Sparky

Hi Friends. I have been away for quite a while. I stand corrected. There was a kiddie coaster at Playland. I talked to my brother and he reminded me where it was in the kiddie section of the park. If you look in the lower right section of the picture of Playland you can see it. Don't know why I didn't remember it.

Does anyone remember a Wild Mouse ride at Playland Park? It would have been in the early 60's and was a miniature roller coaster that turned sharp corners just as it seemed the car was going over the edge.

My wife certainly remembers it. She HATED that ride because of those slow but sharp turns at the top. The cars ran on a double set of wheels so the car would actually tilt outward a bit with the bottom wheels riding against the bottom of the rail. This was about 25 feet up, not so miniature!

Hi. the miniature coaster you remember was not at Playland. It was at Kiddy Wonderland where the small pony ride was. My brother ran it for a while. Hope this helps.

Oh my God Sparky! Your a genius!

and what a coincidence, I was scanning (finally) some vintage family pics yesterday and was going to do one my mom took in this exact local at Playland or at least I am certain. However for some insane reason we (kids or someone) cut it to where only moms head is showing above a cutout like these! Now I wish I had or still can scan it. It was taken around mid-late 40's too?

You win the oscar for best picture of the week as far as I'm concerned!

I am in the middle of moving and will be out of touch for about 3 weeks. I will post more pictures when things settle down. Sparky. (Thanks for oscar award)

[ These are pictures of my sister and me, my sister, me and our little brother testing out some new "Boards" that my Uncle Homer painted for our Mothers Mug Joint. Any one that came to Playland and had my mother take a picture should recognize the background in the first picture. The picture of my brother holding our dog, Troubles, was taken years later. You can see the lead hill of the Coaster in the background. This is the hill that we watched blow over in the hurricane that I spoke of before. My brother is facing the side parking lot where race fans parked. The building to the right of our house was the "Fun in the Dark" ride. If you enlarge that picture you can see the oval sign that was above the laughing clown advertising the ride. If you remember coming to the park, you would enter under the giant Toothbrushes which turned into Murworth Street later on. As you entered the Park you would see, looking to the right, the Bingo House, my fathers frozen custard stand, my fathers front food stand, and the ticket booth for the coaster. On race days people would park not only in the front lot but also up and down the side parking lot, my front yard, from the Bingo House to the Race track. I will post some more pictures when I can remember how I did these. Mark, Thank you. Sparky

Another from Sparky

At HAIF one need only ask.

Hi Subdude. Thanks for the memories. Crystal Pool was my home away from home growing up. It was built behind Gateway Roller Rink about a year after the rink was built. They were located behind "Bert Wheelers Liquer Store" on South Main where it intersected OST. If you were driving toward it from downtown Houston, you would have passed Stuarts Drive In, then Princes Drive In and turned right at Ben Wheelers. The "picture" is a pretty good rendtion of the pool: It was the second largest pool in Houston. The Shamrock pool was larger. I still have my last pair of skates that I bought from Les Oldfield who owned the rink and the pool. I am 73 now, so that would make them antiques. I grew up in Playland Park further down Main St. and used to walk to the rink and pool. My Mom and Dad built a home on Hatton Street in Knollwood which was the community of homes where the "rolling Hills" are shown in the picture. Do any of you remember the Old South Main Street Airport? It was located where you turned into Knollwood. Bringing back good old memories. Thanks a lot, Sparky

>"arrow" never made it to the Bubble at Gateway swimming pool and wants to know how you could breath in it.

Gateway swimming pool, that's why I'm here. It was a large aquatic complex located on Main street near Kirby. Now there is a mini-storage facility built on the front part of that property, the back part and adjoining lot are overgrown and might still yield some Gateway artifacts.

*The Bubble: Gateway pool featured diving boards and a high dive, the deep end was 18 feet, that's about the deepest pool I've ever seen. At the bottom of the deep end was a "bubble," which was a clear dome made of fiberglass or plexiglass, rimmed with a metal band. Maybe 3 feet in diameter and about 1.5 feet from the rim of the dome to its highest point in the center...that is, just enough for you to stick your head up in it. It floated about 3 feet above the bottom of the pool, being chained to the bottom of the pool with 3 chains that were stiffend with metal sheathing. Directly below the dome the bottom of the pool was pierced with a hole from which air bubbled. The air rose toward the surface of the water and got trapped under the dome, forcing water out of the dome and creating an underwater air pocket. You swam down to the bottom and popped your head up into the dome. The water level stayed beneath your chin and you could then stay down there as long as you liked, breathing fresh air and watching surface action thru the clear dome. The bubbles kept the air fresh. Some kids told me about smoking down there, that would have taken some ingenuity with plastic baggies. 18' is a long way down, it took me several years to be able to make it. The first time I made it I was so surprised. I was afraid to go into the bubble, so I swam a circle around it, examining it warily. The next dive I went ahead and entered it and then enjoyed it from there on out. I've never seen nor heard of anything like this. It seems like it would carry a lot of risk. For one thing, there's no way the life guards can monitor people who are spending extended periods of time 18' down. For another, it seems like there would be a risk of surfacing too fast with a lung full of air under 18' of pressure. Anyway, I can tell you this, it was great fun and it made me a good deep water swimmer.

*The bobber: This was some sort of converted deep sea buoy. It was anchored by steel tethers in 5' of water. It was shaped like a ball with half of it submerged and half out of the water. On top, jutting towards the sky, was a pole with a ladder, rising up about 6' from the ball with a crow's nest on top. You climbed up into the crow's nest and tried to rock the bobber back and forth. The goal was to rock it 90 degrees and touch the water. I didn't even weigh 100 lbs at the time, so I never could rock it very much.

