

Ironically, the park is once again no longer open during the Christmas season, closed mid-November through mid-May. Visitors to Santa Claus, IN can find themselves in the same situation as folks 70 years ago – not a lot of Santa Claus in Santa Claus around the holidays. 

As part of the park’s 70th anniversary celebrations, the “Freedom Train”, the miniature railroad engine that had been the last original ride removed from the park, was brought back as a stationary display, considered by the park’s president as “an important part of our history”.

As for the Santa Claus School, it too is still in operation. It operated in Albion until 1968, at which point Charles Howard’s friends, Nate and Mary Ida Doran, moved the school to Bay City, MI. Tom and Holly Valent took over operation in 1987, and the school moved to Midland, MI, where it still teaches approximately 300 Santas per year today. 

And as of 2010, professional Santa Phillip L. Wenz authored the Santa Claus Oath, a set of guiding principles for those seeking to embody Santa Claus. It was dedicated in the honor of Charles Howard and Jim Yellig, in the rotunda of Santa’s Candy Castle, there in Santa Claus, IN. https://santaclausoath.webs.com/abouttheoath.htm 

Conclusions

Now, to the pedantic out there as we get back to our question about earliest theme parks. You might also award Knott’s Berry Farm the title of the first theme park, as it had a Wild West and Ghost Town area that opened all the way back in 1941. However, it was still primarily a restaurant at the time and didn’t become an enclosed theme park officially until the 50s or 60s. But that’s really neither here nor there. And of course, if you broaden the question to include “amusement” parks and not just theme parks, you’ll have to go back to the 1500s.

Of course, there was another Christmas theme park that was also considered one of the first theme parks in the US. But we’ll have to save that one for another year.

I really liked this quote I found while researching for this episode, in an article about historical preservation and Charles Howard. Orleans County historian Matt Ballard writes in a 2018 article: “Material culture serves a valuable purpose in the process of interpreting the past. Void of any physical representation of past cultures, we would lose all ability to understand the lives of those who lived without a voice.” It’s this quote that shines a light on at least my own fascination with abandoned places and abandoned theme parks. What we leave behind helps us understand what came before, especially if they were a person of less power.

Charles Howard, one of the great Santa Clauses, himself wrote a letter in favor of historical preservation for landmark buildings in Albion in the 1960s. From a young age, too, Howard realized that teaching the role of Santa was a great task and always viewed that task as a privilege. So important was this role, that Howard remarked, “To say there is no Santa Claus is the most erroneous statement in the world. Santa Claus is a thought that is passed from generation to generation. After time this thought takes on a human form. Maybe if all children and adults understand the symbolism of this thought we can actually attain Peace on Earth and good will to men everywhere.”

References

Santa Claus, AZ

1. Arizona Name Stories: Winter Holiday Edition. Names ReDefined. December 2018. https://storiesaboutnames.wordpress.com/2018/12/03/arizona-name-stories-winter-holiday-edition/. Accessed December 8, 2019.
2. PlacesThatWere. Christmas Tree Inn in abandoned Santa Claus, Arizona. Places That Were. http://www.placesthatwere.com/2015/07/christmas-tree-inn-in-abandoned-santa.html. Accessed December 8, 2019.
3. www.nerdmecca.com. Christmas Tree Inn, Santa Claus, Arizona – Ghost Towns of Arizona and Surrounding States. http://www.ghosttownaz.info/santa-claus-arizona.php. Accessed December 8, 2019.
4. Thompson C. Clay Thompson’s Valley 101: A Slightly Skewed Guide to Living in Arizona. American Traveler Press; 2003.
5. Ho! Ho! Ho! Have you been to Santa Claus, AZ? KNXV. https://www.abc15.com/entertainment/events/santa-claus-arizona-yes-there-used-to-be-a-christmas-themed-town-in-arizona. Published December 9, 2016. Accessed December 8, 2019.
6. Hoover Dam. In: Wikipedia. ; 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hoover_Dam&oldid=928283754. Accessed December 8, 2019.
7. Keeping It Straight: Welcome to Santa Claus, Arizona. Kingman Daily Miner. https://kdminer.com/news/2015/jul/09/keeping-it-straight-welcome-to-santa-claus-arizon/. Accessed December 8, 2019.
8. Towne DC. MAYBE CHRISTMAS WASN’T MEANT TO LAST FOREVER: The Rise and Fall of Santa Claus, Arizona. The Journal of Arizona History. 2008;49(3):233-254.
9. Meet Santa Claus, Arizona: An Abandoned Theme Town In The Middle Of The Desert. TravelAwaits. https://www.travelawaits.com/2479200/santa-claus-arizona-abandoned-theme-town/. Published September 6, 2019. Accessed December 8, 2019.
10. Ninon Talbott. Restaurant-ing through history. https://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/tag/ninon-talbott/. Accessed December 8, 2019.
11. Pomona Public Library Digital Collections : Item Viewer. http://content.ci.pomona.ca.us/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/Frasher&CISOPTR=3483&CISOBOX=1&REC=2. Accessed December 8, 2019.
12. r/arizona – Christmas, Arizona. reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/arizona/comments/7jmdq5/christmas_arizona/. Accessed December 8, 2019.
13. Ruins of Santa’s Land, Santa Claus, Arizona. RoadsideAmerica.com. https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/14388. Accessed December 8, 2019.
14. Santa Claus ghost town: The abandoned Christmas-themed park in Arizona. The Vintage News. June 2016. https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/06/07/santa-claus-ghost-town-the-abandoned-christmas-themed-park-in-arizona/. Accessed December 8, 2019.
15. Lost NQ. SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN’ TO TOWN. NEVER QUITE LOST. November 2015. https://neverquitelost.com/2015/11/20/santa-claus-is-comin-to-town/. Accessed December 8, 2019.
16. Inc Z. Santa Claus Real Estate – Santa Claus Golden Valley Homes For Sale. Zillow. https://www.zillow.com:443/homes/Santa-Claus,-Golden-Valley,-AZ_rb/. Accessed December 8, 2019.
17. Trimble M. Santa Claus, Arizona. True West Magazine. December 2016. https://truewestmagazine.com/santa-claus-arizona/. Accessed December 8, 2019.
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19. Santa Claus, Arizona. Atlas Obscura. http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/santa-claus-arizona. Accessed December 5, 2019.
20. Santa Claus, Arizona – Far from the North Pole. Abandoned Spaces. February 2018. https://www.abandonedspaces.com/towns/santa-claus-arizona.html. Accessed December 8, 2019.
21. Santa Claus, Arizona: A Brief History. Arizona Highways. https://www.arizonahighways.com/blog/santa-claus-arizona-brief-history. Published December 21, 2015. Accessed December 8, 2019.
22. Santa Claus, AZ – Ruins of Santa’s Land. RoadsideAmerica.com. https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/12727. Accessed December 8, 2019.
23. Santa Claus: Arizona Ghost Town of Christmas Past. Images Arizona. November 2016. https://imagesarizona.com/santa-claus-arizona-ghost-town-of-christmas-past/. Accessed December 8, 2019.
24. Santa Claus: Arizona Ghost Town of Christmas Past. Images Arizona. November 2016. https://imagesarizona.com/santa-claus-arizona-ghost-town-of-christmas-past/. Accessed December 8, 2019.
25. Matthews L. The Abandoned Christmas Town in the Arizona Desert. Popular Mechanics. https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/a18685/santa-claus-arizona/. Published December 23, 2015. Accessed December 8, 2019.
26. The once-festive town of Santa Claus (just off RT-66) is now abandoned and run by rattlesnakes. Roadtrippers. https://roadtrippers.com/magazine/once-festive-town-santa-claus-arizona/. Published December 18, 2018. Accessed December 8, 2019.
27. Clark M. The Route 66 Cookbook: Comfort Food from the Mother Road. Council Oak Books; 2003.
28. Roadsidepictures. This Is It!; 2008. https://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidepictures/2210370280/. Accessed December 8, 2019.
29. U.S. Route 66 in Arizona. In: Wikipedia. ; 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=U.S._Route_66_in_Arizona&oldid=924959230. Accessed December 8, 2019.
30. Matthews L. We’re Fascinated by This Abandoned Christmas-Themed Desert Town. Country Living. https://www.countryliving.com/homes/real-estate/santa-claus-arizona. Published December 22, 2015. Accessed December 8, 2019.

