Posts Tagged ‘theme park’
“Like the bee, we should make our industry our amusement”*…
Your correspondent is off for his annual sojourn in the land of dunes and deep fried food; regular service should resume on or around August 11. Meantime, in the hope of inspiring readers to new heights of summer fun…
Dyrehavsbakken (“The Deer Park’s Hill”), commonly referred to as Bakken (“The Hill”), a ten minute drive north of Copenhagen, is the world’s oldest continuously-operating amusement park. Its origins trace back to 1583, when residents of Denmark’s capital would retreat to “The Hill” for its clean spring water. The large crowds attracted entertainers and hawkers, the forerunners of the attractions that make up the modern park.
Bakken at the turn of the 19th Century
Today, Bakken is home to six roller coasters, the most famous of which is Rutschebanen (Danish for “The Roller Coaster”; pictured above, top), a wooden roller coaster open since 1932 (and a designated American Coaster Enthusiasts Coaster Classic), to dozens of other flat (or amusement) rides, and to gaming halls, restaurants, and shows.
Visit Bakken.com, then Bakken… just be careful not to hop onto The Rollercoaster of Death by accident.
[Image sources: Rutschebanen and 19th Century]
* Oliver Goldsmith
###
As we keep our arms within the car, we might recall that it was on this date in 1989 that 36 Disney executives gathered (for the next 3 days) to brainstorm ideas for a very different kind of amusement park– a second Anaheim-based theme park to be built next to Disneyland. The result was a plan for an attraction celebrating a place (and a state of mind) that hadn’t even been imagined when Bakken got going: Disney’s California Adventure.
No Joy…
For over half a century, from 1949, Joyland was Wichita’s family fun park… Toddlers could ride one of the oldest miniature steam trains in the U.S.; grade school kids could bring their reports cards and trade A’s of B’s for ride tickets; and teens could get an adrenaline rush in the Whacky Shack or on “Nightmare”– an H.P. Schmeck-designed wooden roller coaster, one of only 44 original coasters designated as an ACE Coaster Classic… it was central Kansas’ Xanadu, its Oz, its… well, its Joy-Land.
But Joyland is no more; in 2003, it closed for the last time.
Photographer Mike Petty returned recently to the park; the resulting montage is an essay on the fragility of fantasy and the inexorable erosion of time.
The history of Joyland and photos of the park in its prime (and after) are here.
And for a different kind of desolation on the midway, readers should check out Carnival of Souls, a 60s masterpiece that is available in the Criterion Collection (and thus streaming on Hulu Plus and Amazon– and for free here).
As we make sure that we keep our heads down and our hands inside the cart, we might recall that it was on this date in 1956 that The Pinky Lee Show aired for the last time. Lee, a native of St. Paul, Minnesota, had parlayed a career as a “baggy pants” burlesque comedian into a brief 1950 run with a variety show on NBC. He returned in 1954 with the children’s show that made him famous (he was the lead-in for Howdy Doody). But Lee’s success was short lived: he collapsed on camera in late 1955. The show continued without him, but was never the same; it was cancelled on this date the following year. Though his abrupt disappearance spawned wide-spread rumors of his demise, Lee returned to television in 1957 as the host of Gumby. And of course his influence stretched well into the future, helping set the tone of, for example, Pee Wee’s Playhouse.
Yoo hoo, it’s me,
My name is Pinky Lee.
I skip and run with lots of fun
For every he and she.
It’s plain to see
That you can tell it’s me
With my checkered hat
And my checkered coat,
The funny giggle in my throat
And my silly dance
Like a billy goat.
Put ’em all together,
Put ’em all together,
And it’s whooooo?
(Audience): Pinky!– Pinky’s opening song
Pincus Leff, aka “Pinky Lee” (source)
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