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Olentangy Park

Olentangy Park was a trolley park, a type of amusement park, in Clintonville, Columbus, Ohio, operating from 1880 to 1937.

Olentangy Park Theatre
Map
Coordinates40°01′15″N 83°00′53″W / 40.020747°N 83.014705°W / 40.020747; -83.014705
StatusDefunct
Opened1880
Closed1937

Location

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Olentangy Park was located in what is now the southwest corner of Clintonville. The park boundaries on its west and east sides were the Olentangy River and north High Street, North Street on the south, and nearly to West Tulane Road on the north.

History

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Olentangy Park postcard

Robert M. Turner (1880–1895)

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Prior to 1880, Olentangy Park was a wooded area on the Olentangy River which was popular for picnics and swimming. There was a mill in the area north of Ackerman Road. In 1880, Robert M. Turner purchased the area. The first development of this property was the building of a formal picnic ground and swimming area in 1881. Then a tavern was built on the site and Turner renamed it "The Villa."[1] Between 1881 and 1895, little changed. A few small amusement rides, a carousel, and possibly some pony rides were added.

Columbus Railway, Power and Light Company

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The Boathouse at Olentangy Park, 1903

In 1895, the Columbus Railway, Power and Light Company purchased "The Villa" at the northern end of the company's North High Street trolley line.[1] The company hoped to use the park to increase the ridership on the weekend.[2] Electric lighting was added to the park in 1896.[1] That same year, the company held a naming contest resulting in the park being named "Olentangy Park" by an anonymous "Volunteer."[3]

The Dusenbury brothers (1899–1929)

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In 1899, around 50 acres were purchased by the Dusenbury brothers of New Lexington, Ohio.[4][5] They immediately added a large casino with a theater[6][7] just north of the ravine, more bowling alleys, and a fun house attraction called the "Crystal Maze."[8] Later, they built a "Water Toboggan"[9][10] and a roller coaster called "The Figure Eight."[1] The 1904 World's Fair was held in St. Louis. At its conclusion, the Dusenbury brothers purchased the "Japanese Gardens" exhibit and installed it at Olentangy Park as "Fair Japan."[11][12] In 1907, they opened the second Dancing Pavilion, expanding it in 1914 and 1920, making it the largest in the state.[13][14][15]

 
Loop the Loop roller coaster, 1908

Leo and Elmer Heanlein (1929–1937)

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In 1929, the brothers Leo and Elmer Heanlein purchased the park. They expanded the zoo and added the Mysterious Sensation, a fun house attraction,[16] to the Midway, and experimented with short-term attractions like the "Lindy-Loop"[17] and "Flight Tutors."[18] They ultimately closed the park during the Great Depression.[1]

After Closing

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Olentangy Park closed at the end of its 1937 season. In 1938, the L.L. LeVeque Company purchased the Olentangy Park property to build Olentangy Village.[19] The Haenlein Brothers sold some of the park's rides and equipment while moving the Grand Carousel, the remaining Ferris wheel, the Airplane ride (the Circle Swing),[20] the Dodgem, the Rifle Range, and others to their Zoo Park[21] in Powell, Ohio. The skating rink became the offices of Zoo Park.[22][1][23] Zoo Park was sold to the Gooding Amusement Company in 1956 after Leo Haenlein's death.[24] After a few attempts to purchase Zoo Park,[25] the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in 1981.[26] The grounds were turned into Wyandot Lake Amusement Park in 1984 and later Zoombezi Bay.[27]

Olentangy Park remnants

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In 1940, a bowling alley, the Olentangy Lanes, was constructed on the site of the Park's parking lot. It was destroyed by fire on Oct. 27, 1980.[28]

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Olentangy Park's 1914 Mangels-Illions carousel was moved in the 1930s to Scioto Ranch Park/Zoo Park,[21] the location that later became part of Wyandot Lake Amusement Park near the Columbus Zoo.[29] It continued to operate, though in deteriorating condition. In 1999 it was removed from Wyandot Lake and Carousel Works Inc. was commissioned to undertake a costly restoration. The carousel resumed operation in spring 2000, housed in a climate controlled building at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.[29] There, in the first month of operation, 42,000 customers paid $1 each to ride it. On July 28, 2004, the carousel celebrated its one millionth rider since being restored and moved to the zoo.[30]