Santa Claus, IN; Charles Howard; Santa Claus Land

1. $2,000 closer to Charles Howard statue. The Daily News. http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/article/20190907/BDN01/190909637. Accessed December 6, 2019.
2. Santa Claus Land – Home. https://www.facebook.com/SantaClausLand/. Accessed December 4, 2019.
3. 80-year-old Candy Castle still popular with kids. Dubois County Herald. https://duboiscountyherald.com/b/80-year-old-candy-castle-still-popular-with-kids. Accessed December 9, 2019.
4. 1960s “Santa Claus Land” Film (Now Holiday World). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u4WKeEVS6Q. Accessed December 11, 2019.
5. 1960s “Santa Claus Land” film (now Holiday World) – YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=2u4WKeEVS6Q&feature=emb_title. Accessed December 4, 2019.
6. Townsend AA. Albion. Arcadia Publishing; 2005.
7. America’s First Theme Park Was All Santa, All the Time | Mental Floss. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/89923/americas-first-theme-park-was-all-santa-all-time. Accessed December 4, 2019.
8. Carroll A. America’s First Theme Park: Berries, Chicken, & Ghost Towns. Medium. https://medium.com/@austincarroll/americas-first-theme-park-berries-chicken-ghost-towns-d6dea86292d2. Published May 1, 2018. Accessed December 4, 2019.
9. Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School. Atlas Obscura. http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/charles-w-howard-santa-claus-school. Accessed December 6, 2019.
10. Christmas Park – Albion, New York. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqzyXZDVihs. Accessed December 6, 2019.
11. County Legislature votes in support of dedicating Route 31 in memory of Charles W. Howard | Orleans Hub. https://orleanshub.com/county-legislature-votes-in-support-of-dedicating-route-31-in-memory-of-charles-w-howard/. Accessed December 6, 2019.
12. CWH Santa Claus School| Santa & Mrs. Claus | Michigan. CWH Santa Claus School. https://www.santaclausschool.com. Accessed December 11, 2019.
13. Curtiss S. Dear Santa: Santa Claus, Indiana. The Weekly Special – Indiana Public Media. https://indianapublicmedia.org/theweeklyspecial/dear-santa-santa-claus-indiana/. Accessed December 4, 2019.
14. Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York on June 9, 1965 · Page 13. Newspapers.com. http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/136520476/. Accessed December 11, 2019.
15. Fond Memories of Santa! Kim’s Thoughts. December 2007. https://thoughtsbykim.com/2007/12/21/fond-memories-of-santa/. Accessed December 11, 2019.
16. Founder of Santa Claus School also was a farmer | Orleans County Department of History. http://orleanscountyhistorian.org/founder-of-santa-claus-school-also-was-a-farmer/. Accessed December 6, 2019.
17. Freedom Train Returning to Holiday World. https://www.insideindianabusiness.com/story/31241150/freedom-train-returning-to-holiday-world. Accessed December 11, 2019.
18. Historical presentation will focus on legendary Albion Santa Claus Charles Howard. The Daily News. http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/article/20171014/BDN01/171018995. Accessed December 6, 2019.
19. HISTORY LESSON: Post Office in Santa Claus, Indiana. https://www.courierpress.com/story/life/columnists/2016/12/05/history-lesson-post-office-santa-claus-indiana/94822120/. Accessed December 4, 2019.
20. Koch P, Ammeson J. Holiday World. Arcadia Publishing; 2006.
21. Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari. In: Wikipedia. ; 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Holiday_World_%26_Splashin%27_Safari&oldid=925690128. Accessed December 4, 2019.
22. Mitchell D. How Santa Claus was saved. Indianapolis Star. https://www.indystar.com/story/news/history/retroindy/2014/12/09/santa-claus-saved/20133669/. Accessed December 11, 2019.
23. Ricci-Canham H, Canham A. Legendary Locals of Orleans County, New York. Arcadia Publishing; 2012.
24. Harris K. Life In Santa Claus, Indiana, The Most Christmas-y Town In America. History Daily. https://historydaily.org/life-in-santa-claus-indiana-the-most-christmas-y-town-in-america. Accessed December 11, 2019.
25. Johnson L. My Dad Knew Santa Claus: The True Story of Christmas Park and the Santa Claus School in Albion, New York. L. E. Johnson; 2004.
26. New panel at Mount Albion tells life story of Charles Howard | Orleans County Department of History. http://orleanscountyhistorian.org/new-panel-at-mount-albion-tells-life-story-of-charles-howard/. Accessed December 6, 2019.
27. Our History…The Facts. Town of Santa Claus. November 2015. http://townofsantaclaus.com/santawordpress/our-history-the-facts/. Accessed December 4, 2019.
28. Overlooked Orleans: Christmas Park shone briefly and brightly. The Daily News. http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/article/20171218/BDN01/171218421. Accessed December 6, 2019.
29. Overlooked Orleans: Keeping the focus on historic preservation. The Daily News. http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/article/20181224/BDN01/181229449. Accessed December 6, 2019.
30. Park History: From Santa Claus Land to Holiday World. Holiday World. https://www.holidayworld.com/holiblog/2018/10/11/park-history-santa-claus-land-holiday-world/. Published October 11, 2018. Accessed December 4, 2019.
31. podcast. Holiday World. https://www.holidayworld.com/holiblog/tag/podcast/. Accessed December 4, 2019.
32. Podcast Episodes and Ringtones from Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari. Holiday World. https://www.holidayworld.com/holisounds/. Accessed December 4, 2019.
33. Podcast: the Town named Santa Claus. Holiday World. https://www.holidayworld.com/holiblog/2018/12/14/podcast-the-town-named-santa-claus/. Published December 14, 2018. Accessed December 4, 2019.
34. Ballard M. Recalling Howard’s Beloved Christmas Park. Pioneer Record. December 2017. https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/pioneer_record/51.
35. Resurrected Chateau in Mariah Hill delivers on its dry-rub ribs, fried chicken, other delights. http://www.courierpress.com/features/resurrected-chateau-in-mariah-hill-delivers-on-its-dry-rub-ribs-fried-chicken-other-delights-ep-4445-324681571.html. Accessed December 11, 2019.
36. Rich history of Santa Claus instruction traces its roots back to Albion. The Buffalo News. December 2016. https://buffalonews.com/2016/12/24/rich-history-santa-claus-instruction-traces-roots-back-albion/. Accessed December 6, 2019.
37. Foley M. Saint Mick: My Journey From Hardcore Legend to Santa’s Jolly Elf. Polis Books; 2017.
38. Koch P, Thompson EW. Santa Claus. Arcadia Publishing Library Editions; 2013.
39. Thompson PK and E. Santa Claus. Arcadia Publishing; 2013.
40. Santa Claus. New York Historic. https://nyhistoric.com/2012/12/santa-claus/. Accessed December 6, 2019.
41. Santa Claus Land and the Town Named Santa Claus. Retro Planet. https://blog.retroplanet.com/santa-claus-land/. Published January 28, 2014. Accessed December 4, 2019.
42. Santa Claus Land, Santa Claus IN: showing house of dolls. https://contentdm.acpl.lib.in.us/digital/collection/coll6/id/3220. Accessed December 4, 2019.
43. Santa Claus Land, Santa Claus, Indiana. https://vintage-ads.livejournal.com/3714917.html. Accessed December 4, 2019.
44. Santa Claus Museum and Village. In: Wikipedia. ; 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Santa_Claus_Museum_and_Village&oldid=850940893. Accessed December 9, 2019.
45. Santa Claus Oath. Santa Claus Oath. https://santaclausoath.webs.com/. Accessed December 5, 2019.
46. Staff W. Santa Claus, Indiana. Moment of Indiana History – Indiana Public Media. https://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/santa-claus-indiana/. Accessed December 4, 2019.
47. Santa Claus, Indiana. In: Wikipedia. ; 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Santa_Claus,_Indiana&oldid=928519362. Accessed December 4, 2019.
48. Santa Claus, Indiana gets 20,000 letters a year – and “elves” reply to all of them | US news | The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/09/santa-claus-indiana-gets-20000-letters-a-year-and-elves-reply-to-all-of-them. Accessed December 11, 2019.
49. Santa Clauses, Salami-Tyers and Soap-Tasters – Mechanix Illustrated (Dec, 1952). Modern Mechanix. http://blog.modernmechanix.com/santa-clauses-salami-tyers-and-soap-tasters/. Accessed December 11, 2019.
50. The Birth of the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School | Orleans County Department of History. http://orleanscountyhistorian.org/the-birth-of-the-charles-w-howard-santa-claus-school/. Accessed December 6, 2019.
51. The Early History of Theme Parks in the United States. https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Navigation/Community/Arcadia-and-THP-Blog/September-2017/%E2%80%8BThe-Early-History-of-Theme-Parks-in-America. Accessed December 4, 2019.
52. The History of Holiday World. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgzWYYhl4QY. Accessed December 4, 2019.
53. The History of Holiday World Theme Park. TripSavvy. https://www.tripsavvy.com/the-history-of-holiday-world-3882464. Accessed December 11, 2019.
54. The History of Santa Claus, Indiana. http://web.archive.org/web/20151103203238/http://www.hohoholdings.com/schistory.htm. Published November 3, 2015. Accessed December 4, 2019.
55. The year-round Santa. http://westsidenewsny.com/pastarchives/OldSite/westside/news/2003/1222/feature/theyearround.html. Accessed December 11, 2019.
56. Dahl DL. Those Kids Deserve Water Too: A History of the Patoka Lake Regional Water and Sewer District. Lulu Press, Inc; 2019.
57. Marimen M, Willis JA, Taylor T. Weird Indiana: Your Travel Guide to Indiana’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.; 2008.
58. Western New York Amusement Parks – Rose Ann Hirsch – Google Books. https://books.google.com/books?id=xtrLDCJYVsAC&pg=PA69&lpg=PA69&dq=igloo+tunnel+christmas+park&source=bl&ots=jAmCGrIUyu&sig=x3-ggbRI5W5iqooOk2SoEEZJHXg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=6bS8UP6vMvOs0AHDwoH4BA&ved=0CEUQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=igloo%20tunnel%20christmas%20park&f=false. Accessed December 6, 2019.
59. World’s Oldest Santa Statue, Santa Claus, Indiana. RoadsideAmerica.com. https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/16624. Accessed December 9, 2019.

Other Santa Claus References

1. The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. In: Wikipedia. ; 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Life_and_Adventures_of_Santa_Claus&oldid=929426527. Accessed December 5, 2019.
2. Boissoneault L. A Civil War Cartoonist Created the Modern Image of Santa Claus as Union Propaganda. Smithsonian. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/civil-war-cartoonist-created-modern-image-santa-claus-union-propaganda-180971074/. Accessed December 5, 2019.
3. Christmas. In: Wikipedia. ; 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christmas&oldid=928552167. Accessed December 5, 2019.
4. Copyrigit Messages. http://smib.tripod.com/copyrght.htm. Accessed December 5, 2019.
5. How Coca-Cola invented Christmas as we know it. Salon. https://www.salon.com/2017/12/16/how-coca-cola-invented-christmas-as-we-know-it_partner/. Published December 16, 2017. Accessed December 9, 2019.
6. How Santa brought Coca-Cola in from the cold. National Museum of American History. https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/santa-coca-cola. Published December 17, 2014. Accessed December 5, 2019.
7. Ought it not be a Merry Christmas? https://www.alexandriava.gov/historic/fortward/default.aspx?id=39996. Accessed December 6, 2019.
8. Santa Claus. In: Wikipedia. ; 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Santa_Claus&oldid=928457109. Accessed December 5, 2019.
9. Santa Claus, Georgia. In: Wikipedia. ; 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Santa_Claus,_Georgia&oldid=926675816. Accessed December 8, 2019.
10. The True History of the Modern Day Santa Claus. The Coca-Cola Company. https://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/coke-lore-santa-claus. Accessed December 5, 2019.
11. Thomas Nast | Santa Claus in Camp (published in Harper’s Weekly, January 3, 1863) | The Met. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/427502. Accessed December 5, 2019.
12. Trolley park. In: Wikipedia. ; 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trolley_park&oldid=919839820. Accessed December 4, 2019.
13. Solutions UCC-O. USPS Operation Santa. http://about.usps.com/holidaynews/operation-santa.htm. Accessed December 9, 2019.
14. Where Was the First Department Store Santa Claus? New England Today. December 2018. https://newengland.com/today/living/new-england-history/first-department-store-santa-claus/. Accessed December 6, 2019.

Remember that what you’ve read is a podcast! A link is included at the top of the page. Listen to more episodes of The Abandoned Carousel on your favorite platform: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RadioPublic | TuneIn | Overcast | Pocket Casts | Castro. Support the podcast on Patreon for extra content! Comment below to share your thoughts – as Lucy Maud Montgomery once said, nothing is ever really lost to us, as long as we remember it.

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The Human C. P. Huntington

The roots for this episode began growing a long time ago. I was looking at pictures of miniature theme park trains on Google. I started seeing these trains that looked really similar, except for the numbers on the sides, and started casually making A List. I later learned they were called C. P. Huntingtons, but I still had that question: what was the deal with all these trains?

The story of the C. P. Huntington trains begins with a member of “The Big Four”, the four tycoons who built the Central Pacific Railroad. We start our story with a great man from the 1800s: robber baron Collis Potter Huntington.

Collis had a nose for buying and selling. If you’re at all a fan of Star Trek, he would’ve made a fine Ferengi – very concerned with profit. Born in 1821 on the East Coast, Collis came westward in his late twenties, making money by selling supplies during the California gold rush. He was an entrepreneurial man, making his way up in the world by moving on to hardware store ownership before setting his sights on the “railroad issue”.

Collis invested in the new Central Pacific Railroad Company, along with the other members of the Big Four: Mark Hopkins, Leland Stanford, and Charles Crocker. Ultimately, their railroad in California connected with railroads from the east to finally make transcontinental travel possible.

Starting in 1861 in Sacramento, CA, the Central Pacific railroad began building eastwards until it met the Union Pacific Railroad at Promontory, Utah, in 1869. This was accomplished with the driving of a ceremonial “golden spike” which is now on display at Stanford University.

This was a huge deal – coast to coast train travel was finally possible, allowing for people to reach the opposite coast in about eight days. This replaced months-long sea voyages around South America’s Cape Horn, or rickety and dangerous wagon rides across the United States.

Huntington continued on throughout the rest of his life as a railroad tycoon, getting involved in the Southern Pacific Railroad line, too. He became a lobbyist, bribing politicians and Congressmen. He was reportedly one of the most hated railwaymen in the country by the end of his life, due to his preference for profit over people. According to his contemporaries, he was “possessed of the morals of a shark.” 

