Simon Baynham Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 Great stuff man. I loved the pictures and how the ride seemed to just fit into that small space. I wish someone had pictures and video of West View Park, but I doubt it since they closed in 1977. For books, VHSs and DVDs about coasters and parks (Including West View) www.rollercoastermedialibrary.com [DVD 105] PENNSYLVANIA’S LOST AMUSEMENT PARKS. [DVD-R / 2007 / 145 MINS] (Three programmes on one DVD). “Life Was A Lark At Willow Grove Park” (49 mins). Willow Grove opened in 1896 and was perhaps the most elegant of all the trolley-company-inspired amusement parks in the US. Thrill-seekers flocked to such attractions as the Mountain Scenic Railway and the Captive Flying Machine. “Rediscover the Excitement: West View Park” (47 mins) documents 71 years of West View, that provided generations of Pittsburghers with fond memories of the Dips, Racing Whippet, and the Haunted House. “Amusement Park Memories” (49 mins), takes an affectionate look at: Euclid Beach Park, Kennywood, West View Park, Willow Grove Park, Palisades Park, Idora Park, Meyers Lake Park, Coney Island Cincinnati and Coney Island New York. ANDY SHINE SAYS: Three absorbing documentaries guaranteed to send the Nostalgia-O-Meter into the red zone. ANDY SHINE’S RATING: Good / Recommended. [bOOK 39] CHARLES J. JACQUES: GOODBYE WEST VIEW PARK, GOODBYE. [1985] (21x28cm - 126 Pages - Many B&W photos). A historical work about one of Pittsburgh's defunct amusement parks that traces its founding in 1906 to the 1977 season. Chapter Points: The Harton Family Begins West View; Decade of the Dips; The 1920s Start Slowly, and Then Boom; West View Survives The Depression; The War Years; The Golden Age Begins; A Tour of the Midway; Dark Clouds Begin to Appear; West View Stands Still; Goodbye, West View. ANDY SHINE’S RATING: Good / Recommended. There are more West View titles too... and Idora, Euclid, Rocky Point, Mountain Park, Whalom... etc... etc... Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
restoca Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 Thanks, John, for the great photos. Though I never visited the park, while in high school I had a penpal from Canfield. He practically lived at Idora in the summers, and sent me many photos. I'll post them to this thread, if you don't mind. If I can find them. Lesson to be learned here: don't take the smaller parks for granted. Support and enjoy them, as they may be gone with little notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnooSnoo Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 I wish this park could have survived.. I could've ridden my bike there all the time. Hell, I'd still ride my bike there.. although I can drive.. lol Always nice to see pics of the park surface though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrillrider92 Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 Great pictures! I didn't know that a few boats from the lost river survived. Where they auctioned off? For a previous post, The Kooky Castle and Kennywood's Le Cachot were installed the same year. From what I read somewhere, because of where Kooky Castle was, the designer Bill Tracy, didn't design the front like Le Cachot. But I do agree, it is great to see pictures of the flat rides of Idora Park. I request if you haven't look into buying the DVD Rediscover Idora Park and the book Idora Park: The Last Ride Of The Summer. Thanks for sharing your pictures again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regina Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Hi everyone nice to meet u guys. i am from the Idora Park area but have since moved away but these photos sure were a blast from the past. i enjoyed tham and wnate dot thank u for making me smile and think back to my childhood. i found out that the Merry Go Round is in a Museum in Buffalo N.Y and iw anted to share this with you.. the woman paid $ 380, 000 for it and restored it so perfectly even using the paint they used for carousels in the 1920's. so check out the first video and continue down it does make u smile. but i also feel as a few feel that it should of remained in the Youngstown area. put downtown as a center or something. so sad its gone.. ok go enjoy and again glad to meet u an have a wonderful evening.. here is the link to show u what happened after the fire and the auction... http://diggingpitt.blogspot.com/2010/05/see-idora-park-carousel-in-new-york.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 ^Thank you. I'm sure those who value the past will enjoy the links you provided Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaWhippet Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Great post, John. These wonderful pics brought back lots of memories. I was fortunate to have visited Idora numerous times during its last few years of operation. What a fantastic place this was. Though the Jack Rabbit was quirky and entertaining, the Wildcat was the real star. It was 'challenging' to ride in its last years but it was a perfect example of the hundreds of classic wooden coasters we've lost. I miss Idora ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geaxoo1 Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 thanks for the pic of idora park .. i work there as summer job 1970 1971 great view i can see the stand i worked across from the wild cat great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geaxoo1 Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 thank you i worked at idors park 1970 1971 i can see the stand i worked across from the wild cat great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sauceytoo Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 I really enjoyed seeing these pictures! Idora Park was my very first job at age 16! What alot of happy memories you reminded me of with these pictures! When I would go on a break, I would ride the Wild Cat on slow days several times till my break was over! I memorized every bend