From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Euclid Beach Park (1895—September 28, 1969) was an amusement park located on the shore of Lake Erie in northeast Cleveland, Ohio.

Euclid Beach and the bath house, circa 1905

Originally incorporated by some investors from Cleveland and patterned after New York's Coney Island, the park was originally managed by William R. Ryan, Sr., who ran a park with gambling, a beer garden, and freak shows. In 1897, Lee Holtzman became Euclid Beach's new director, but he offered it for sale in 1901.

Dudley S. Humphrey, Jr., led six members of his family in managing the park as of 1901 (they had previously operated concessions at the park, but had been particularly unhappy with the way Ryan ran it). They expanded the beach and bathing facilities, including adding a lakeside swing, added many new attractions, and advertised to locals with the slogan, "one fare, free gate and no beer." ^[1]

Designed to be a family-friendly park, the Humphreys would not even let anyone in who had had a beer at a nearby bar; also, signs throughout the park instructed that only children were permitted to wear shorts, because the Humphreys thought that proper dress would promote a family-friendly atmosphere. At one point the park advertised that it would "present nothing that would demoralize or depress," and that visitors would "never be exposed to undesirable people."^[2] Not only families were attracted to Euclid Beach Park; it was also a place for company and community group gatherings. In 1910, the park was the site of an exhibition flight by aviator Glenn Curtiss.

Rides and attractions

Euclid Beach Park was built on a beach, which was part of the attraction, and for a time, most of it. Another early facet of the park was its dance hall. After the Humphreys acquired the park, many more attractions became a part of Euclid Beach.

The Euclid Beach Carrousel

The first carousel that Euclid Beach Park used was the Philadelphia Toboggan Company's number nine design. It debuted in 1905; in 1910, it was replaced by carousel number nineteen. This carousel had fifty eight horses and two chariots, which were decorated with leaf carvings surrounding a Greek god and two cherubs. The chariots retained these classic designs when the Carrousel's other decorations were replaced with an art deco look. After Euclid Beach Park, this Carrousel operated in Maine at Palace Playland, until 1996. In 1997, the nonprofit Euclid Beach Park Nuts (today called Euclid Beach Park Now) and the Trust for Public Land partnered to acquire the Carrousel and bring it back to Cleveland. It is not currently operating, and the horses and mechanism will remain in storage until a suitable site is identified. Euclid Beach Park Now hopes to return it to Euclid Beach State Park, which covers roughly half of the site of the old amusement park.

A picture of Euclid Beach Park taken some time between 1895 and 1910.

Roller coasters

Seven roller coasters operated at Euclid Beach in the history of the park. All were wood coasters. The first roller coaster, the Switchback Railway, debuted in 1896 and closed in 1904. It was built by LaMarcus A. Thompson.

The Switchback Railway was followed by the Figure Eight (1904—1909, designed by Henry B. Auchy and built by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters) and the Scenic Railway, the second coaster to be built by Thompson (1907—1937).

In 1909, John A. Miller premiered his first coaster at the park, the New Velvet Coaster, later renamed the Aero Dips, which ran until 1965. He also designed the Derby Racer, later renamed the Racing Coaster, which was built by Frederick Ingersoll and debuted in 1913 with much fanfare, including a quite favorable advertisement in the May 30, 1913 Plain Dealer. This was the first roller coaster to last until the close of the park in 1969. This coaster only had a single track, which formed a moebius loop. Miller would later co-design the Flying Turns (see below).

The Thriller was designed by Herbert Paul Schmeck and Howard Stoneback. It, too, was built by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters. Premiering in 1924 and surviving until the close of the park, it was one of the most popular coasters around in its heyday. It was an "out and back" coaster, and it cost $90,000.

The Flying Turns

The Flying Turns (roller coaster) was the name of the roller coaster at Euclid Beach Park, but it was also the name for a type of roller coaster. John Norman Bartlett, a British aviator in World War I, came to North America after the war with an idea for a trackless wooden chute, full of twists like a bobsled course, with toboggan-like cars. He filed a patent for the idea in 1926.

Bartlett met John Miller in 1928, and they commenced building the new ride. When the ride went into production, much of the idea was the same, but the cars looks more like monoplanes, which Bartlett designed. Miller worked on the loading station, supporting structure, braking system and incline.