The CP Huntington Locomotive

Now that we’ve talked about the man, let’s get into the story of the locomotive that bore his name: the C. P. Huntington. 

“In the early days of locomotive building, it was considered a great achievement when that pygmy engine with a flaring superfluity of a smokestack, the C. P. Huntington, was put on the road,” wrote a 1926 newspaper op-ed.

Stories from a century ago often seem to bring up the wild adventures of these “Monarchs of the West” as the early Iron Horse engines were called. Apparently, all of these vintage engines were known for having interesting stories or thrilling escapes. 

The CPH was one of these. 

Origin of the CPH

Collis Potter Huntington needed some engines for his transcontinental line, but nothing else was available due to the Civil War – only these two small identical engines. Both engines had originally been built for a different railway back East, but were never delivered as the original purchaser did not pay for them. Collis Porter Huntington went ahead and purchased the CPH and her sister.

The engines shipped from Cooke Locomotive Works (also known as Danforth-Cooke) in New Jersey, all the way to San Francisco in a journey of 131 days around Cape Horn. CPH was #277 out of the locomotive works, and given the #3. The identical sister engine was #325 out of the factory, less popular in cultural references, was named the #4 T. D. Judah, in honor of the CP railroad’s first chief engineer who surveyed a passable route over the Sierra Nevada mountains. The CPH engine was put to use to help build Huntington’s transcontinental railway. 

The CPH: 4-2-4T

In technical details, the CPH is a 4-2-4T. I’ll give a layman’s definition of what this means, but I’m not a true train junkie (yet?), just a research nerd, so please forgive any errors. (I already know I’ll get letters about calling it a “train” and not a “locomotive”. Be kind, my train-friends.) 4-2-4T is train shorthand for the configuration of the wheels on the locomotive. A 4-2-4T has four leading wheels on two axles, two powered driving wheels on one axle (on the CPH, the big wheels) and four trailing wheels on two axles that support the tank (here, a “side tank” is noted with the T-suffix). There were other trains beyond the CPH that also bore this configuration, but a 4-2-4T is apparently colloquially known as a Huntington.

Working History of the CPH

The CPH did good work on the Central Pacific Railway, used in construction as well as pulling some passenger cars. Notably, she pulled the first passenger cars over the newly completed Western Pacific Railway from Sacramento to Stockton in August of 1869. In 1871, Southern Pacific purchased the engine and re-numbered it the #1. 

Under Southern Pacific operation, things were not as rosy for the CPH. In 1872, the train suffered a massive collision with a larger train. The engineer in the CPH was killed. Quote: “The San Jose Mercury of June 7, 1872, noted: “the construction locomotive is small, and when the collision occurred the larger engine went completely through the smaller, taking in steam boxes, cylinders, smoke stack, driving wheels, boilers, etc., and leaving it a mass of ruins.”” 

It took several years before the engine was rebuilt. Quote from “May 1, 1875, the following account appeared in the Minor Scientific Press of Nevada – most likely taken from an article originally appearing in a San Francisco newspaper. “Certainly a peculiar looking craft it is [the CPH]. The engine is of a most unique pattern, there being but one or two others like it on the coast. ”” 

However, the CPH was only put to limited use once she was rebuilt.

Around the turn of the century, the engine spent some time in storage before being rebuilt as a weed burner (someone’s got to clear the tracks, after all). Reportedly this didn’t last long either. The engine was rebuilt again back to her original configuration, and bounced back and forth out of storage in Sacramento at Southern Pacific’s machine shops, where it was put on a platform to display at the shops. She was pushed into official service retirement around 1900.

Disuse of the CPH

Why all this bouncing around instead of actually using the engines? Well, apparently this 4-2-4 locomotive design had significant issues. The single driving axle was too light and did not carry the full weight of the engine’s trailing rear end. The engine couldn’t reliably pull trains, particularly not on gradients. And the Forney-style water tank was too small, so the trains would consume all their water (necessary to make the steam) if they went any moderate distance. 

Something that’s hard to convey from all of this discussion so far is how small the CPH is. Technical schematics indicate she is 7 ¾ ft wide, 12 ½ ft tall, and 29 ½ ft long. This is incredibly small compared to many other locomotives. Indeed, some of my favorite pictures of the CPH I’ve found during my research are those where she is posed next to a larger engine.

The CPH Out of Working Service

As the years went on, loads grew larger, and the small CPH just couldn’t handle the requirements for larger modern loads of the times. With a need for bigger locomotives, the small 4-2-4s were left in storage, on back spurs at the train yard, or up on high trestles in the paint shops, for longer and longer, until they were scrapped.

The T. D. Judah, C. P. Huntington’s sister engine, was rebuilt into a 4-2-2 configuration at some point in the late 1800s. Some reports indicate that the Judah worked at a sugar plantation in the Hawaiian islands (“Sandwich Islands”); others say she was sold to the Wellington Colliery Company in British Columbia, sometime around 1889. Ultimately, the Judah was scrapped in between 1912 and 1914. (Though several of the 1922 texts I found indicated she was still in active service, nothing else I could find to substantiate this. Another 1899 text indicated she had been scrapped several years earlier. Central Pacific #93 was also converted to a 4-2-2 configuration, so it’s likely that the confusing reports is a result of mixing up the two. Big mystery, our T. D. Judah.)

Why the Poor Railroad Records?

As an interesting sidebar, you might be wondering why the stories of the CPH and the Judah are relatively light with details and mixed in with a bit of confusion. Well, as so often happens, this is a tale of fire damage. The 1906 San Francisco fires, the result of a devastating earthquake, destroyed nearly 80% of the city. Among the losses were those of the railroad: records, drawings, and photographs. A decade later in 1917, another fire in the Sacramento train shops destroyed more railway documentation. What we have available to us now from the time of the Iron Horses is what was saved by families of employees and the occasional state library record – the tip of the iceberg compared to what had been.

Back to the end of the working service record, we’d been talking about the scrapping of the T. D. Judah.

The C. P. Huntington was nearly scrapped in 1914 as well, but was saved this fate by the decision to have her put on display for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. This was a World’s Fair, meant to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal and showcase San Francisco’s recovery after the 1906 earthquake. 

At the World’s Fair, the C. P. Huntington was displayed alongside a much larger loco, a 2-4-4-2 Mallet. This was meant to drive home to the visiting audience the massive changes in railway needs over the prior 50 years, and it did so very well. The 1840s CPH looked practically like a child’s toy next to the large and modern 1900s locos.

The Original CPH on Display

Thus began the history of the original C. P. Huntington engine as a display piece and a showcase from a different era. 

In January of 1920, national papers reported the CPH being put on display in a place of honor outside Sacramento’s train shops. They called her “California’s oldest locomotive”, and in a bit of revisionist history, the papers declared that she had been the first loco to ever operate in California, a claim which certainly cannot be true. Tall tale or not, the CPH was getting a rest, and getting the due come to her.

She next went on major display at the “Days of ‘49” celebrating the 1849 Gold Rush. Not just a poem by Joaquin Miller that was turned into a song by Bob Dylan…no, in this context, I’m talking about the May 1922 celebrations in California to commemorate the Gold Rush. Old #1 was cleaned up and hooked up to a flat car with seats. She pulled passengers around the city for a modest fare of 49 cents. 

After this, she was kept in better repair, and participated in other displays and showcases, such as being part of the filming for the 1924 movie “The Iron Horse”, the highest grossing movie of that year.

The Iron Horse movie (click for more information).

Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre, a lavish movie palace in downtown Hollywood that opened in 1922, held the premiere of “The Iron Horse”. During the movie’s run there, the little CPH was parked in the forecourt of the theater, facing the street, in order to help promote the film. 

She went to state fairs, dedicated bridges and railroad depots, and so on. When she was not out on display, she sat in front of the railyard there in Sacramento, under a small pavilion.

On December 16, 1935, she was even driven on a flat car down to New Orleans, where she was the first train to cross the new Huey P. Long Bridge. 

1939 Opening Ceremonies

In 1939, the engine participated in the opening ceremonies for the Los Angeles Union Station. 

The occasion was observed by Ward Kimball. If this name sounds familiar to you, that’s because he was one of Walt Disney’s “Nine Old Men”. Kimball was an animator, responsible for the creation of Jiminy Cricket (Pinocchio), Jaq and Gus (Cinderella), and the Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland) among many many others. 

Kimball was also a railway fan. He had his own narrow-gauge railway collection which he ran in his 3 acre backyard. Reportedly, Kimball’s train enthusiasm bumped up against Walt Disney’s, and Kimball helped encourage Disney to install the iconic railroad at Disneyland when it opened in 1955. 

Well, don’t mind me, going down a Ward Kimball rabbithole. He was a very interesting man, particularly if you’re into Disney. 

Why did I bring him up? 

Oh yes. Kimball was on hand to observe the opening ceremonies for the Los Angeles Union Station in 1939 because he was a train buff. Not only did he see the ceremonies, he filmed them on 16mm color film video, incredibly expensive in 1939. 

Kimball captured the only known footage of the opening. Decked out in brilliant red and green paint, Southern Pacific’s engine #1 was a relic from a different time, even in 1939 – the little engine was 76 years old at that point! It can be seen puffing smoke, wheels churning, steaming down Alameda Street in downtown Los Angeles.

It’s an incredible sight.

This was likely one of, if not THE, last time the boiler of the venerable CPH was fired and moved under her own steam.

Later Years of the CPH

The CPH was towed out for a few more railway events in the late 50s and 60s, but primarily sat on static display in the Sacramento park in front of the trainyard.

The railway donated the CPH to the state of California in 1964. It was displayed at the Stockton fairgrounds for years. After refurbishment at the Southern Pacific’s Sacramento train shops, the CPH was moved to an exterior display at the Central Pacific Railroad Passenger Station.

C. P. Huntington on display. Click for more information.

In 1981, the CPH moved into the newly-opened California State Railroad Museum, where it is still on display in 2019. 

She was restored to her 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition appearance, covered in complicated and artistic gold leaf highlights. A 1930s newspaper article on California railroad history devoted several newspaper inches to descriptions of the paint schemes of the old wood-burning locomotives – what a luxurious, different time it was to see a newspaper devote column inches to such a thing.

The engine is reportedly the only surviving standard steam engine of its type. Danforth-Cooke’s factory produced well over 3000 engines in the Iron Horse era between 1852 and 1926. Of these, only 11 reportedly remain in existence now in 2019, one of which is the CPH; she is the only 4-2-4 remaining.

Reportedly, this locomotive will never operate under its own steam again. The California State Railroad Museum made investigations as to the state of the CPH in 1998. Reportedly “the boiler shell is too worn out to be safely steamed again without major repairs and replacements that would compromise the state of the otherwise intact artifact.”

The C. P. Huntington is the second oldest locomotive owned by the California State Railroad Museum, and one of the older surviving locomotives worldwide. (The oldest known locomotive is the 1813 “Puffing Billy” at London’s Science Museum, an engine some fifty years older than our heroine the CPH.) The CSRM currently owns eight of the 45 pre-1880s locomotives still extant in the US, inclduing the CPH. The CPH silhouette even serves as the logo for the museum.

The Chance CPH

Now, if you’ve sat through this episode in confusion so far about how all this locomotive talk ties into the theme of the podcast, get ready to have a galaxy brain moment. You might think back to the Joyland episodes, for a bit of a clue to the rest of the story. 

