Anyone have any fond memories of amusement parks that are no longer around? Hipsters from the Ohio area may recall Chippewa Lake on the southwest side of Cleveland which resided on a small lake. A real beauty was Euclid Beach Park on the east side of Cleveland on the Lake Erie shore. It lived from about 1897 to 1969. It was a very relaxing park with water, a beach, a dance floor with a big band, a rollerdrome, coasters, pony rides, and lots of other family things. It didn't survive the turbulence of the 60s. All the small amusement parks in northern Ohio didn't make it past the energy crunch of the 70s and the competition from the large theme parks.
I remember Coney Island in Cincinnati, Ohio. The big coaster of the day was "The Shooting Star" and I remember riding it with my older brother not long after he got back from Vietnam. I still remember the haunted house, and the voice at the entrance saying "Welllcome to the house of the dead, I'd turn BACK if I were you..." Or maybe that was the one at King's Island back in the day. Cincinnati's Coney Island closed in 1971, while King's Island was being built. The swimming pool is still there, reopened, and adjoining that is Riverbend Music Center. I think Coney re-opened with a scant few rides, but I'm not sure what's there now. Nice topic. Another one in Ohio, north of Cincinnati, I think in Middletown, was LeSourdesville Lake. Not as good, but cheap.