Swimming pool

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The Olentangy Park swimming pool added in 1917.[31] It was halved in 1996 and completely filled in during 2002, to allow expansion of residential areas.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Lentz, Ed. "Columbus' amusement parks once were entertainment hot spots". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
  2. ^ "Things Are Going Swimmingly: The History of Columbus Pools". Columbus Neighborhoods. 2017-10-18. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
  3. ^ "The Villa Named at Last." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 2 May 1896. Pg. 7.
  4. ^ "Olentangy Park: The Theater." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 3 June 1899. Pg. 14.
  5. ^ "Columbus Bicentennial: Amusement Parks of the Past". ohiomemory.ohiohistory.org. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
  6. ^ "Olentangy Park Casino." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 4 March 1899. Pg. 6.
  7. ^ "Location is Changed." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 27 March 1899. Pg. 7.
  8. ^ "Olentangy Park: The Crystal Maze." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch. 30 June 1899. Pg. 11.
  9. ^ "Toboggan Slide for Pleasure Parks." The Street Railway Review. Vol. 11. 1901. Published by Chicago: Street Railway Review Pub. Co. Pg. 89.
  10. ^ "Bathing at Olentangy Park." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch. 17 June 1906. Pg. 2.
  11. ^ "Geisha Girls are to be Attraction." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 2 January 1905. Pg. 5.
  12. ^ Columbus Neighborhoods | Olentangy Park | Season 3 | Episode 18, retrieved 2022-02-11
  13. ^ "Improvements in Park." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch. 18 March 1906. Pg. 31.
  14. ^ "Olentangy Park Opens." The Lantern. 29 April 1914. Pg. 4.
  15. ^ "At the Dance Pavilion." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 2 June 1920. Pg. 28.
  16. ^ "Columbus, Ohio, Amusement Park Sports All Sheet Metal Fun House." American Artisan. United States: Keeney Publishing Company. 31 July 1926. Pg. 197-198.
  17. ^ "Variety Club at Olentangy Fiesta." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 26 July 1932. Pg. 8.
  18. ^ "Flying to Be Park Feature." The Columbus Dispatch. 5 April 1931. Pg. 10D.
  19. ^ "400 Apartment Units Will Be Constructed." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 1 April 1938. Pg. 1. Accessed through Columbus Dispatch Digital Archives.
  20. ^ "Airplane Ride Is Razed." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 24 April 1956. Pg. 8B.
  21. ^ a b Barrett, Richard E. 1984. "Olentangy Park: Four Decades of Fun." Columbus and Central Ohio Historian No. 1." April 1984. Page 11.
  22. ^ Stout, Ned. "Zoo Park Season Starts with Look to Past." The Columbus Dispatch. 23 April 1975. Pg. 27.
  23. ^ "708O451918". digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
  24. ^ "Gooding Buys Amusement Park at Zoo." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 8 April 1956. Pg. 3.
  25. ^ "Zoo Abandons Plan to Buy Gooding Amusement Park." The Columbus Dispatch. 10 March 1976. Pg. 14.
  26. ^ "Flashy Ride To Be Added At Zoo Park." The Columbus Dispatch. 20 March 1981. Pg. B13.
  27. ^ Hoholik, Suzanne. "Park rechristened Zoombezi Bay - Former Wyandot Lake to reopen in May." The Columbus Dispatch. 12 July 2007. Pg. 03B.
  28. ^ “Fire Destroys Olentangy Village Bowling Lanes” The Columbus Dispatch. Home Final Edition: 27 Oct 1980. News Section. Pg. 1.
  29. ^ a b Switzer, John. “Changes Destroy Stadium’s Look.” The Columbus Dispatch. Home Final Edition: 18 Feb 2000. News Section. Pg. 12D.
  30. ^ [1] "The Columbus Zoo Carousel Spins its One Millionth Rider"
  31. ^ "New Park Pool Second Largest of Its Kind in United States." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch. 15 July 1917. Pg. 42.
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