Historic Amusement Parks of Long Island: 118 Miles of Memories

by Marisa L. Berman

Overview

When Long Island became a suburban paradise after World War II, ambitious entrepreneurs created dozens of amusement parks to help families unwind. The Nunley family built a park in Baldwin in 1939, and it was so successful that they opened Nunley's Happyland in Bethpage just a few years later. Westbury's Spaceland fascinated youngsters with dreams of becoming astronauts, and Frontier City in Amityville was heaven on earth to fans of the Wild West. Today, historic parks like Deno's Wonder Wheel Park in Coney Island and Adventureland in Farmingdale still delight children and remind parents of happy memories of their own. Local author Marisa Berman explores the decades of fun and laughter from Long Island's historic amusement parks.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781625849816
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	06/29/2015
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Marisa L. Berman is a historian and nonprofit professional and has worked at numerous museums and cultural institutions across Long Island and New York City, including the Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center & Archives, the Queens Historical Society and the Nassau County Museum Division. She has conducted numerous speaking engagements throughout New York on various aspects of local history. Berman is currently pursuing a doctorate at St. John's University.

Table of Contents

Foreword Todd Berkun 9

Acknowledgements 11

Introduction: Amusement Parks on Long Island 13

1 Brooklyn Parks 21

Fairyland Kiddie Park (Buddy's Fairyland), Canarsic 21

McCullough's Kiddie Parks, Coney Island 26

Nellic Bly Amusement Park / Adventurers Family Entertainment Center, Bensonhurst 27

Peter Pan Playland, Sheepshead Bay 31

Ward's Kiddie Park / Deno's Wonder Wheel Park, Coney Island 32

Wonderland / Astroland Kiddie Park, Coney Island 36

2 Queens Parks

Adventurers Inn / Great Adventure Amusement Park, Flushing 41

Auer's Kiddie Park, Rockaway Beach 45

Fairyland Park, Elmhurst 47

Joytown / Rockaways' Playland Kiddie Annex, Rockaway Beach 52

Kiddy City, Douglaston 55

Kiddie Park / Dreamland Kiddie Park, Fresh Meadows 56

Nunley's Rockaway Beach and Broad Channel Amusements, Broad Channel 58

Playland Center / Cross Bay Amusement Park, Howard Beach 61

Wonderland Farm Zoo, Ozone Park 63

3 Nassau Parks

Adventureland, Farmingdale 65

Frank Buck's Jungle Camp / Massapequa Zoo and Kiddie Park, Massapequa 67

Gruberg Funland / Gruberg's Playland, Long Beach 72

Kiddie Funland, Farmingdale 77

Kiddle Haven / Garden Amusements (McGinnis's), Garden City Park 78

Lollipop Farm, Syosset 82

Nunley's Amusement Park, Baldwin 88

Nunley's Happyland / Smiley's Happyland (Jolly Rogers), Bethpage 94

Playland Park, Freeport 99

Roadside Rest Kiddieland / Kiddieland Park / Jazzbo-Land, Oceanside 102

Spaceland, Carle Place 105

1 Suffolk Parks

Bay Shore Amusement Park, Bay Shore 111

Dodge City, Patchogue 112

Fairyland at Harvey's, Huntington 115

Fairytown, USA, Middle Island 116

Frontier City, Amityville 119

Turner's Amusement Park, Lake Ronkonkoma 122

Conclusion: Kiddie Amusements Today 125

Notes 129

Bibliography 131

Index 135

About the Author 139