Hidden behind some homes in a sleepy little town remains the skeleton of once booming amusement park. The park was open for one hundred years, opening in 1878, and eventually closing in 1978. Since then mother nature has been doing her best to take the park back over. There isn’t much left still standing in the park, and according to a list I found online it seems something else is getting demolished (or burnt down!!?) every few years. I feel pretty lucky to have been able to see what was left at this point even though most of the larger things are now gone forever.
After we left the park I text my mom a photo of the ferris wheel. When I told her where it was she said she recalled going there when as she was younger. I asked if she had any photos to which her response was that she was “14 or 15, and more interested in boys at the park than taking pictures.” I also asked if she rode the ferris wheel, she said she didn’t remember but I could say she did if that made my blog post more interesting. Haha. I suppose there’s a great possibility that she did ride if even if she was too distracted by cute boys to remember. That’s a really neat thought to me, that my mom probably rode that ferris wheel or one of the roller coasters that’s since been demolished. I enjoy this hobby for a multitude of reasons but one of my favorite things is definitely hearing from people who had a personal connection to a place. I’m not quite old enough to have places that I’ve really spent any amount of time in become neglected to the point where they’re just abandoned. But I hope that someday when a building or place I have some connection to is in complete disrepair that someone will take photos to share.
xoxo
47 comments
Even though it is so disheartening to see places like this go abandoned, it sure does look beautiful! You always manage to capture the essence of places like this and they always leave me in awe.
Lauren | OhHay Blogs!
xxx
Thank you, Lauren! 🙂
That ferris wheel is so creepy. Amazing what you can come across, just abandoned.
How about we go with your Mom was on the ferris wheel WITH a cute boy?
Haha. Sounds good! 😛
How haunting! And what a cool coincidence that your mom visited the park when it was open! That would make any urban exploring adventure way more personal! 🙂
Oh my goodness…thank you so much for sharing this post! These pictures are so haunting and I can't believe such a cool location exists. That's really neat about your mom going there…it makes seeing it even better. Gosh, it's just so spooky seeing trees grow out of a roller coaster!
Miranda
Little Gold Pocket Watch
beautiful… the ferris wheel is definetely my favorite 🙂
this is so beautiful. It's amazing to see how quickly nature takes things back.
I know, it's amazing.
I love abandoned places, especially amusement parks. There is something creepy yet beautiful about them, you know? Were you able to find any pictures online of the park when it was still in business?
Yeah, there are actually quite a few photos of it in it's prime online. Crazy what a difference.
So cool! I would love to go to an abandoned amusement park! You're so lucky you live near one ! 😀
<3 Taylor
http://www.agirlonrope.com
this is amazing. I would have loved to see this for myself. Ah, to think of all the happy memories it holds for people.
I love abandoned theme parks, I think they're quite haunting especially when you consider they're where people used to go to have fun and hold happy memories of it as you say. Great photos, they really capture the mood!
Thank you!
tremendous shots! you have such a talent for capturing the beauty in all places.
were these photos taken at chippewa lake park?
Thank you so much.
They were. 🙂
this is really sad to know :((( i love amusement parks. my heart cries for all the abandoned places in this world 🙁
xoxo, rae
http://www.raellarina.net/
That's so cool about your mom's experience there! I'm sure that's weird for her, though. To have a memory of a place and then see it in such disrepair like it's been 100 years or something.
I don't know if you ever listen to This American Life, but there's an episode that totally strikes me as something you would find interesting… a man tells this story about how he and his friends were fascinated with this old abandoned house as kids and tried to figure out as much about the family as possible. As an adult, he picks up the search again and discovers the history. It's fascinating that an abandoned space becomes a kind of mysterious museum. Here's the link: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/199/house-on-loon-lake
So spooky! I get creeped out so easily and this would make my spine shiver.
chloex
http://www.bythelock.com
It is kind of spooky looking at the photos, but I didn't get any creepy vibes while we were there!
That is so incredibly cool!
I know, right!?!
Once again you have done an amazing job capturing the essence of the old park! Thanks for the awesome pictures!
~Tammy @ Through the Milk Glass
Thank you, Tammy! 🙂
That ferris wheel is definitely amazing. I wonder if the vines would continue to grow around the other spokes?
http://itsjpei.wordpress.com/
Wow, I love the photos you took! I actually got really obsessed with abandoned amusement parks this summer, and watched a youtube video of this place. I wanted to send you an e-mail telling you to go to it, haha! But the video said it was already demolished. You're so lucky you got to go, I just love the old wooden tracks going through the trrails, the trees shooting up through ferris wheels!
Thanks, Ariel! Yeah, I had read everything had been gone from here for years, so glad it wasn't.
Your photography is always so amazing. I always wanted to see an abandon amusement park. There's something beautiful about it that draws me in. I love how you continue to find all these places.
xx
destroyed-beauty.blogspot.com
Thank you so much, Chelsea! 🙂
Abandoned amusement park has been on my list of Types of Places To Visit for years! Great shots.
Thanks Luka!
I've been enjoying all of the photo sets you've been posting lately of abandoned places and the spots you've explored, but I think this one is my favorite. These pictures are so haunting, yet beautiful. It's crazy to see nature completely overtake a place like this after it's been abandoned.
Thank you, Jenn! I'm so glad to hear you've been enjoying all the abandoned places I've been posting lately. 🙂
You always take such fascinating pics! I am very jealous of your lifestyle <3
LucyBelle x
http://oliveandzipper.blogspot.com.au/
Thank you LucyBelle!
🙂
I LOVE these photos! I have always been intrigued and inspired by amusement parks and carnivals, pair that with my love of abandoned places and this post had me squealing with excitement! I think that is so cool that your mom visited the park when she was younger!
Thank you! I know, I felt the same way, two of my favorite things – amusement parks and abandoned things!! The only thing better would be an abandoned dentist office! 😛
Oh,such a sad place, and yet the Ferris wheel is just so pretty standing ther all vine covered. You wre lucky to get to photograph this. Are ther pictures anywhere online from the park in it's glory days?
Oh, I forgot to mention that a friend photographed an abandoned theme park very recently and it had a giant tick? LOL. Here is the link. http://monroega.blogspot.com/2014/07/rubbish-tuesday-enchanted-castle.html
wow you are very lucky, this place looks pretty cool
love the ferris wheel
Holy crap that's awesome! Super cool your mom went there when she was younger too!
this is SO cool. the ferris wheel is hauntingly beautiful.
x
staygoldrebecca.com
Abandoned amusement parks have always seemed to eerie to me. Maybe it's just the thought that if we were all gone there would be no trace of us after a while. I'm from a small town that looks like it's slowly deminshing. Though nature isn't taking anything back just yet, a lot of the old buildings are being left empty. I think I want to take some pictures now before some of my old favorite places are gone.
This is so cool! I shared some photos of an abandoned building (cafe) on my blog and after sharing them I showed the place to my mom and she said that she remembered going to that place and having tea with her family. It was quite interesting to hear that 🙂 I would love for you to check it out, I'll leave you the link 🙂
http://chamomiledealer.blogspot.com.tr/2014/06/abandoned-building-on-film.html
This is awesome! I'm so drawn to abandon places like this and yes, people or a person who had a connection to this place makes it more interesting. I really like 'i'm not the weird one (in a good way) to like places like this, novelty architectures (your words) and mushrooms!
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