@Joe Connor posted:Remember the jingle that saturated the radio airwaves?
"Palisades Amusement Park,
Swings all day and after dark."
"Ride the Coaster/ get cool/ in the waves of the pool/You'll have fun, so/come on over!"
It may be why today I have a kayak, a canoe, and an aluminum runabout, but the boat ride at Palisades Park was a must for me when I was a kid! I was terrified of the wood coaster!
@Craftech posted:I lived right near there on City Island. Freedomland was right where Co-op City is now in Baychester. It was shaped and set up like each of the states and ran into financial trouble right from the get go. Plans to expand it never happened.
John
There have been some good books written on Freedomland, It closed when I was like a year old. I have read several books about it, and I have heard different theories about why it didn't make it. The initial construction ran long and the pavement from what I hear was still soft on opening day,was one of the funnier stories.
.Part of the problem it had was for a city attraction, it was relatively hard to get to, you had to take a subway and then a bus to get there, unlike with the world's fair where the city built extensions to the site, there was no attempt to do this (whether it would have been practical, I leave to the experts, I don't think you could have expanded the number 6 there, and building a branch off of the 5 train would likely have been impossible to justify). Maybe a train station on what is now Amtrak and a shuttle bus would have worked, could ride from Penn Station to there.
The other thing I heard was that Moses used his clout to try and keep the park from getting financing and that caused problems with the construction of it, he didn't want a rival to the world's fair (sad how both of them ended up busts).
My guess is what did it in was changing demographics, the middle class were leaving NYC by then, the area around it (Baychester) was changing, and that likely took away a significant part of what could of been their audience.
Lot of Nostalgia here, many of the parks have been gone a long time. Coney Island kind of hung on as a shadow of itself, it still is nowhere near what it was in its heyday but is still fun, and as a train watcher it is fun to look at the subways and recall the history of how they were built, the hotel that was put too close to the sea and had to be dragged across the street and so forth
. Palisades park was one of those ironies, it actually did well financially from what I hear but fell value to the land being worth a lot more than the business, which is what happened to Rockaway Park as well (ah, the Cinerama coaster, guaranteed headache!). Most of the amusement parks that fell ended up dying for that reason, the land just became too valuable. I believe Rye Playland is now a county park, so it isn't likely to fall to a developer.
@pdxtrains posted:"Ride the Coaster/ get cool/ in the waves of the pool/You'll have fun, so/come on over!"
You can still listen to it on youtube.
@joe krasko posted:How many of you remember Palisades Amusement Park? we used to go several times a year from Yonkers...always a great time.....joe
Swings all day and after dark. You'll have fun, so come on over.
@bluelinec4 posted:I still remember the Chicago firemen
Fascinating history of Freedomland. I didn't realize Co-op city was built on the same land.
@West Side Joe posted:By "quadrangle" I think he means the diamond - shaped linkage like on top of this boat:
That was part of the linkage driving the paddle wheels. But I don't think the Alexander Hamilton had that.
From the photos, I'm sure you are right about the Hamilton. I wouldn't have noticed it when I was on the boat. I did notice them on some boats and definitely recall wondering what they were.
@bigkid posted:Lot of Nostalgia here, many of the parks have been gone a long time. Coney Island kind of hung on as a shadow of itself, it still is nowhere near what it was in its heyday but is still fun, and as a train watcher it is fun to look at the subways and recall the history of how they were built, the hotel that was put too close to the sea and had to be dragged across the street and so forth
The coaster on Cinerama was one of the best that I've ridden. Wikipedia says "The film includes POV scenes of the Atom Smasher roller coaster from Rockaways' Playland, "
@mlaughlinnyc posted:The coaster on Cinerama was one of the best that I've ridden. Wikipedia says "The film includes POV scenes of the Atom Smasher roller coaster from Rockaways' Playland, "
Tomorrow I'll try to remember to post something about the coaster at Saltair Beach, where we derailed with my mother watching from the ground.
Almost 60 years later the TV & radio jingle is still burned into my mind.
Palisades has the rides
Palisades has the fun
Come on over
Shows and dancing are free
So's the parking, so gee,
Come on over
Palisades coast to coast
Where a dime buys the most
Palisades Amusement Park
Swings all day and after dark
Ride the coaster
Get cool in the waves of the pool
You'll have fun
So Come on over.
This Wikipedia link has a short, yet interesting account of the park's history.
As a young man fresh out of college and working as a 9-to-5 professional, I also ran the weekend life guard staff for the Winston Towers pool - the high rise condominiums built on the site. I had more fun there that at the former amusement park 
@mlaughlinnyc posted:From the photos, I'm sure you are right about the Hamilton. I wouldn't have noticed it when I was on the boat. I did notice them on some boats and definitely recall wondering what they were.
A Walking Beam.
FWIW - Rye Beach Playland is a national historical monument. It was the 2nd amusement park in the country (afer Kennywood) and the first planned amusement park. And, AFAIK, the NY Rangers still practice at the ice rink there.
It seems there's more to the history of Palisades Amusement park than most know. The beginning of this article about Eddie Mannix ties the park's owners, the Schenk Brothers, to the beginning of MGM studios. Who knew?
I have a recollection of my mother and grandmother taking me to the circus - I believe it was at Palisades Amusement Park in the early 1950's. I don't remember anything about the circus, but I do recall walking alongside a train car right outside the Park lettered "Circus Train" on the side. That was the first circus train I ever saw.......and regretfully the last circus train I saw.
Anyone recall seeing a "circus train" at PAP?
Geez, you guys are lucky.
I grew up in a sterile, upper middle- class suburban housing development, and all I had was a cul-de-sac and a bicycle. That was it. There was no "town" or "downtown." Just 1950s and 60s strip shopping malls, five miles away. Oh yea, and about six miles away, . . . there was a bowling alley. :-(
There was no such thing as public transportation.
Mannyrock
@Mannyrock posted:Geez, you guys are lucky.
I grew up in a sterile, upper middle- class suburban housing development, and all I had was a cul-de-sac and a bicycle. That was it. There was no "town" or "downtown." Just 1950s and 60s strip shopping malls, five miles away. Oh yea, and about six miles away, . . . there was a bowling alley. :-(
There was no such thing as public transportation.
Mannyrock
Same here. Almost an identical description of childhood. Life was terrific. And 15 miles away was PAP.
I grew up in White Plains, I have been to Playland in Rye 100 times, love the Dragon Coaster,,We had a place in Belle Harbor on 139 st and Beach Channel Drive so I went to Rockaway Playland during the summers..
"Skip the bother and skip the fuss, take a Public Service bus.
Public Service sure is great, it takes you right up to the gate!"
Another little tune, ear worm, from the AM radio.
Heard the jingle on the TV a thousand times, parents never took us there. I did bid on that guy - I see now who won.
Jim