The first Flying Turns was not at Euclid Beach Park; it operated at Lakeside Park in Dayton, Ohio. But the Flying Turns at Euclid Beach Park was the second to be built (there would later be a half-dozen more, including one at Coney Island). It was also the tallest, and the Park's version used three-car trains. Couples enjoyed the ride because one rider could sit in the other's lap. "At Euclid Beach on the Flying Turns I'll bet you can't keep her smilin'" is a line from the Beach Boys' song "Amusement Parks U.S.A." (from their 1965 album Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!).

The Euclid Beach Park Riot

By around 1915, Euclid Beach Park would only admit African Americans on certain days, as part of its efforts to promote what its management saw as a family-friendly atmosphere. On the other days, the park's special police enforcement team would eject blacks entirely. On the days when blacks were allowed into the park, they were not permitted to interact with white park-goers.^[1]

Decline and closure of Euclid Beach Park

Euclid Beach Park Gateway Arch

Euclid Beach Park closed in 1969. It was one of many parks that closed in that period: The Forest Park Highlands in Missouri burned down in 1963, New Jersey's Olympic Park closed in 1965, and Riverview Park of Illinois shut down in 1967.

Like these parks, Euclid Beach closed because of the changes in the times; white flight, the advent of television and the growing popularity of malls all contributed to less in ticket sales. Euclid Beach also had to deal with racial tension, especially after the riot (see above). Perhaps, too, the Humphreys' "family values" seemed a bit quaint after all these years.

Some other rides or pieces of rides and attractions from Euclid Beach Park remained in operation or circulation in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Many of the Kiddy Rides, such as the Euclid Beach Chief, were sent to Shady Lake Park in Streetsboro, Ohio.

• The Great American Racing Derby, a ride which simulated a horse race, still runs today at Cedar Point.
• Laughing Sal, the animatronic nightmare that greeted patrons of the Surprise House, still haunts Cleveland, and is rented for many occasions such as parades and Home Days in some suburbs.[1]

Many structures still standing on the Euclid Beach site after its closing were burned in a series of fires. By 1986, most of the park was gone. though some remnants of the park are still visible.^[3] The original shoreline walkway is still at the beach. The concrete pier is also standing at its original location. This pier was made with a patented Humphrey concrete-pouring process. This process was also used in constructing the trailer park wall, which is still standing. The wall runs along Lakeshore Boulevard.

A few original guide wire remnants attached to the sycamore trees, the loading platform for the Antique Cars, the anchor post for the Thriller coaster, and part of the path to the Flying Turns platform are also still standing in the state park. The bridge for the Turnpike Cars still stands across the driveway for one of the apartment buildings built on the former west end of the Park. The remains of the supports for the Turnpike Cars center directional rail which was used on the track to keep the turnpike cars from going off of the track are also still visible.

Just next to the pier, still intact, is an empty, circular pool made of cement. This pool was once a ride. Beach-goers could sit in suspended swing seats, and be taken for rides around the two foot deep pool via a motor in the pool's center. Later, the swing seat apparatus was removed, and a center fountain was put in its place. The pool is now filled in with dirt and grass. Plans are to rebuild the Pier.

Perhaps the most famous of the remnants of Euclid Beach Park is the arched main gate. This archway has been declared a Cleveland landmark, and is now protected from demolition. The arch was severely damaged by a hit-and-run driver in January 2007.^[4] On June 12 2007, the rebuilt Arch was rededicated.

Today, the portion of the site not included in the State Park is occupied by a trailer park, and the owners of the trailer park demolished the Humphrey Mansion in 2005.^[5] However, the Humphrey Company continues to sell the park's famous popcorn and taffy products.

References

1. Bush, Lee O., Edward C. Chukayne, Russell A. Hehr, and Richard F. Hershey. Euclid Beach Park Is Closed for the Season (1977).
2. Bush, Lee O., Edward C. Chukayne, Russell A. Hehr, and Richard F. Hershey. Euclid Beach Park, A Second Look (1979).

External links

• Euclid Beach Park Now
• Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: Euclid Beach Park
• Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: Euclid Beach Park Riot
• Roller coaster designer John Miller's page on Euclid Beach Park
• Euclid Beach Park Redux
• Euclid Beach Park's entry on the Rollercoaster Database