Rhode Island Amusement Parks

By Rob Lewis and Ryan Young

Rhode Islanders were once able to enjoy amusement parks without traveling far; the state was home to several ocean front parks as early as the mid-18th century, with some of them surviving into the late 19th century. Photographers Rob Lewis and Ryan Young have embarked on a journey to discover the amusement parks of the past in this delightful and unprecedented collection of images. Rhode Island Amusement Parks brings back the memories of a time less complicated than the present, when a sense of family held communities together. View the parks that provided a recreational outlet for so many Rhode Island families and the visitors who frequented them. Scenes from several neighboring Massachusetts amusement parks are also pictured. The images in this collection are from two large private archives as well as treasured family collections. Special highlights include photographs of hand-operated rides of the 1800s and views of President Taft’s plane, which landed at Sandy Beach in 1911. Also featured is Vanity Fair, an amusement park that lasted only five years during the first decade of this century. Residents of these communities will enjoy seeing Rhode Island as it once was and will witness the changes it has endured over the years.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Oct 16, 1998
• ISBN: 9781439637296

Rob Lewis

Rob Lewis is a Senior Lecturer in the Cardiff School of Education at Cardiff Metropolitan University. He has considerable experience and success teaching A level psychology, and for many years was a senior examiner for AQA. In addition to teaching and examining, Rob has been actively involved in A Level specification development and delivering INSET and CPD training for teachers.

Book preview

Island.

INTRODUCTION

Who can forget the excitement when Dad jingled the keys to the station wagon and said, Who wants to go to the park? We would all wonder what we would do first, as Dad purchased strips of tickets. Would it be a plunge on the Flume, a scary ride through the Funhouse, or maybe our first of many rides on the giant roller coaster? The idea for this project was born of a deep interest in amusement parks and a desire to bring back memories, ours and yours, of a time when the amusement park was a nearby experience and not a trek across several states.

In the 17th century, parks known as pleasure gardens became popular in Europe. They were large gardens where visitors could stroll and relax in a quiet and pastoral setting. By the 18th century, circus acts, ballon ascensions, and dancing had become staples of these first amusement parks. In the late 1800s the Ferris wheel, carousels, scenic railroads (the precursor of the roller coaster), and circle swings were all providing the thrills that patrons of the parks were seeking. Rhode Island was home to several oceanfront parks as early as the mid-18th century, with a few surviving until the late 19th century. During the mid-1840s Rocky Point began to be used for Sunday picnic outings, and by 1847 early amusements were being installed there. During the 1870s Oakland Beach was Rocky Point’s biggest competitor on the bay. Cresent Park came into its own in the 1860s as a seaside resort with the opening of the Viu de Lieu Hotel, and by 1886 George Boyden had opened his first amusement park on that site. Although short-lived, the grandest of all the early parks had to be Vanity Fair, which opened in 1907 and was closed a few years later. Closed—Keep Out! These few words symbolize what was once a family tradition, which has now become a lost part of local history.

Klang! Klang! All aboard! Join us now as we journey back through a time when the smell of popcorn mixed with sea air and the screams of children drowned out the sound of waves crashing on the beach.

One

CRESENT PARK

An aerial view of Crescent Park. This image was taken before 1961, the year that the roller coaster was dismantled. In 1860 the Viu de Lieu Hotel opened in Riverside as a premiere seaside resort. By 1886 George B. Boyden opened an amusement park on Bullochs Point and called it Crescent Park.

Shooting the Chutes at Crescent Park in the 1890s. Another popular attraction is featured in this postcard, balloon ascension. (Collection of Rob Lewis.)