In the mid-twentieth century in Wichita, Kansas, a man by the name of Harold Chance was building miniature steam trains. First under the Ottaway Amusement Company name, Chance incorporated his own company as Chance Manufacturing in 1961. A year earlier, in 1960, Chance had begun production on the first version of a new miniature train.

It was the beginning of something magical.

According to the CSRM, the C. P. Huntington had been displayed at at least two occasions: the Southern Pacific Centennial Celebration in 1955, and the Salute to Steam Age in 1958. (The latter event was a good-bye ceremony marking the last run of the last steam engine of SP, #4294. The engines were placed side-by-side in the park in Sacramento to mark the beginning and end of the steam era in Southern Pacific’s history). 

Additionally, scale models of the train were reported nationally around this time in the papers, including a 1951 half-size model by a man named Jack Collier, and much smaller 1.5” scale rideable models by a man named Bob Harpur. Oh, and a very large model made entirely out of fruit by an enterprising Lions Club. 

Being a person interested in trains, it’s highly likely that Harold Chance saw news reports of these events, at the very least, particularly the reports on the end of the steam era for the Southern Pacific in 1958. And like a train at a switch, we can see the leap Harold Chance might have taken.

He began building a miniature C. P. Huntington train for use in amusement parks.

Chance’s CPH was a one-third scale model of the original. His miniature version was faithful to the original as far as looks – handmade, and incredibly detailed. The littler steam engine had the unique design of the original, with the iconic stack and wheel arrangement. 

From a mechanical perspective, his models made some changes. Apparently the big “drive” wheels are false (they can even be removed without affecting the locomotive’s operation, which many operations do to ease maintenance) and the engine powers drive shafts on the front and rear trucks of the locomotive. Gone too was steam power: Chance’s model used gasoline for fuel.

He delivered his first engine to Joyland Park, there in Wichita, Kansas, in 1961.

Joyland’s iconic train served that park from 1961 until 2006. “Joyland’s train really launched Chance Rides,” said Larry Breitenstein, National Sales Director at Chance Rides, some time later. The train was last seen publicly when the park closed in 2006. Reportedly, it is in the hands of a private collector local to Wichita.

Other Chance CPHs

Joyland’s CPH wasn’t Chance’s last miniature CPH, though.

The company has produced over 400 miniature CP Huntington rides as of the time of this recording – 400+ trains over about 60 years. 

Some basic stats: engines run about $200k, and coaches run around $60k (prices from Wikipedia, date unclear). The trains are a narrow gauge. Most CPHs are 24” gauge. However, some of the early CPH models were 20” gauge. Chance still provides individual parts for the CPH in their sales inventory. This is unsurprising, as the CPH is reportedly Chance’s most popular ride.

To some in the amusement park world, the train is frowned upon – considered a cookie cutter train, which is both sad and inaccurate. Each engine has its own modifications and personality, and each engine runs differently. But to a general audience, the CPH is an incredibly popular thing – because it’s a train! Who doesn’t love to go on a train ride?

CPH #1-400+

I’m not going to talk about every single engine on this podcast – that would be a wild, very long episode and I’ll tell you right now that this will already be a long one as it is. But I will hit a few highlights. 

Why should you care, and what is the reason for me even doing this episode in the first place? 

Rabbitholes and those giant numbers on the side of the locomotive.

The best and worst thing about these trains is that they often (but not always) have the engine number visible on the side. This number is usually (but not always) the loco number from Chance. This is the reason I got into the topic in the first place – I got sucked down into a Google image search, wondering why there were similar-looking trains all around parks and zoos, and why they had the numbers they did.

A minute ago, I said “usually” the numbers reflect the manufacturing number from the factory. It’s not always true. Some park remove the numbers, some parks never have the numbers installed, and some parks change the numbers to reflect internal numbering schemes, confusing us all. The only way to accurately know which number CPH a particular train is would be to look at the builder’s plate, attached to each loco, which contains the engine’s serial number. But sometimes these too have been removed, or have become illegible.

Additionally, they are usually robust little trains. (Engine #2 has been in operation for almost 60 years at the time of this recording!) Given their hardy nature, the trains are often sold from park to park. This often leads to confusion about the trains, as when they are in storage or in the hands of private owners, their locations are unknown or unclear. Some engines have also been scrapped, such as the #29, formerly of the St. Louis Zoo, where it was involved in an accident that more or less destroyed the entire engine. Others are nearly so, such as the #8, which currently sits without wheels on the dirt at New Orleans City Park.

Should this podcast ever make money (lol) it would be fantastic to do a history on each of the parks associated with a CPH. I cannot count the number of times during my research for this topic that I would get stuck down a rabbithole for a particular train.

I’m not even going to include a list of the CPHs in my shownotes, the List being the holy grail of CPH research. For that, I’m going to direct you to the incredible Facebook group “C. P. Huntington Train Project”, where you can find an incredible Excel spreadsheet and some very smart people and a lot of cool photos.

Anyhow, let’s talk about some of the engines. Every engine has a story, and here are a few.

#2 – “Robert D. Morrell” at Story Land (Glen, NH)

The #2 is the oldest train currently in public operation, as the #1 from Joyland is in storage or private ownership. It lives at Story Land in Glen, NH, a small family amusement park aimed at the under-teen set. They have five CPHs: #2 (red), #4 (blue), #14 (in storage), #18 (used as a backup), and #47 (green).

There are a lot of interesting things about the Story Land engines that we could get into at another time. For today, we’ll talk about the number on the front. Every CPH has the year 1863 on the front of the engine – that was the year the original CPH was manufactured. There’s only one exception: CPH #2, the red engine from Story Land named “Robert D. Morrell”. It says 1861 on the front. It’s a bit of a mystery why this is. One possibility is that this is a reference to the incorporation date for the Central Pacific Railroad, which of course was where the original CPH first operated as engine #3. It’s not clear why only one engine has this plate, however (and only #2, not #1!). 

#34 – Coney Island and Lake Como Railroad

The trains with the smallest numbers are the oldest, and some of these have been through multiple hands. Let’s take the case of #34, and I’ll illustrate how you might go down a rabbithole of fascination with just a single engine. 

This engine #34 was a 1964 model, part of the “Coney Island and Lake Como Railroad” in Cincinnati. It was painted light blue and red, the “standard” color scheme, and was called “Mad Anthony Wayne.” Coney Island in Cincinnati is a park with an incredibly long history, which we may get to one day. For now, we’ll just talk about the train,where engine #34 operated with engine #35 (“George Rogers Clark”). The train and amusement park delighted guests there at the site of a former apple orchard until 1971, when Coney Island moved to Kings Island. This was a larger site, further away from the river floods that had constantly plagued Coney Island throughout its history, and most of the rides from Coney Island were moved over to Kings Island. However, Kings Island already had trains – larger Crown models, so the small CPH engines were no longer needed. 

CPH #34 was sold to the World of Golf in 1971, reportedly along with the former station which had been cut into sections. Unfortunately, shortly after it was all installed, the nearby Florence KY sewer treatment plant overflowed in 1976 into the area, and the park, including railroad, was shut down. The train was reportedly stored in the deteriorating station for most of the next 20 years. 

In the early 1990s, it was sold to the Oil Ranch in Hockley TX. It has been repainted black and red and lost its number but still operates there as of this recording in 2019.

#235 – Michael Jackson’s Neverland

Other notable trains belonged to public figures. Take #235. Michael Jackson was a hugely influential public figure, of course, no matter what your stance on his personal life and the decades of abuse allegations against him. 

His private ranch, Neverland Ranch, was over five times the size of Disneyland. It had a zoo, a movie theater, an amusement park, and two different trains. One was a CPH – #235, a 1990 model. It was customized for Michael Jackson, and had extra twinkle lights around the coach canopies, extra decorations, and a high end sound system installed. When Jackson died, David Helm (of Helm and Sons Amusements based in CA) purchased the CPH as well as other amusement rides. The engine hasn’t been seen in public since then.

#195, 196, 178, and 89 – Heritage USA

Other problematic public figures had CPHs, too, like Jim Bakker over at his Heritage USA “Christian Disneyland”. (Don’t worry, Heritage USA is a whole, giant episode for the future. The story of Heritage USA is absolutely wild.) Although general public reporting only refers to one train at Heritage USA, it turns out that there were actually FOUR. 

Two trains were delivered new to Heritage USA in 1979, funded by the many private donors who believed in Jim Bakker’s televangelism – these were #195 and #196. One of these was featured on the Tammy Faye Bakker album cover for “Movin’ On To Victory”. The other two trains were purchased used (one was described as a “shell” and the other barely ran), one of which was #178. 

When the park went under in the late 80s as Bakker’s pyramid scheme collapsed, the amusement park assets were liquidated. #195 had been involved in a minor collision with a gate during Heritage USA’s operation, and suffered cosmetic damage. It also was reportedly cannibalized for parts to keep #196 running. As such, #195 was reportedly traded back to Chance Rides during the liquidation of the park in the late 80s (1987/1988). Chance rebuilt the loco, and sold it. This engine is currently in operation at Lakemont Park in Altoona, PA, home of Leap-the-Dips, the world’s oldest surviving, still operational rollercoaster. 

#196, the loco in better shape, was purchased by private collector Mokey Choate, who owned 13+ CPH locos under the business name Big Mokey Trains, Inc. While Mokey passed away in 2016, the business is still in operation. Big Mokey Trains leases out its fleet of trains to parks. Perhaps someone needs short-term extra capacity for an event, or perhaps a park finds it cost-effective to have the trains only during the season and outsource any maintenance costs. This of course adds an extra level of confusion for any CPH hunters, as trains are rotated in and out for maintenance and may not always be at the same park. #196, then, is one of the Mokey trains, and was last seen operating at the Jackson Zoo in Mississippi.  

The other two locomotives, #178 and the unknown loco, have not been seen since.

Electric #400 and it’s Electric Brother, #402

If you’re in Houston and you’re hearing this, I hope you’ve visited the Houston Downtown Aquarium. That’s the home of the groundbreaking landmark CPH #400, the first electric CPH train from Chance. It was named “Electric Eel”. CPH #402, also an electric CPH but this time with a blue color scheme, went to the aquarium just recently, in July of 2019. 

Both trains run through an incredible exhibit called the Shark Voyage, where the trains travel through a completely see-through tunnel with a unique view on a massive shark aquarium exhibit.

Chance Rides spent quite some time perfecting their electric train. One of the few train videos they’ve posted on YouTube is from fall of 2017, showing the electric prototype in a stripped down state, taking some test laps in the Chance lot there in Wichita. 

It is likely not surprising considered today’s environmentally conscious consumers, but it appears that Chance will be making a big push for electric trains as the main CPH going forward. Reportedly, many places looking to make a new train purchase have inquired about electric models. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the next trains be predominantly electric over gasoline models, particularly for more environmentally-minded zoos.

The St. Louis Zoo’s Many CPHs

Finally, the last in the case studies I’ll cover today…the St. Louis Zoo. If there were a record for the place that has had the most CPH engines pass through it, that place might be the St. Louis Zoo.

The zoo has a long history with the engines. They started with engines #27, 28, and 29 in 1963 and 1964. The Zoo caught the CPH bug, and began purchasing additional trains for what became known as “The Emerson Zooline Railroad”. They are reportedly the business that has purchased the most trains direct from Chance, and in the early years, replaced their trains after 10 years of service. 