and curve and rode with no hands! I was hooked on the adrenalin high! I wish that I would have attended the auction because I would have loved to aquire one of those signs! Thank you for sharing the pictures and all the happy memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sauceytoo Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 I worked at the foot long hot dog stand across from the pinball machines the summer of 1969. The last opening day there was a big party with all the workers. There somehow was booze snuck in and a friend got drunk and he lived one block from me so I had to drive his stick shift car home and I didn't know how to drive stick but after several stalls and jerks, I finally got him home safely! A friend of mine and her family owned the French Fry stand. Those were the best french fries ever! Annie Popesqu was the manager of the foot long stand. Sometimes I worked the snow cone stand that was connected to the foot long stand. On a boring day we had snowball fights! Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfYoungstown Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Hello everyone! does anyone have info on Idora anything that would be rare to find online or from books? I mean anything ,old pictures , stories of the park, where the parks rides where sold , blue prints of any sort, anything at all would be extremely useful to me and would be much appreciated !!!!!! Please message me or just post back on this ,thank you very much for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjoe422 Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Great Post. When I was a kid during the 70's my fathers company picnic used to be at Idora. We always had fun. I remember the picnic area up on top of the hill with the stone steps leading to them. I find it interesting this small park closed down in the early 80's and yet still a popular discussion on this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianojohn Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 Just rode Jane's Carousel in Brooklyn Heights, NY. It is the former Idora Park carousel that was purchased at auction and restored over the last 25 years. It is beyond beautiful! And the setting in a glass building at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge is truly breathtaking. Enjoy the pictures! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidra Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Amazing thread! Great pictures of the carousel too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 ^^thanks John. I didn't even realize this restoration was completed and had opened. Anyone interested in helping restore another classic carousel please click This Link to read about Coney Island's famous B&B Carousell. Only your vote is need, no monetary outlay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidra Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 ^^thanks John. I didn't even realize this restoration was completed and had opened. Anyone interested in helping restore another classic carousel please click This Link to read about Coney Island's famous B&B Carousell. Only your vote is need, no monetary outlay. Done! Thanks for the link, worthwhile restore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howard l Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 I noticed that many viewers are young folks and never visited Idora Park. Folks, I am 76 years old and spent many days and nights at the Park. It was a safe place to visit but after so many years it became necessary to charge admission to keep the rowdys out. That did not work as well and just about every weekend the police working off duty at the park had to call for assistance because of certain elements that came in just to start trouble. The fire was not the only reason the park closed, decent people were afraid to go there because of the deterioration of the neighborhood , the gangs of hoodlum in and outside of the park , and other obvious reasons. Just like anything else the bad messed it up for the good. How do I know this? I grew up in Youngstown and was a Youngstown Police Officer for 26 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 ^ Thanks for your insight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defcon62 Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Since this topic is on the front page, Its high time I brought some attention to the idora museum that is opening in April 2014. This is the real deal and the gentleman running the show has an impressive collection! I was so moved by his collection that I sold him my Idora Wildcat car so that it could be enjoyed by many instead of gathering dust in my garage and I will be loaning the rest of my idora collection for display as well . https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Idora-Park-Experience/444280122354734 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Finn Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I just discovered the Idora Park Experience today, as it was open this past weekend for two days (they appear to be allowed to open two weekends a year). They are getting a thousand or so guests a day when they do open which I'm sure provides a decent bit of capital to go after some new things here and again. From the videos I have seen and posts I've read on their Facebook page, things appear to be going quite well for them. If you want to get a really cool idea of what the place is all about, check out this video in particular. I have attached a few pictures from the museum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcoastermark Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 Cool find. Thanks for posting. I miss Wildcat. ( Well the whole funkyness and fun that was Idora. I don't think there will ever be another coaster like Wildcat. Even Jack Rabbit was an odd fun coaster. Good memories Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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