Park Profile
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Boardwalk Fun ’n’ food in Texas
Kemah
Gary Kyriazi traces the development of this classic waterfront amusement park, one of several Texas attractions operated by the Landry’s restaurant, hospitality and entertainment group
I Aviator
t’s simple: the mystic, infinite attraction of water. It’s human: we’re drawn to water. It’s worldwide: on any body of water – lake, river, or ocean – you
erect a pier, a wharf or a boardwalk, and as human beings we flock there. It’s our nature.
As amusement parks proliferated and prospered in the early 20th Century, wherever there was a body of water, there was an amusement park. The water was first, the amusement park second. Trolley companies built their tracks from the cities to the water, the weekend crowds hopped on the trollies and went to the water, where they swam and spent their money on food and amusements. Today, those traditional waterfront parks that have been spared the wrecking ball and not replaced by condominiums continue to thrive on this basis, be it California’s seaside parks, New York’s Coney Island, New Jersey’s seashore, Blackpool Pleasure Beach in England or the few other remaining oceanside, riverside or lakeside parks. The industry adage is “you can’t go
wrong with water.” You go in the water, stroll the boardwalk, wharf, pier or promenade, and the amusements are secondary, albeit necessary. “In our case, we tell people to come to Kemah Boardwalk to have a great meal, stroll the boardwalk, and then the amusements are third,” says 43-year-old James Doering, general manager of amusements at the Kemah Boardwalk, south of Houston, Texas. Jim has spent all his life in the amusement industry, starting at 17 as a ride operator for Six Flags St Louis (Six Flags Mid-America at the time) and spending 25 years with Six Flags, the last eight with Six Flags Fiesta Texas, until his transfer in 2011 to Kemah Boardwalk. “From San Antonio, Texas, to Kemah was an easy move for me and my family. And then again,” he adds with a smile, “there’s the attraction of the water.”
Restaurants and Rides Kemah Boardwalk is essentially a small, regional park, though it manages to get its share of visitors to
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The Boardwallk comes alive after dark with its restaurants and rides MARCH 2012
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