So when it came time to purchase the next engine, we reach the slight snag in the story. Remember how I mentioned that sometimes, the big numbers on the side of the tender don’t always reflect the manufacturer’s number? This is one of those times. The St. Louis Zoo wanted the numbers of the new trains to be consecutive. So St. Louis Zoo #30 was not CPH #30, muddling the issue of The List significantly. And, as noted, they’ve moved through a number of different trains, with their old trains being sold across the country, continuing to muddle the history of the individual trains. 

All told, St. Louis Zoo has owned a total of 23 different CPH trains to date. The current trains in operation are St. Louis Zoo #45 “Daniel Boone” (CPH #247), #46 “Pierre LaClede” (CPH #263), #47 “Lewis and Clark” (CPH #289), #48 “Ulysses S Grant” (CPH #300), #49 “Charlton Tandy” (CPH #303), and #100 “Emerson” (CPH #362, purchased during the zoo’s centennial). 

Reportedly, the Zooline Railroad is in the preliminary steps of exploring an electric locomotive purchase. Apparently the Zooline Railroad is reputedly the steepest of any CPH railroad, and there is some question as to whether the electric version could handle fully loaded trains on that grade. 

And if you’ve got a child who’s a train lover, you’ll love the St. Louis Zoo – they’ve got a program where kids can shadow an engineer for part of the day.

Other Variations on the CPH

Of course, Chance isn’t the only game in town when it comes to the CP Huntington. 

Western Train Co CPH

Western Train Co, in California, builds its own variation of the 24” miniature engine, suitable for theme parks and zoos as well. There are subtle differences between the WTC versions and the Chance version, but both are beautiful miniature trains.

Little Engines and Bob Harpur

Or, if an even smaller version is your speed, Little Engines makes a 1.5” scale model. Yep, still to this day! These can hold 2-4 people, perched on top of the cars like giants. Remember the 1950s model written up in the newspaper by Bob Harpur that I mentioned, oh, thirty minutes ago? Yep, that was these. Bob’s miniature CPH can actually be seen onscreen in the 1956 film “The King and I” starring Yul Brenner and Deborah Kerr. http://www.trainweb.org/jeffhartmann/CPH_models.html 

The episode is running long, so we probably don’t have time to get too in-depth here. However, the short version is that Bob Harpur was a fascinating man. He was incredibly involved with the live steam engine scene through his work with the Little Engines company after his discharge from the Army. He met Walt Disney in 1949 when Walt and his daughter came to the shop to look at the trains. Bob ultimately joined the Walt Disney company as an Imagineer twenty years later, in 1969. He had his hands in a number of different projects, notably including the trains at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Disney Paris, and WDW Animal Kingdom. 

So there you go, information on two different Disney Imagineers in an episode that has little at all to do with Disney. Isn’t life grand?

CPH in Pop Culture

Elsewhere in pop culture, the CPH (or T. D. Judah, depending on your perspective) are iconic, providing inspiration for books, film, etc. The most well-known of these is the design for the Little Engine That Could – think on that friendly blue engine in your mind, and you might immediately see the parallels. Of course, as I’ve already mentioned, the logo for the California Railway Museum is a silhouette of the CPH. And the engine was featured on the cover of the Nostalgia version of Monopoly.

#44, #55, the Pittsburgh Zoo, and Chris Churilla

It’s not just the classic Little Engine That Could, though. There’s a whole series out there in recent days, aimed at the elementary school and younger audience, starring zoo trains Zippy and Guido. 

The best part is that Zippy and Guido aren’t fictional. The series is based on author Chris Churilla’s experiences with the real trains, CPH #44 and CPH #55, both from from the Pittsburgh Zoo. I know I said I was done with case studies of individual trains, but let’s get into just one more.

Churilla actually spent several years as engineer for the #44 and #55, there at the Pittsburgh Zoo. At the age of 14, he began spending summers as “host” of the trains (since he wasn’t allowed to engineer/drive them until age 18). At that time, the Pittsburgh Zoo train ride was dilapidated, giving out a lot of problems for the zoo and receiving very little love in return. After all, the trains had been there since 1965. Chris was instrumental in restoring the trains. He gathered together a group of train lovers, and together they cleaned up the trains, performed regular maintenance, and began raising funding from donors to keep the trains running. 

Eventually, Chris became the primary engineer, in charge of the whole train operation. “Engineering them was a dream come true!” he told me. In 2010, he upgraded the train exhibit (along the train route) to tell the history of the Pittsburgh Zoo and breathe new life into the ride. 

Unfortunately, despite a new paint job for the trains in 2011, the entire train ride was shut down indefinitely in 2013. Although the trains themselves were in good shape, the tracks weren’t. The zoo didn’t see sufficient value in the train ride. They were unable to find funds to repair the tracks, and were looking instead for a place to locate a new dinosaur exhibit. 

To honor Zippy (#55) and Guido (#44), Chris honored them by writing and illustrating first one, and now four, books about them. “There were so many people who loved riding the zoo trains so I wanted them to be able to continue to bring smiles to families for years to come!” If you follow him on social media, he’s recently been showcasing delightful hidden details from each book, such as the real-life counterparts to the cats, coaches, and other engines in the book. 

He still loves trains today. The CPH Facebook group I referred you to is a project Chris moderates, along with several other train-minded folks. There, they collect information on each of the C. P. Huntington trains. Chris now travels the world to ride CPHs, especially those where he can participate in “engineer for a day” programs to get his engineering fix. He also consults with zoos and parks on all things train: finding used trains, operations, and historical information. 

As of the time of this recording, a private train collector has purchased the real #44, Guido, and the real #55, Zippy, and is in the process of slowly restoring them.

No End to the CPH Rabbithole

There’s something about the CPH, that quirky little engine and her 400+ quirky little Chance copies. The CPH gets in your head, gets her hooks in you, and you can’t stop falling down the rabbithole. Maybe it’s something in the steam?

I don’t quite understand it, myself. I’ve reiterated this a few times on the podcast so far, but I’m not really a train buff, not particularly interested in the technical specs and all that. But this episode on the C. P. Huntington train is the one I’ve been working on the longest. If you’d told me ten years ago that I’d spend fifteen single-spaced pages writing an essay about theme park train history, I’d have called you mad. But there’s just something about the diminutive overall size, the comically large smokestack, the proportions of the wheels…the CPH just such a classic-looking train, and she really gets in your head.

There’s so much interesting information out there, not only about the 400+ Chance trains but about the namesake engine herself. Someday I hope to visit many of the places I’ve covered on the podcast and visiting the original CPH on display in northern California is definitely high on my bucket list.

Chances are (see what I did there?) that there’s a CPH at a zoo or theme park near you. Maybe get out there and ride one soon. 

All aboard!

Acknowledgements

I’d like to particularly thank Chris Churilla for patiently answering my many questions on the C. P. Huntington trains. You should check out his Facebook group “C. P. Huntington Train Project”, an exhaustive resource and archive for the person interested in compiling a more complete history of each Chance C. P. Huntington. And check out his books about Zippy and Guido – ask your local bookstore, or find them at a major online retailer. 

I also recommend the 1943 article by D. L. Joslyn, “The Life Story of the Locomotive C.P. Huntington As Told By Itself”, available for free online. It’s a charming chatty first-person history of the original locomotive, and I think you’ll enjoy it.

Podcast cover background photo is by 4045 on freepik.com. C. P. Huntington photo is by Chris Churilla, used with permission. Theme music is from “Aerobatics in Slow Motion” by TeknoAXE. Incidental sounds and ambience: FreeSound.org (Dungeness miniature railway – jjbulley; old railway station – YleArkisto; Jacksonville Zoo Ambience – inspectorJ; Amusement Park – _alvaro_; Steam Train Interior – allh; Brighton carousel – onetwo-ber) and freesfx.co.uk (Blacksmith Working on Anvil With Hammer).

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Remember that what you’ve read is a podcast! A link is included at the top of the page. Listen to more episodes of The Abandoned Carousel on your favorite platform: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RadioPublic | TuneIn | Overcast | Pocket Casts | Castro. Support the podcast on Patreon for extra content! Comment below to share your thoughts – as Lucy Maud Montgomery once said, nothing is ever really lost to us, as long as we remember it.

References

I’ve included a complete list of references used while researching this topic. It’s hidden under the link for brevity.

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Thanks to Dawn for suggesting this topic!

“I still have a scar on my knee from that park!” remembers one visitor in an online forum for the Lake Dolores Waterpark.

“I still remember when Jay […] went down [the slide] on a Boogie board and zoomed straight across the lake and came to an abrupt stop under his truck.”

Lake Dolores Waterpark perhaps could be remembered as the Action Park of the West, it seems. Both had the young, fun, wild vibes that came with lax safety rules, summertime sunshine, and free-flowing alcohol. “Only real rules there were no motorcycles in the park and no beer bongs.”

“No fear when you’re young,” remembers another visitor, and someone else chimes in, “So 80s!”

Lake Dolores Waterpark

The location: Newberry Springs, California. Located a few miles from Barstow, off I-15 between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, this is the location of a desert oasis, a little spot in the middle of nowhere. (Yep, kind of nowhere – it’s roughly equidistant between Vegas and Los Angeles, roughly 140 miles from each.)

The area is attractive to those interested in desert outdoor sports – water skiing, ATVing, motocross, etc. But mostly, it’s a pretty empty spot of desert that people only catch a glimpse of as they rush by on the I-15.

Local attractions include Zzyzx Road, a monastery, Calico Ghost Town, and the subject of today’s episode, the abandoned site of the former Lake Dolores (later called Rock-a-Hoola Waterpark).

Before Lake Dolores Was a Waterpark

The waterpark was the brainchild of John Robert Byers. He was known as Bob. Originally, Bob was involved in the paint business back in the 40s and 50s in Yermo, CA, but he was a man with big ideas. He sold his share in that business to start a grand venture in the desert around 1953. Reportedly, at the time, land was a penny an acre, and if you made improvements on it for five years, it would become yours.

The first thing that was built on the site was an airplane hangar. This then became the family home.

Bob and his wife Dolores (known as Dee) started out with a homestead in the area – 350 acres, including cattle ranch, ponies, and alfalfa fields. Some of their property included some of the current I-15, and they had to sell about 50 acres when I-15 was widened. 

In 1966, Lake Dolores as we know it began to take shape. He built a man-made lake on one of the area’s natural springs, conveniently located a hundred yards from the now-existing I-15. He called it Lake Dolores, after his wife. Originally, the park was simply a private desert campground for his family. They had waterskiing and boat racing, as well as fishing. Grandchild Penny Byers remembers online, “Each year my grandpa would add something to the lake.”

Dawn Fields, who once worked on a documentary for the place, was interviewed as saying “… He wanted it to be a landing place, a pit stop, a place to just cool off and refresh. That started catching on, and the word got out and people started flocking to the water.” 

The park grew in popularity, and attracted more and more outdoor sports enthusiasts. The scope of the park, then, also began to expand, to include slides of multiple types, thrilling trapeze rides, a boat racing track, and an expanded campground and MX/ATV course.

The park is generally considered the first modern waterpark in America. Why?

Well, at the time, there simply were no other commercial water parks; places might have lakes or swimming, but the waterpark, with its slides and other attractions, was unknown. Bob and his family built every attraction for the original iteration of the park by hand. By opening the place up to the public, Dawn Fields said: “that’s what turned it into the first water park, because there’s no record going back of any official water park prior to that. So whether he knew it or not, he was really kind of inventing America’s first water park.” In 1971, 30,000 visitors came to Lake Dolores.

But of course, it was more than just a water park.

“It was pretty much a free-for-all party location in the middle of nowhere.” 

