A Day at IDORA PARK

[Oldiesmann]

This was posted on the "Defunct Nostalgic Amusement Parks" Facebook page. Those of you who grew up in northeastern Ohio may remember this place, which apparently closed in 1984.

[Guest KingsIslandPR]

The Idora Wilcat had a great 50-plus year run. It was an outstanding wooden coaster.

[RollerNut]

Our country has lost several smaller parks since the rise of the theme parks, I wonder if the larger parks like Kings Island had an indirect correlation with closure of smaller parks. I know Idora Park had a fire that destoryed several rides but I think they may have limped along for a season without repairing the damage.

I signed the petition to save the Jack Rabbit back in the 2000s.

[MantisMan]

The Idora Wilcat had a great 50-plus year run. It was an outstanding wooden coaster.

*Wildcat*

[Existential]

That is some crystal clear footage for that period. That must have been one hell of camera for that era.

[sikkinixx99]

That is an awesome park. Wish I could have visited it before it closed. I was lucky enough to go to Americana before it closed.

Love the memories. Thanks

[The Interpreter]

More (previously posted):

[The Interpreter]

And:

[kblanken]

The 'Merry-Go-Round' is still functioning, and is currently at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC.

Although it has since been delisted, it was the first carousel to be on the National Register of Historic Places.

[PyroKinesis]

The 'Merry-Go-Round' is still functioning, and is currently at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC.

Luckily they were able to limit the damage done to it during Hurricane Sandy. Want to go there one day and ride it. A little piece of my hometown history.

Whenever I pass Billingsgate Avenue, I always look down it for a few seconds and wonder what was and what could have been.

Well, time to get the Idora Park book out of my closet and have a read-through tonight.

[TTD-120-420]

Why does it seem like most of these small parks I read about go up in flames? Is it that hard to keep things from catching fire? (Serious question... I'm not an electrician)

[The Interpreter]

Fire is the great enemy of ALL amusement parks. From electrical fires to arson, parks are at risk. Being unoccupied much of the time doesn't help.

[shark6495]

I would also assume, at a smaller park, maybe some of the wiring may not be up to the best coding? Or at the very least, a fire at a smaller park (no matter how much damage) would be more detrimental than if the same fire were to happen at a big park/company.

[XGatorHead 8904]

Thanks for posting the videos! I have Charles Jacques' wonderful book on the park, but I haven't seen video of the park before.

The firetrucks at 2:11 in the first video have been restored and are now at Conneaut Lake Park, but with the uncertain future of that park, who knows what will happen to them now. When we went to CLP last August, they weren't operating, but Mrs. Gator fondly reminisced about riding those as a kid.

[PyroKinesis]

Why does it seem like most of these small parks I read about go up in flames? Is it that hard to keep things from catching fire? (Serious question... I'm not an electrician)

Because...

1.) Mostly everything at Idora Park was made of wood.

2.) Fire hydrants didn't have good pressure nearest to the park.

[Hendrick]

I'm not sure if this has been posted anywhere, but I wanted to add this here. Idora Park's carousel reopened a few years ago in New York. Here is a video with a bit of history and the restoration that went into it. Jane's Carousel.