Kennywood – Great Places Pt. 12
Kennywood is always a great place to go in the summer. I’ll be going this Sunday for Father’s Day, as will thousands of other people I’m sure. It’s fun, it’s family and, of course, food. There also is a new ride for 2008 called Ghostwood Estate, a haunted house in place of the former Gold Rusher attraction that was retired last year. So, we all know about the Kennywood we see now, but what kind of great place was it in the past?
According to kennywood.com, the park was founded in 1898 as a small trolley park near Pittsburgh, by the Monongahela Street Railway Company, which was controlled by Andrew Mellon. Many changes occurred between 1900 and 1930. In the early 1910’s, Kennywood built two large roller coasters: The Racer and the Speed-O-Plane. Three coasters were added in the 1920’s: Jack Rabbit (designed by Miller and Baker in 1920), Pippin (designed by John Miller in 1924), and Racer in 1927 replacing the old Racer built in 1910. The park also added a huge swimming pool in 1925.
Kennywood’s original kiddie area – one of the first anywhere – was located near the Jack Rabbit. It had four rides: a miniature Whip, Ferris Wheel, Carousel and Swan Swing. Those four rides were moved to their current location in 1927, and four more added. Today the Carousel and Ferris Wheel remain. The Whip was destroyed in the 1975 Dance Hall fire, but duplicated with an old miniature Whip from Boston’s now departed Paragon Park.
The years of the Great Depression, from 1930 to 1935, were especially hard on the park. Dancing helped keep it in business during this period as great dance bands played in the park from 1930 to 1950. Kennywood prospered in the second half of the 1930’s with new rides including Noah’s Ark (1936).
During the Second World War period the park couldn’t add new rides, but it did buy a used Ferris Wheel and a miniature train. It still operates the latter.
In the 1950’s school picnics grew by leaps and bounds. Popular rides added in this period included the Hurricane, the Looper, the Rotor (the first ride imported from Europe), the Wild Mouse and the Octopus.
With the 1960’s and 1970’s came competition from “Disneyland” and other theme parks. The
Kennywood management decided to spend the money necessary to remain competitive. The Turnpike was built in 1966 followed in 1968 by the Thunderbolt, which was redesigned from the Pippin by resident coaster whiz, Andy Vettel. With the Thunderbolt came the designation “The Roller Coaster Capital of the World.”
The Log Jammer, Kennywood’s first million-dollar ride, opened in 1975. Later that Summer fire destroyed the original Dance Pavilion, a dark ride since the 1950’s. The park enhanced its coaster reputation with the addition of the Laser Loop, and gained national prominence with its designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1987. The 1990’s included the park’s largest expansion ever with the replacement of the Laser Loop with the Steel Phantom, and the additions of Lost Kennywood and an indoor coaster, the Exterminator.
Today Kennywood remains one of a select few family-operated parks to have survived from the Gay Nineties to the Space Age. Kennywood continues to maintain its position as America’s favorite traditional amusement park by focusing on the best of the old to the best of the new, from the original 1898 carousel pavilion and restaurant to state-of-the-art rides like the thrilling Phantom’s Revenge and new Cosmic Chaos.
Fore more information on hotel accomodations around Kennywood, and nearby Sandcastle WaterPark. We’ll talk about Sandcastle next week.