Old Photos of Riverside Park

[Token Yankee Guy]

One of my huge interest in theme parks is looking at old photos of amusement parks too see how they have changed over time and of course it's very hard to find photos of Six Flags New England when it was called Riverside Park.

 

But I found a huge collection online which were posted by the Agawam Historical Association

 

*these photos are from the collection, not my own*

The Jungle Land ride which predates the Haunted Boat Ride and Shipwreck Falls. The back area would be the current day North End

 

 

There are more photos on this link, they start at the bottom of page 5 and go until like page 8 or 9. So far this is the largest collection of old Riverside photos I have found, I don't know if the association has a larger collection. If so...a little trip is in order.

 

http://imagemuseum.smugmug.com/gallery/3471781_84VXq/6/199801054_mzfpT#199799877

 

 

 

Proof that Thunderbolt was called Cyclone at least up until the 60's

 

If I were to guess where that coaster once stood, it would be where the Six Flags Emporium and those row of games along the midway in the rockville area of the park.

 

[Canobie Coaster]

http://www.themeparkbrochures.net/maps/198x/rs198x_1.html

 

Well, here's an old map of the park from the 1980s from ThemeParkBrochures.net. It's amazing how much the park has changed in about 20 years.

 

 

 

http://www.angelfire.com/nh/scubanrollercoasters/oldriverside.html

 

I also found some decent Riverside photos on Anglefire.

 

 

 

I remember going to Riverside once as a child. I really didn't get to go on much because I was too small to go on any of the major coasters or thrill rides. My main memory of that day is being absolutely furious about being too small to ride the Cyclone, Mind Eraser, Thunderbolt, and Hellevator. I did ride the now removed Red River Rapids and remember the park being much different than it is today.

[Evan1127]

Awesome find. I literally have hundreds of photos and old articles dating back to the 1890s from Riverside Park. Because of that, they let me be the one to design the Historic VIP Tour at SFNE (that lasted like 4 months).

 

I've always said I should do something with everything I have. Maybe a book? I mean, if it weren't for the Great Depression, Riverside would be the oldest park in the US. It's an amazing park with so much history.

 

One of my favorite stories is that they once had monkeys there (a long time ago) and kept them on an island in the middle of some small man-made pond, but never put fencing up because they thought monkeys couldn't swim. Well, they could, and they all escaped.

 

The wooden coaster you have pictures is the Giant Dip and, from everything I've found, seems to have been located near where Thunderbolt sits, so you weren't too far off.

[Voyage_luvr]

Wow, that Chute-the-chutes ride is really interesting. Reminds me of the one that I've seen in pics of Lake Winnie Amusement Park.

 

This is a really cool find. Thanks for posting these. So are any of the original rides still there other than the Cyclone?

[Token Yankee Guy]

I've always said I should do something with everything I have. Maybe a book? I mean, if it weren't for the Great Depression,

 

From what I've seen, I haven't seen any book published on the history of Riverside so far. That would be very cool if you did a book on the park.

 

Riverside would be the oldest park in the US. It's an amazing park with so much history.

 

yeah, It would be...but sadly Lake Compounce holds the title since they stayed open during the depression. If I'm correct, I think LC opened in like 1846.

[Evan1127]

yeah, It would be...but sadly Lake Compounce holds the title since they stayed open during the depression. If I'm correct, I think LC opened in like 1846.

 

Sounds about right. During the Great Depression, they only opened one day per year, though. Cheaters.

[wildcatroc]

Neat stuff; thanks for sharing! I have a small collection of stuff that I picked up from the park in the early 90's... maps, postcards, and a few pictures.

 

You can find what I have scanned here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/wildcatroc/Riverside

[sixflagscoasters]

Nice Collection of Pictures, Maps, Brochourse, etc... wildcatroc!!!!

 

 

Do you have any more?

 

 

I remember going to Riverside for the first time in 1998. I wish I saved the park map and brochures from that time. I would love to see the changes. I now a few changes. For example Black Widow was there in 1998, but not in 1999. Cyclone had no track modifications in 1998 except for different trains. Scream was just a single S&S tower that was called Hellevator. Also I think they were in the process of building part of the water park that is in its present location. I think I remember parking in a dirt parking lot when the water park is today, then having to walk over the dirt lots and by the construction to the main gate. I don't think they had the parking across the street in 1998.

 

I forget about most of the trip.

 

Also I did not go on to many roller coasters back then. Also I did not go on any high thrills like Hellevator back in 1998. That all changed when I got Roller Coaster Tycoon in 1999. I think I went on Thunderbolt, but not Cyclone. I wish I went on Black Widow, because it was its last season. If I knew it would be taking out at the end of the year, I probably might have gone on it, but not sure. Also I wish I went on the Cyclone to try out the Morgan trains. But I did go on Cyclone in 2000 with the new PTC trains, and it still had its original layout, and no brakes. Now the ride has a shorter drop, and filled with breaks. It is now a lot slower and not as much fun as it used to be.

 

After I got RCT, then next time I went to a park I had to ride all of the coasters and high thrills. The next time we went to Riverside was its first Six Flags New England season in 2000.

 

 

Again, Thanks for sharing you stuff "wildcatroc"!!!!!

[hnoor0033]

I now a few changes. For example Black Widow was there in 1998, but not in 1999. Cyclone had no track modifications in 1998 except for different trains. Scream was just a single S&S tower that was called Hellevator. Also I think they were in the process of building part of the water park that is in its present location.

[ericthewanderer]

 

One of my favorite stories is that they once had monkeys there (a long time ago) and kept them on an island in the middle of some small man-made pond, but never put fencing up because they thought monkeys couldn't swim. Well, they could, and they all escaped.

 

Believe it or not I've heard similar stories about Conneaut Lake Park!