People called it Lake “D” and “Lake Delirious”. A former visitor remembers: “This place was a mud hole with no grass hardly any trees and dirt AND WE LOVED IT. Every summer the bikers would throw a week long party that was totally insane”. Universally online, the memories of the original Lake Dolores are of the good times and great dangers.

What made it that way? Let’s go over the safety hazards that made Lake Dolores so memorable. But first, some facts.

Getting to Lake Dolores

Obviously a water park in the middle of the desert is a pretty attractive notion, especially in the days prior to common home air conditioning. Temperatures can soar well over 110F in the daytime. Those who aren’t from the desert might not realize that the temperature swing once the sun goes down is quite dramatic – a 30F difference. And although it’s the desert, winter temps can still be below freezing, so a waterpark is still a seasonal concept.

To get to Lake Dolores, you did and still do take the Harvard exit off I-15. If you lived within five or ten miles at the time, that was considered close enough to bike or walk. Otherwise, the park was easily visible off the newly constructed I-15, formerly state route 91, and attracted many visitors from the interstate. Cars drove down the dusty desert roads, paid their entrance fee at the entrance building (a single-wide mobile home). Until 1971, admission was free. In 1972, prices were raised from 50 cents to 1.50 for adults, 75 cents for kids. The Byers family began advertising in the local paper.

“Funtastic!” the ad read. “Primitive camping, swimming, giant swings, 180ft slides into water, fishing.” 

At the park, cars could park, many quite close to the water’s edge. In front of them, a vista of murky lakes and lagoons. I should be more generous here – although the lakes were not what we picture compared to today’s waterparks, they were quality tested regularly. Water was pumped from the wells that once irrigated alfafa fields, and then was pumped through the swim lakes into the various fishing lakes in a constant circulation.

Black steel drum trash cans were everywhere on the hot desert dirt. There were a handful of scraggly desert trees to provide greenery, but mostly it was that unending desert – Bob reportedly wanted it to look like a beach. The main feature was the sliding hill, made from the dirt scooped out for the lakes and lagoons, and its shiny silver slides.

The Sit-Down Slides at Lake Dolores

Adjacent to the lake was built up a man-made hill, upon which eight identical slides perched, the eye-catching feature of the park. Originally, there were only two slides. The sun likely reflected off the slides to catch the attention of drivers on the freeway. Each rider used an inflatable raft to coast down the slide: seated, on the belly, or on the back. The slides were 180-ft long as advertised, and ran at a jaw-dropping sixty degree angle. When riders hit the water, they would skid 40, 50, 60 (etc) feet across the lagoon at about 40mph, like so many skipping stones. And there was no guarantee the riders would stay in the water. Quote: “I can even tell you that putting baby oil on the sit down slide rafts would increase the speed on your way down the slide”. Dozens of stories online relate how friends would fly out of the pool and land in the dirt.

This was just the tip of the iceberg for safety hazards at Lake Dolores. 

The Stand-Up Slides at Lake Dolores

Emptying into a separate lagoon and coming off that same hill were the infamous pair of stand-up slides. These were 220 ft long and ran at 60 degrees like their lay-down counterparts. Different however was that the stand-up slides required riders to stand up as they went down the slide. Riders had to maintain their balance on the slick running water lest they fall off into the desert dirt they’d just trudged up to get to the top (no stairs, folks). 

At the end of the slide, instead of coasting into the lagoon like the lay-down slides next door, the riders were met with a 10-15ft drop into the water below. The effect was something like a human cannonball.

Promotional videos for the park show riders with very impressive skills, spinning in circles while standing and sliding down the slide. Quote: “ doing 360s’ down the stand up slides was only for the truly brave Lake Dolorians as we called ourselves.” Or pairs of riders, doing coordinating flips at the end into the water. Of course, many people slipped and fell, taking the ride on their rear ends, too. 

Quote: “Sliding down that metal slide in your bare feet was really tough, you’d always be scared of falling right as you got to the end and hitting your head on the lip of the slide.  We would see at least one major injury every single day.”

The Zip Cord (“The Tram”) at Lake Dolores

In between the two sets of slides was the Zip Cord, known as The Tram. This was a 200 ft long guidewire. Riders held on to a cobbled-together hand tram (sort of two wheels with a handle) and zoomed downward, at continually increasing speeds. At the end of the line was a tire, which stopped the tram and sent riders dropping, usually screaming, the twenty feet into the murky lagoon below. The true challenge, of course, was to hold on at least long enough to be over water. If you let go too soon, it was a painful and likely bloody fall onto the hard desert dirt below.

A visitor who spent time at the park every Memorial Day in the 70s remembers: “When we were relaxing on the lakeside in lawn chairs, we’d watch people fall off the zip lines as they started off and tumble down that rocky hill or better yet, not let go before hitting the tire at the end and get whipped/thrown head over heels right to the edge of the shore in barely knee-deep water.”

The Trapeze at Lake Dolores

In an adjacent lake stood some deep waters with a wild-looking structure in the middle. Like an upsized version of a child’s swingset, this was an A-frame structure with several platforms and three trapeze swings.

Reportedly launching from a height of 20 ft, riders usually did ungraceful swings off the trapeze, landing in uncomfortable belly flops. 

The trapeze stand also had high dive platforms, as well, and a balancing log, for knocking opponents off of into the water. In one section, there was a normal metal child’s swing standing in the water, the bottom of the swing seat touching the water. One visitor comments “pretty sure this is now why i am afraid of dark water.”

The water in this pool, really more of a lake or lagoon, like all others, was a far cry from modern waterparks: murky muddy water, like a lake, instead of the crystal clear chlorine water in a falsely blue basin of today’s parks. Visitors online share more than one story of finding something unmentionable floating in the water while swimming.

But… “There was simply no place like it when it was 115 [degrees F]!”

Other Amenities at Lake Dolores

Lake Dolores also had other amenities, including the campground, the motocross and ATV tracks, and the lake for boat and jet-ski races. As the park grew more popular, a snack shack was added. There were also bumper boats, “racing cars”, and mini golf.

It was 100% a family operation. By all accounts the Byers family is and was a close one. Every online remembrance I’ve read of the place talks about how nice, genuine, and wonderful the Byers family was. Every post that talks about them talks about how it was a family operation first and foremost, how their hearts were poured into the park. The children, cousins, and grandchildren all spent their summers 24/7 at Lake Dolores. They worked as lifeguards, they staffed the snack bars, took admissions, etc. 

The park was also located reasonably close to other amenities located just three miles down the road at the next offramp (close for the time): a Stuckey’s family restaurant and a Shell gas station with a convenience store.  

Increasing Popularity for Lake Dolores Waterpark

“The one thing that was a constant at Lake Dolores was that someone was going to get hurt. Everytime we went someone either spiraled off the stand up slide into a spectacular crash….or someone didn’t run far enough on the zip line before they lifted their feet….and got drug across the hot dirt for several yards before they were high enough in the air…etc…”

Despite, or perhaps because of, the thrilling nature of the waterpark, Lake Dolores saw a slow and steady increase in attendance over the decades. Quote from a former visitor online: “And Lake Delores was a death trap! All the rides were so dangerous! Yeah it was a blast! ” Reportedly, guests had to sign a Waiver of Liability upon entrance to the park. There isn’t a single comment section I’ve found talking about Lake Dolores in this period that doesn’t mention the thrills and the danger and the injuries. 

Reportedly, the joke used to be, “If you didn’t come home with a bruise or a scrape from Lake Dolores, you didn’t have any fun.” 

It was promoted as the “Fun Spot of the Desert”. No longer was it only a midway stop for those driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. It became a destination. Low-budget commercials for Lake Dolores aired during afternoon cartoons and late night bad movies. A 1970s interview was aired on local news, in which patrons sang the praises of the park, despite it’s location. Was it worth driving 150 miles to get to Lake Dolores? “You get tired of the beaches. You want a change every now and then. Nothing’s like this around where we live.”

Word of mouth, of course, was a strong driving factor for attendance. “Only went there once, for two glorious days in the early eighties,” says one former visitor in a comment online. “It was the absolute most fun I have ever had at a water park.” 

Particularly popular with thrill-seeking teens and young adults, visitors would often line up in their cars by the dozens, sleeping overnight just outside of the front gates in order to get the best weekend camping spots. Apparently, tents could be pitched right at the water’s edge, and in the morning, patrons could roll out of their tents and jump into the water. Can you imagine?

Anecdotal reports online are that one or more deaths did occur at the park in this incarnation, but it is hard to corroborate stories. Newspaper reports are as follows: a 22-year-old 1978 drowning in the high dive/trapeze pool, a 6-year-old drowned in one of the small swimming pools, 

For the most part, people write about the place with incredible fondness. Lake Dolores was remembered for its free-flowing beer, all-night parties, anytime hookups, an epic hangovers. It was remembered for bus trips and senior ditch days and young people wearing very little in the hot summer sunshine. Sleeping in the backs of trucks, staring up at the clearest sky of stars that only the desert produces. Friends, weed, sunburns, music, cold beer, and cool water in the hot dry desert, that was Lake Dolores.

Closure of Lake Dolores Waterpark

In the late 1980s, Lake Dolores Waterpark closed for the first time. Details, as always seem to be the case, are light, but some report financial problems. Opinions online are that insurance and worker’s comp for the free-wheeling park “killed it”. 

Perhaps, but perhaps not. 

In 1986, local ordinances about water at recreational parks were updated to be more strict. In an article at the time, Byers was quoted as worrying that this new standard could force the closure of his park due to the murky waters.

Attitudes were changing. Vegas was building water parks, such as Wet ‘n Wild on the strip. Society was developing different expectations for safety. The tides were simply shifting. And Bob and Dolores wanted to retire, and none of their children wanted to take over the operation of the park. So, it was sold.

This incarnation of the park was nothing if not a bunch of drunk hippies with an “anything goes”, no-hold barred kind of attitude. The opinion was one of personal responsibility. “We did belly flops that emptied the pools.” says one visitor.  “Lake Dolores was the epitome of what a water park SHOULD still be. If the ride/apparatus scares you, don’t go on it.”

Rock-a-Hoola Waterpark

With the sale of the Lake Dolores waterpark, we enter the era of the “second” waterpark: Rock-a-Hoola. 

The property changed hands several times. Originally, the title was proposed as “Water World of Barstow” in 1986, which was to be a large RV park with several themed villages, a golf course, and of course, Lake Dolores. This project was in development for 18 months, but was ultimately canceled in 1987 due to the developer being unable to find investment funding. Byers was quoted at the time saying “It’s still up for sale. I want to retire.”

In 1989, the property was officially sold and development reportedly began in earnest on this same concept. Still, nothing came of it, and the property was sold to “Lake Dolores Group LLC”, which was an investment group led by a man named Terry Christensen. 

Christensen was a former Marine, and a general contractor who’d build four other water parks previously. He was ready for a park of his own, and envisioned a modern, polished park with a 1950s theme. The name was to be Rock-a-Hoola. Yes, like the Elvis song, and yes, probably spelled as it is to avoid legal infringement. 

Dawn Fields: “From the ‘90s when Terry Christensen rebuilt it, what strikes you is just the bold color. The big, huge bright red windy slide and the big colorful mushroom umbrellas, the Route 66 feel and the rockabilly, Elvis Presley ‘50s theme that he built into it.”

Christensen was reportedly inspired by finding a better place for his family to jet ski; their previous getaway place, Lake Mead, was often too crowded with boaters. Together with the investment group, the plan was for a waterpark, campground, and lake.

