June 12, 2012 at 9:32pm 114 notes
long beachtheme parksarchives
Source: Los Angeles Times
Southern California loves its amusement parks: Even in 1911, amusement-park rides were a big deal in the L.A. area. (This photo of a spiral ride at the Pike in Long Beach accompanied a July 23, 1911, story.) The Times reported that “upwards of $4,000,000 has been invested within a few years in various amusement devices at the beaches near Los Angeles.” This sum covers only the roller coasters, merry-go-rounds, Ferris wheels, pier attractions, houses of mirth and similar contravenes to give a thrill or produce a laugh, and does not include hotels or institutions of that sort. Of this vast sum at least one-half, or $2,000,000, has been expended within the past year. At no point on the Pacific or Atlantic coasts has there been a parallel of such lavish outpouring of money for outdoor entertainment of the masses …  Disneyland wouldn’t open for another 40-plus years, but Southern Californians already had a taste for “outdoor entertainment of the masses.”

Southern California loves its amusement parks: Even in 1911, amusement-park rides were a big deal in the L.A. area. (This photo of a spiral ride at the Pike in Long Beach accompanied a July 23, 1911, story.) The Times reported that “upwards of $4,000,000 has been invested within a few years in various amusement devices at the beaches near Los Angeles.”

This sum covers only the roller coasters, merry-go-rounds, Ferris wheels, pier attractions, houses of mirth and similar contravenes to give a thrill or produce a laugh, and does not include hotels or institutions of that sort. Of this vast sum at least one-half, or $2,000,000, has been expended within the past year.

At no point on the Pacific or Atlantic coasts has there been a parallel of such lavish outpouring of money for outdoor entertainment of the masses … 

Disneyland wouldn’t open for another 40-plus years, but Southern Californians already had a taste for “outdoor entertainment of the masses.”

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    And now, there’s a Bubba Gumps right where that ride once stood, plus a fake roller coaster frame that serves no purpose...
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    case in point.
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