Park Profile
www.parkworld-online.com Midway Park Trolley park survivor
Midway Park, so we're trying to gather money from other sources. To do so we formed a Friends of Midway Park Group. They're a non-profit organisation, and as such they can apply for grant money that we as a state agency would otherwise not have access to. The Allan Herschell Museum in North Tonawanda, New York (the legendary amusement ride manufacturer) received such a grant for historic preservation. We're hopeful Midway Park can be helped in the same way. The Friends Group would also function as advocates and ambassadors, organising volunteers. Our carousel needs renovation, and we're looking at getting donations from businesses and private individuals for the stripping and repainting of one horse at a time.” The challenge is certainly a tough one for Midway
Located on Chautauqua Lake about 70 miles southwest of Buffalo, New York, Midway
Park became one of the over 1,000 “trolley parks” that dotted the US during the 1920s. Today, only 12 such parks remain. Gary Kyriazi discovers how the smallest, least known and least attended has survived
O
pened in 1898, people crowded trolley cars headed for Midway Park to enjoy lake bathing, roller skating and rides such as the
The park’s Zamperla dragon coaster
John Miller-designed Jack Rabbit rollercoaster, while dancing to the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Moreover, Midway Park survived when its closest trolley park competitor, Celoron Park a mere 16 miles away, shut down in 1962. How was all that possible? “There are two reasons,” 36-year-old general manager Andy Hillman explains. “First, it was the commitment from the previous owners of over 50 years, Martin ‘Red’ Walsh and his family, to keep the Midway Trolley Park nostalgia alive. Secondly, it was the purchase of the park by State of New York in October 2006. We're one of only two government- owned amusement parks, the other being Playland in Rye, New York, which has been owned by Westchester County since it opened in 1929.” And why was New York interested in purchasing Midway Park? “The Walsh family was receiving very attractive offers from condominium builders to raze the park. But Chautauqua Lake has very limited access to the public, as most of the lakefront is privately owned. We wanted to maintain that public access, and also we felt a commitment to the history of Midway Park and its influence on the local community. The park is now listed as a State and National Historic Site.” “Now,” Hillman adds, “we've got our work cut out for us. There's a lot of infrastructure that needs work, particularly our Hippodrome building. Also, we've had to remove our 1946 Allan Herschell carousel out of its roundhouse building, as the roof on that building needs refurbishing.”
Andy Hillman, general manager 50
The cost of those two projects alone? Half-a-million dollars. Can the state afford that? Are there more pressing issues than the preservation of a trolley park? “Absolutely. We're realistic about the priority level of
Park, surrounded as it is by such larger, more developed, and magnetic parks as Kennywood, Darien Lake, Fantasy Island and Waldameer Park. Plus, Midway is far off the beaten path from any metropolitan area. Still, there is a considerable market. “Our season pass holders are local people. A lot of people from out-of-state come to their summer homes around the lake, and they bring their children and grandchildren. We get Jamestown from the south, Fredonia and Dunkirk from the north. Of course, we're near Erie, Pennsylvania and Buffalo, and while we don't pull heavily from there, a lot of people have fond memories of Midway so they opt to travel a little longer distance to enjoy the nostalgia of riding the same rides they rode when they were children.” Indeed, Midway Park is a museum of classic kiddie rides, the majority being Herschell constructions. “It's very helpful,” Hillman explains, “that the Herschell factory is close. It's helpful for parts, blueprints, getting our rides worked on; they're able to help keep us going.” Besides its 1946 carousel, Midway's Herschell rides include the Roller Coaster, Miniature Train, Helicopter Ride, Roadway, Kiddie Boats and Sky Fighter. There's a William F Mangels' Roto-Whip, a miniature version of its famous Whip ride. Zamperla's Dragon Coaster, Sartori's Tidal Wave and Hampton Rides' Tubs-of- Fun round out the kiddie ride arsenal. A Tilt-A-Whirl, Bumper-Boats, Go-Karts, Dodgem and climbing wall provide diversion for the pre-teens. There are two main levels to Midway Park: the lower, historical section of the park including the Hippodrome, carousel roundhouse and the original arcade building, and a higher level near the park's entrance.
The Tilt-A-Whirl dominates this view of the park NOVEMBER 2011
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