Opening of Rock-a-Hoola Park

It took several years to renovate the park for the modern era, both from a financial perspective and from the perspective of physical work to be done on the site. In 1995, the original waterslides on the hill were removed and new slides were installed. These were bright fiberglass numbers – white and red and blue. 

The park was laid out to include a lazy river, a kids’ splash pad, an arcade, lockers, a water fountain, and a snack shack. Gone was the murky lake and camp style of the old Lake Dolores, and in was crystal clear chlorinated water. The theming was a slick, over the top “fifties” theme, though most of the buildings were done in what I’d called 90s desert concrete more than anything. Retro billboards promoted the theming throughout the park. Up on the hill, a giant cylinder was painted with a bright red Coke promotion.

Reportedly, Christensen’s daughter was the one to name each of the slides after favorite 50s songs: the Doo Wop Super Drop, Blueberry Hill Thrill, The Big Bopper.

Christensen had big plans for the park, digging a new lake and wells. RV sites were laid out for camping, and the ultimate goal was for a much larger complex, potentially even including a hotel. The grand plans never came to fruition, as neither of the 21st century owners ever raised the capital to realize the plans.

The park opened in 1998, as “America’s First Waterpark in the 21st Century”. Admission was $17.95 for adults and $12.95 for kids.

One of the park’s big selling points was that it had the largest family raft ride in the US at the time. This was the Big Bopper. 

Events of the Late 90s at Rock-a-Hoola

Unfortunately, things were not to be very rosy in the 21st century for Rock-a-Hoola. One of the three investors in the Lake Dolores LLC group made problems, forcing the park to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy right away in 1998.

Operations continued and attendance at the waterpark was moderate. 

The Electric Daisy Carnival, now an annual event in multiple cities with hundreds of thousands of attendees, held one of its first annual EDM festivals at Rock-a-Hoola in June of 1999. Over 10,000 people attended the festival.

Later in 1999, a major incident occurred which would hasten the park’s problems. 

An employee, James Mason, reported to work at the waterpark. While off the clock waiting for his shift to start after a competition, Mason asked another employee to turn on the Doo Wop Super Drop slide so he could cool down. Unfortunately, the catch pool was not sufficiently full, which wasn’t realized until after he’d already begun sliding. Mason hit the pool’s concrete with massive force, and was paralyzed, rendered a complete parapalegic. 

Ultimately, Mason sued Lake Dolores and won, receiving $4.4M in 2004, well after the park had closed.

The park continued on for three seasons as Rock-a-Hoola, by which time they’d amassed over three million dollars in debt. In 2000, debt continuing to rise, the park entered Chapter 7 liquidation. The property was given back to Dolores Byers (Bob having passed away in 1996) after the court-appointed trustee couldn’t find a buyer, nearly all debts forgiven.

Dolores Byers sold the property again in 2001 to a different investment group, and passed away in October of that year.

The Short-Lived Discovery Waterpark

With $400k of renovations and Terry Christensen still on board as a consultant, newly renamed Discovery Waterpark opened in 2002, operating on weekends in 2002 and 2003 seasons. During the 2004 season, the park operated intermittently and inconsistently before closing for good that year. Despite the “new” name, I’ve seen little to no indications that signs for the park ever included the new name. Billboards from the park’s abandoned days still feature the Rock-a-Hoola logo and “Discovery Waterpark”, that generic name, is to be honest, an afterthought in the story of the park.

Reportedly, when the park closed in the 2000s, employees weren’t paid for the last month of the park’s operation. However, they were reportedly allowed to take whatever they pleased home with them: “Computers, furniture, food…anything.”

Possible Futures for Rock-a-Hoola / Lake Dolores

At one point in the late 2000s, applications were made for the land to be used as a housing development, an RV park, or a senior retirement home. Reportedly Ron Brown, then of the Oakland Raiders, was even in serious talks to buy the park at one time.

The report at the time from the local realtor scene was that insurance costs for the park after the accident went sky high. Many online unfairly blame the injured employee for “killing the park” which is unfair and inaccurate, given the reports about the park’s finances. Quote: “the partners he had at the time were at fault as they squandered investors’ money and were brought up on charges.”

Finally, the local government permits surrounding additional lakes and water rights in the area made the prospect of opening any separate waterpark difficult. Reportedly, the zoning for the Lake Dolores property was also changed around this time. 

As the early 2000s moved into the mid-2000s, it was clear that Rock-a-Hoola was shuttered for good. 

The Abandoned Lake Dolores Waterpark

From here, the park moved into its current, “third” stage: the abandoned waterpark.

The park was well-maintained for quite some time. There are relatively few images showing the park abandoned but with slides still present, as it was still secured.

In 2008, skateboarders Rob and Big of the MTV show Rob & Big worked with then-owners to gain permission to film at the site. Permission was granted and they filmed an episode of their skateboard stunt show at the park. This is likely the last film appearance of the park “as it was”. Two weeks after the episode was filmed, the slides were disassembled and shipped to Canada. They were purchased by Cultus Lake in British Columbia (Canada). The Big Bopper, the most notable of these, has been renamed Colossal Canyon. 

After this documentary was filmed, the prognosis for the park quickly went downhill. There are increased reports of scrappers and vandalism, broken glass, arson, all the usual suspects. By 2019, of course, anything of value like copper has long been stolen from the place for scrap value. The palm trees haven’t been trimmed or maintained in years. There are literal tumbleweeds blowing around.

The park is located in the heart of the Mojave desert. The place is dry, which is of course ironic for a waterpark. Mold, wood rot, plant growth – the usual suspects in an abandoned building – aren’t factors in this place. Structurally, most of the buildings are going to last for quite a long time. 

Over on the hill, that once bright-red Coke sign has long been bleached by the baking hot desert sun. What original signage is left that hasn’t been painted over by graffiti artists also suffers the same fate: faded beyond illegibility, tattered and peeling.

About ten years ago (2009-2011), progress was being made on a full-length documentary; however, no recent progress has been made and the domain name associated with it is now for sale. 

Since 2011, efforts have been made to restore the park and open a new, profitable enterprise. The park has transferred hands from one owner to another. Ownership has been stable since 2014, however. A group called Oasis Theme Park is heading the effort to work with the current owner and restore the park, but progress has been slow. The story of what happened or is happening with this group really isn’t clear. There are accusations about money mismanagement by a representative of the owner’s bank, and at the time of this recording, there has been no apparent progress on any park restoration.

This is not surprising, according to the local Newberry Springs Community Alliance. In an op-ed in the local paper back in 2013, they state that they’ve known since 2011 that the Lake Dolores site will never again be a financially viable commercial enterprise. 

Their reasoning does make sense.

When Lake Dolores opened, it was the first commercial waterpark and there was no competition. It was nothing to drive two hours from a major city to and from Lake Dolores. Now in 2019, there is a large competing market for water parks, and the remote location two hours from either Las Vegas or Los Angeles is unlikely to draw the crowds necessary to profit. Attitudes are different.

The area “amenities” that once seemed convenient are still three miles away, and still a little far. The Shell gas station is still there with its convenience store, but the Stuckey’s sits across the road, abandoned. There is a burger place by the gas station now, however – progress since the 1960s!

Media Appearances for Lake Dolores

The park has been the backdrop or feature for a number of other media productions.

In 2012, Mercedes-Benz sponsored another skate film, entitled “Kilian Martin: Altered Route”.

In 2013, art group TrustoCorp turned the park into “TrustoLand”, repainting most of the signs and buildings. This began the current endless cycle of graffiti at the park that can be seen today.

Also in 2013, the group Boards of Canada debuted their Tomorrow’s Harvest album with a release at the abandoned park. A series of clues preempted the release, including satellite images, a distorted commercial for the park, and lat/long coordinates.

In 2014, the park was used as a Top Gear America obstacle course and an Operation Lion Claws airsoft course.

2015 saw the park featured in a BMW Mini Cooper commercial, and in the music video “Reapers” by the band Muse. 

In 2016 the park appeared on an episode of Abandoned by the Viceland network.

And of course, there are countless urban exploration videos that you can see on YouTube, all filmed post-slide removal, showing the increasingly demolished waterpark. 

Summing Up Lake Dolores

The story of Lake Dolores Waterpark is the story of three different parks. 

We’ve got the abandoned waterpark of the current era – smashed, destroyed, an eyesore rotting away in the desert that is unlikely to be restored.

The story of the modern vision of the park (Rock-a-Hoola and Discovery) is really a tragedy. Christenson and his family put heart and soul into the park. To have the story turn sour on unethical partners and mountains of debt is nothing but heartbreaking.

Finally, the story of the original scrappy Lake Dolores is that of family, good memories, and wild times. The original Lake Dolores could never have existed in our modern era of safety regulations, but we do have photos and stories to help recapture and revisit those days.

The slides were for so many years a landmark to those commuting on the I-15. Lake Dolores is well-remembered by the large family (many children, grandchildren, and cousins) who were brought together each summer by the waterpark.

There are incredible stories online of the wild times people experienced at Lake Dolores. But it was also remembered for the people who created it: the Byers family who came together every summer to run the park, and the patriarch and matriarch, Bob and Dolores Byers. 

Penny Byers: “I can’t believe people are still talking about Lake Dolores. The middle of the desert, middle of nowhere was the best place for the lake. My grandparents are gone but I am happy to see that their legend lives on, they were great people. ”

Millie, a cousin: “Bob flew small planes, could sing with a gorgeous voice, was quite a business man and a wonderful uncle. Dee is forever a part of my heart.”

Going into this episode, I was drawn in as always by the images of the abandoned park. But it’s the story of the original Lake Dolores and the people who built it that have stuck out to me the most. It truly seems like it was a one of a kind memorable experience. In the words of a former visitor:  “To me, it was the coolest, happiest, most magical place on earth. ”

Remember that what you’ve read is a podcast! A link is included at the top of the page. Listen to more episodes of The Abandoned Carousel on your favorite platform: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RadioPublic | TuneIn | Overcast | Pocket Casts | Castro. Support the podcast on Patreon for extra content! Comment below to share your thoughts – as Lucy Maud Montgomery once said, nothing is ever really lost to us, as long as we remember it.

References

I’ve included a complete list of references used while researching this topic. It’s hidden under the link for brevity.

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“Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.” — Walt Disney

Walt and the Skyway System

Walt Disney loved transportation. If you’ve ever thought about Disneyland or any of the other parks, you know how much transportation is a theme. In fact, Disney’s first “park” was a 1/8th scale steam train, built at his home in California. He operated the “Carolwood Pacific Railroad” until 1953, when he began focusing on the construction of Disneyland, which opened in July 1955.

On a trip to Switzerland, Walt heard about a new gondola ride system that was being tested. He visited the Von Roll company and knew that he had to have it, before he even knew where the ride was going to go in his parks. He purchased a used Von Roll type 101, also called the 1947 sidechair model. Parts of his purchase came from previous uses at a 1955 Rotterdam Fair and German Federal Garden Show, and the system was being finalized as early as November 1955. It became the first aerial ropeway of its kind in the US.

Though it seems somewhat basic to a modern audience, this was cutting edge technology in the 1950s.

Walt was quoted in “Disneyland: the Nickel Tour” as saying that the Skyway was “ ‘a transportation system of the future, for use in parking lots in huge shopping centers.’ “

     

Skyway before the Matterhorn

The Skyway was one of the first major rides to debut at Disneyland after opening day in 1955. The Skyway ride opened in Disneyland in June 1956 less than a year after the park opened, as two attractions: the Skyway to Tomorrowland and the Skyway to Fantasyland. For most of the ride’s history, the ride was one-way: Tomorrowland to Fantasyland, OR Fantasyland to Tomorrowland. This was a D-ticket ride.

