Monday, July 21, 2008

Conneaut Lake Park as it is Today

For the second summer, Conneaut Lake Park has not opened. For years before that, the park was always on the brink of not opening. And, for as long as I've been going, the park has looked like it has seen better days. Despite the rustic appearance of the park, there was a certain old-time, nostalgic charm to the 116 year old amusement park. The kids always had as much fun at Conneaut Lake Park as they had at Disneyland. So, along with everyone who has ever gone to the Park, we were sad to see it closed again this season. We recently walked through the park to see its current state. We were surprised to see so many other people doing the same thing. There were probably 20 or 30 people walking around the park, taking pictures and reminiscing. The park resembles a ghost town so much that it was used this past April in the filming of the upcoming movie The Road, a post-apocalyptic story.

This building is at the end of the midway, across from the site of the burned down Dreamland Ballroom. Another visitor said that there had been an indoor ride in the building, but I'm not sure that's correct.

The building on the right of the picture below is the same building that you see above. And, the cottages to the left are still occupied. This amusement park is unique in that people own cottages within the park.

The famous Blue Streak, a wooden roller coaster...

The Devil's Den with it's Gum Wall. If you look closely into the ride you can see a few pieces of gum stuck to the wall. As you go further into the ride, the wall is completely covered with chewed gum that riders have stuck to the walls.

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