amusement park books lee bush (2 résultats)

Quarto, hardcover (slick white photo. illus. boards), 229 pp. Fine. From lower cover: With the publication of Euclid Beach Park is Closed for the Season came an effort to document in detail a part of American history. The amusement park in the United States has been a familiar part of everyone's childhood since the 1880s and has yet to be given the attention this important social feature demands. Response to the first publication about the Cleveland park went beyond any imagined expectation. The park, the subject, was and is important to thousands of people. The concept of a "Second Look" at Euclid Beach Park was only a natural conclusion for the publisher/authorship to draw. Due to the first book numerous new finds were brought forward and fresh new, illuminating, entertaining and meaningful materials were available for this look at the "Beach." It is hoped that the advent of an unprecedented two books on one amusement park will only serve to demonstrate the significance of the subject of amusement parks and the unique character of that very special place known as Euclid Beach Park. Ohio, Cleveland, Euclid Beach Park, Amusement Park, Americana, American Culture, American Biography, Leisure, Family, U.S.-iana. yslic.

Signed by all of the members of Amusement Park Books, Inc. (authors of the book). Quarto, green illustrated cloth (hardcover), viii + 331 pp. Near Fine. From Preface: For seventy-four years a plot of land, comprised of seventy-five and ninety-three one hundredths acres facing on Lake Erie at the extreme north east corner of Cleveland, Ohio, exerted a magnetic pull on the local citizens. The force behind the magnet was the pursuit of pleasures concentrated within the confines of that acreage; pleasures contemplated in winters, realized in summers. Year after year, citizens built up stores of remembered pleasures associated with the place. In time, their children, and their children's children, added to the legacy. In summer, the area became hallowed. The official name of the acreage was Euclid Beach Park, but any native could have told you that it was also called Euclid Beach, or just "The Beach." Regardless of which appelation was used, it always conjured up a kaleidoscope of anticipated or realized pleasures, depending upon the season of the year and the season of one's life. For some it might have been the very simple pleasure of being near Lake Erie or the beach. For some, perhaps, it was the visual pleasure of the lawns, the trees, or the flowers. For others it might have been the pleasure of just sitting and watching other folks go by. Some might have found pleasure in tasting such Euclid Beach specialties as the popcorn, candy "kisses," the frozen custard, or the loganberry juice. Others might have found pleasure in summering at the camp area with its tents and cabins. Still others could have delighted in the "sweet cacophony" that surrounded the ears with a mixture of laughter, fun-screams, and merry-go-round music. For some it could have been the pleasures found at the dance hall -- like dancing the "Moonlight Waltzes" or listening to the bands. Or perhaps it was the pleasure of skating to the rhythm set by the magnificent old Gavioli Organ. For many it could have been the pleasures of the rides with their attendant smell of hot grease and electricity -- like anticipating the seventy-one fee, five inch plunge that followed the ticking ascent up the first hill of the Thriller, or like free-wheeling around the curves of the Flying Turns. Or it could have been. yes, it could have been. But one fateful Sunday in September of 1969, the hallowed park every Clevelander knew would be there for future generations was closed forever! THe sign at the Front Gate had always read "Euclid Beach Park closed for the season," but -- closed FOREVER? In time the bulldozers insulted themselves into the buildings and rides, scattering their footings and "broken bones" naked to the elements. Following this wave of destruction came citizens seeking mementos, much in the manner of churchmen seeking relics of a saint. Was this not hallowed ground? And did not each relic from it symbolize a "touch of the garment?" IN like manner the four authors of this book, at first, came seeking only relics. We were all Greater Clevelanders -- still are -- and each had sought the repertoire of pleasures at the park, changing the selection with the seasons of our lives. Many years before the park was closed, each of us had hoarded articles, slides, postcards, mementos, and films about it. After it closed we pooled our treasures. The resulting corporate collection, as well as the enthusiasm engendered by kindred minds, soon caused us to seek for the "whole garment." Eventually we found so many pieces, as well as so many others who wanted to share their remembrances and relics with us, that we felt it our bounden duty to write this book. It is for those who do not have the time to search, those who have no relics, and also for those generations to come. Past, present, and future will share in the memory of those hallowed acres called Euclid Beach Park. Ohio, Cleveland, Euclid Beach Park, Amusement Park, Americana, American Culture, American Biography, Leisure, Family, U.S.-iana. bnsli.