The ride was placed in the park with the heavy operating machinery in the Fantasyland Alpine chalet, and the ballast counterweights in the Tomorrowland station.

The original ride contained 42 round buckets, each able to carry two passengers. The seats of these early cars were literally patio chairs, bolted in place.

The cars moved at 4 miles per hour, and were dispatched from a station on average every nine seconds. It was like working in a tire factory. Stations contained wind meters that would alert the cast members to shut down the ride in cases of extreme wind (over 12 knots).

The ride covered a large section of the park, 1200 feet from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland, 60 feet up in the air. It took about four minutes to ride from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland, or vice versa. The excellent view, height, and slightly swaying buckets combined for a scenic ride that gave you a little thrill; it was a hit with guests.

When the ride open in 1956, the “peak” of the Skyway was a support beam on top of “Holiday Hill”, the dirt pile that remained after the castle and moat had been dug out the year prior.

Skyway After the Matterhorn

In 1957, the Skyway closed. Four major rides were being added as part of an expanded Tomorrowland that was billed as the “grand reopening” of Disneyland. These were the Matterhorn Bobsleds, Submarine Voyage, Monorail, and Motor Boat Cruise. As part of the renovation, the Skyway’s central support beam and Holiday Hill were demolished. The magnificent Matterhorn Alps (or at least a scale replica) was rebuilt in it place, directly in the path of the Skyway.

When it reopened, the Skyway passed directly through two openings on either side of the mountain, with the mountain structure itself serving as the new central support tower for the cables (in addition to being a major E-ticket ride for the park, of course).

Originally, the view inside the Matterhorn wasn’t particularly interesting, despite the name “Glacier Grotto” given on the official park map. The framework structure of the mountain was roughly covered in drywall, but it was basically a big, echoing cavern. There wasn’t much to look at, but it was pretty exciting to hear the riders of the bobsleds screaming as they zoomed around you.

Redesigning the Skyway

The ride continued to gain and maintain popularity, and went through several redesigns over the years.

In 1965, the buckets were redesigned, and replaced with higher-capacity four-passenger rectangular buckets using a different grip system. Imagineer Bob Gurr was tasked with redesigning the buckets to improve capacity. However, he couldn’t significantly change the weight of the vehicle. He used high-tech ABS plastic over a steel frame to create the buckets that most of us remember.

Sometime in the mid-1970s, speakers were added to each car to allow for emergency safety announcements.

In 1978, the interior of the “Glacier Grotto” inside the Matterhorn was glammed up, with realistic fake glacial caverns and a peak at a terrifying Abominable Snowmonster.

In the early 80s, the entire land of Fantasyland was closed for a major remodel to “New” Fantasyland. The Skyway still operated during most of this period, but performed round trip rides only, departing and disembarking from Tomorrowland station. When New Fantasyland opened in 1983, it included upgraded support beams for the Skyway (expect for the main Matterhorn supports), at the urging of the Von Roll company.

     

1994 Skyway Injury

In present day, rumours abound that the ride closed because of all the deaths and injuries that occurred, which simply isn’t true.

On April 17, 1994, a man named Charles Randle jumped from his Skyway bucket and landed in a tree near the Alice in Wonderland ride. He was treated for minor injuries at the hospital, and later filed a $25,000 lawsuit against Disney for permanent injury as a result of the fall.

Though his lawyer did initially assert that Randle hadn’t done anything wrong, the case was dismissed prior to going to trial in September of 1996, with Randle admitting that he “came out” of his bucket and that the lawsuit was “ill-advised”.

Closure of the Skyway

Despite a continued popularity, the Skyway officially closed on November 9, 1994, with Mickey and Minnie Mouse riding in the last bucket.

A number of different reasons for closure have been given over the years. The most common one, the 1994 injury, is the least likely to be the cause, given that this was the only injury on the ride in its 38 years of operation. It was probably a number of factors put together:

Structural and safety requirements

this is an often-cited official reason. It’s rumored that the main structural supports inside the Matterhorn were beginning to suffer from metal fatigue, repair of which would require both the Skyway and the Matterhorn (a major E-ticket ride) to be closed for an extended period of time. This would’ve cost a lot of money at a time where the park was feeling pinched due to the disastrous finances of Disneyland Paris.

Staffing changes

The Skyway took quite a few cast members to operate, and the new Indiana Jones ride was scheduled to open several months after the Skyway closure – resources would need to be directed there. It was less that the specific cast members would be needed for Indy, and more about overall park cost containment and resource allocation. Additionally, the Skyway had a lower ride capacity than other rides, making it less desirable in Disney’s eyes.

Declining interest

Possibly. It was still a great way to rest your feet, see the sights, and get across the park when a parade was happening. Skyway was a popular ride, right until the end.

ADA requirements

When the Skyway was built, the rules were different. While the ride technically did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, because it was grandfathered in, the ride was an inconvenience for all parties when a mobility-impaired guest rode. On both ends, the loading platforms required the ride to be completed stopped in order to allow a mobility-impaired rider to board, and there was a step up and down at each platform; in addition, the ride could not accommodate wheelchairs.

So there were a lot of reasons that factored into the overall closure decision; no single reason stands out. As with many things, it was just time for a change. Still, it was incredibly sad to see the ride go. The park really lost something without the dynamic energy of the Skyway somewhere overhead.

                       

Abandoned Skyway

Fantasyland’s Abandoned Chalet

Once the Skyway closed, the Alpine chalet (the Fantasyland station) was quickly stripped of all the mechanical Skyway parts, but the chalet building itself remained, perched up on a hill, a silent watcher for the next twenty years. The trees, once tiny evergreens, quickly grew and masked the building once there was no need to keep the gondola line clear. Though many rumours thrived over the years, no practical public use was ever made of the Alpine chalet. A chain roped off the old exit staircase, and vending carts blocked the entrance staircase.

Considering how small Disneyland really is and how tight space is, it’s surprising that the chalet was never put to a guest-facing use. It’s possible however that any new use would’ve changed the ADA requirements and required serious upgrades and cash investment; given that finances were part of the reason for the closure, well….

In my own visits to Disneyland in the 90s and 2000s, I always found the presence of the lightposts along the staircases as the most eerie part of the abandoned Chalet. These posts had this graceful curl on the top, holding a lantern-style light, like a faerie welcoming a weary traveler. Tucked in amongst the dark evergreen trees in a part of the park that was fairly quiet in the evenings, they always seemed a little ethereal and spooky. The occasional shock of movement from one of Disneyland’s cats living in the structure made it even moreso!

Tomorrowland’s Abandoned Station

So what about the other half of the ride in Tomorrowland? At one point, the abandoned Tomorrowland station served as a servicing station for the Rocket Rods.

Some accounts say that the Tomorrowland station still exists, though it has been walled off from view. Others say that it has been completely demolished. However, look behind and above the Autopia Winner’s Circle gift shop in Tomorrowland, and you’ll see a “staircase to nowhere”, once a part of the entrance to the ride’s loading platform, a reminder and a remainder of the Skyway’s original home.

Skyway Parts for Sale

In fall of 2018, a Disneyland collectors’ auction was held. Many notable items were sold, with an original Skyway vehicle selling for $621,000, breaking the record for the highest price a Disneyland ride vehicle had ever fetched.

Other Remnants and Tributes to the Skyway

The original pylons for the ride’s support system did take up space. If you look carefully in the queue for Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, there is an awkward square planter that still remains: this was once a pylon for the Skyway.

In 1998, the Premiere Shop featured an original Skyway bucket hanging from the ceiling.

In 2015, after a major ride renovation, a new tribute was added inside the Matterhorn Bobsleds, which have of course been tied in with the Skyway throughout the parks history. In a new scene, several wrecked original Skyway buckets and broken bobsled cars sit just past the top of the ride’s first lift hill, as if torn to shreds by the ride’s Abominable Snowman.

Demolition for Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge

In August 2015, Star Wars land (now called Galaxy’s Edge) was announced. This expansion was planned to take over huge areas of Disneyland, including a ton of the backstage areas, the old Big Thunder Ranch, and part of the Rivers of America. All told, Galaxy’s Edge will take up about 14 of the park’s 85 acres – 16% of the park!

Demolition began in early 2016, and as the site was cleared, eagle-eyed fans saw the backside of the Alpine chalet, clinging to life on the edge of the construction site, just peering over a mound of earth.

On May 11, 2016, the city of Anaheim issued a permit for “Demolition of 5,132 sq.ft for Skyway Building.” The cost for the chalet’s demolition, from the permit, was estimated to be $67000.

Fans were sad but resigned. The chalet had been out of use for over twenty years. It was very unlikely to be structurally sound at all. But the chalet had been there from nearly the beginning. It seemed like an integral part of the park. Fans raced to the park to document the last vestiges of the old chalet, with its intricate gingerbread, painted details, and beautiful Alpine clock. The clock was decorated with a lovely sun and moon detail, highlighted in gold leaf with astrological symbols around the edge.

Alas, the chalet was reduced to a pile of lumber after the park’s closing on June 14, 2016.

The staircase with the chain across it remains behind the vending carts in Fantasyland, where the stairs now quickly end in a riotous pile of green flora.

A New Hope for the Skyway

The Skyway did exist at Walt Disney World and at Tokyo Disneyland, but the ride had closed at both of these parks by the end of the 90s.

All that was left were memories…

…or were they?

In July of 2017, Disney announced the Disney Skyliner, a groundbreaking new transportation system for Walt Disney World. This new system calls back Walt’s original hopes for a “transportation of the future”, as the Skyliner will connect several different resorts to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

The Skyway was a beloved Disney style icon, groundbreaking for its time, and memorable in its constant presence over the parks. Even in the years of its abandonedment, the Skyway was familiar and comfortable, always there. But remember, what did Walt say?  “Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.”

Remember that what you’ve read is a podcast! A link is included at the top of the page. Listen to more episodes of The Abandoned Carousel on your favorite platform: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RadioPublic | TuneIn | Overcast | Pocket Casts | Castro. Support the podcast on Patreon for extra content! Comment below to share your thoughts – as Lucy Maud Montgomery once said, nothing is ever really lost to us, as long as we remember it.

References

I’ve included a complete list of references used while researching this topic. It’s hidden under the link for brevity.

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East

Abandoned places located in the East.

• Carousel #15
• A Town Called Santa Claus
• Gaslight Village
• Floyd Moreland Dentzel/Looff Carousel
• C. P. Huntington
• Magic Forest
• Time Town
• Presidents Park

Midwest

Abandoned places located in the Midwest.

• Racism, Riots, and Euclid Beach Park
• The First Ferris Wheel
• Carousel #15
• A Town Called Santa Claus
• Little Amerricka
• C. P. Huntington
• Joyland Park, Part Two
• Joyland, Part One
• Prehistoric Forest

South

Abandoned places located in the South.

• Royal Land
• Dinosaur World, or “John Agar’s Land of Kong”
• Dogpatch USA
• A Town Called Santa Claus
• Discovery Island
• C. P. Huntington
• Joyland (a condensed history)
• Rose Island Amusement Park

West

Abandoned places located in the West.

• Carousel #15
• A Town Called Santa Claus
• C. P. Huntington
• Lake Dolores Waterpark
• Skyway at Disneyland

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