*There was a large, rectangular trampoline.

*There was a large table set with a maze, thru which I think you started tops spinning and they battled it out. I never saw this in operation so I'm not sure what it was.

*There was a seperate indoor facility that housed a large pool and was used for swim meets and training.

>Regarding the Playland park:

The one in Houston was Texas first amusement park. There was a sister park in San >Antonio from 1947 to 1980. The giant 2 humped rollercoaster that was the Houston landmark served as the logo of the corporation. There is a wikipedia articla and a book on the San Antonio park: http://www.playlandparkbook.com/index.html

>TexasCE "I can't believe so many people remember Kiddie Wonderland.

Kidde Wonderland on S. Main near Braeswood: I would be amazed if many people didn't remember it. That thing seemed to hang on and on and on. Someone here mentioned that it opened in the early 50s. I went to it as a kid in the early 60s. I was amazed that it continued to hang around in the late 70s, having most of it packed up in the early 70s and just the pony ride left. When it continued to hang around into the 80s, I was utterly shocked. I don't know when it finally closed down, but it was there for at least 30 years.

>"Norhill Dennis" asks about the baseball stadium formerly located on the site of Finger's: The Finger's Fabulous Furniture showroom near 45 and Cullen has a snackbar that doubles as a sports museum dedicated to the baseball stadium that was home to the Houston Colt 45s. There is a home plate there that is in the same location as the former stadiums home plate. Stop by and visit the museum anytime during business hours.

>Roym posts a picture of a 3 hump coaster.

That's a fabulous photo, but the one at the Playland here in Houston was only 2 humps.

>BigDukem69 wants to know where S.Main drive in was and kiddie park underneath the screen.

South Main drive-in was located at the Y intersection of S. Main and Stella Link. That lot is now occupied by a commercial warehouse strip center.

>hbcu mentions Peppermint park, and someone else mentions confusing Peppermint and Playland parks:

Both parks were instantly recognizeable Houston landmarks: Playland Park featured 2 giant rollercoaster humps, and Peppermint Park was an indoor park that was housed in a giant tin single-story building that was painted in vertical pink and white candy stripes. That tin building was moved and still stands, candy stripes and all, as an automotive body shop, visible from 59 but further south, down closer to highway 90. I don't see how anyone can confuse a candy stripe painted building called "Peppermint Park" with anything else.

>Someone mentions Westwood mall and its 2-story merry go round:

That same, or a similar, Merry Go Round is now housed in Memorial City mall.

>belmontdrew wants to know if anyone remembers Games People play.

Yeah, I remember that. That's actually still there and was still operating until recently (as of 2008). It's main attraction was batting cages for the next 20 years after its "games people play" heyday. It also feature the mini-golf course for many more years.

Hi Larry. My name is Becky, but my nickname was Sparky when I was a child growing up at Playland Park. When I say growing up, I mean I lived at the Park. I hate to tell you but you are wrong about the humps on the roller coaster. The twelve years I lived at the Park it had Three humps down to the turn which was a soft square turn, then three small humps back to the fourth elongated soft hump leveling off to the boarding platform. There is a perfect picture of the coaster in posting #3l7. I don't know what coaster you are remembering but it was not the coaster at Houstons Playland.

My good friends Les and Marge Oldfield owned Gateway Roller Rink and Crystal Pool on Main St at Ost.. The bubble at the bottom of the pool was the bubble from the belly of a B-17. Gateway Roller Rink was built first and then the pool was built later. They were my home away from home and Les and Marge were my "adopted parents". The roller rink operated as such up until 1954 or 55, and then Les changed it to an indoor training pool for swimmers. I swam with the synchorinzed swimming team and we would do shows at different pools. Les just passed away two or three years ago. I believe there are some postings about Cyrstal Pool, which was the largest pool in Houston next to the Shamrock pool.

The picture in posting 317 shows the coaster before the rest of the park was built so there is nothing but bare land around it. The Plantation night club was built much later and would have been in the foreground. Hope this post clears up any questions. Sparky

I remember Playland Park also...it was definitely there in 1964.

Hi Earlydays. Yes the park was still there in 1964, but not in 1965. The ground breaking for the Astrodome was Jan. 3, 1962. Murworth street was not there at that time, so Playland was. April 9, l965 was when the exhibition game between the Astros & New York Yankees was held. Murworth Street had been constructed and Playland was gone. Hope this clears up the demise of the park. Sparky

Per Lacy's grandson, that's a 1957 photo. The #53 A.L. Special had just been built with some '57 Chevy tail fins incorporated into the rear. I agree with Mark that the coaster must have been torn down by the time construction on the Astrodome had begun. Mark, In your earlier post of the dome aerial shot, you're looking to the northeast (the Shamrock, in the upper left of the photo, is about due north of the Astrodome), so Playland would have been out of the picture to the lower left of the photo. Colt Stadium was on the north side of the dome, so the coaster may still have been there for awhile after it was built in the 1960 time-frame and prior to construction start on the dome. Attached a cropped 1968 Houston map (clickable thumbnail) showing the relative locations of the Astrodome and Playland. I guess some of Playland was still there. Murworth runs right where the roller coaster would have been.

Playland was completely gone when the Dome opened. If you remember going to Playland from Houston, you would travel south on Main st. until it became So. Main. The Highway was split, having a high side traveling south and a low side traveling north. You would turn left at Guido's and enter the park thru the giant "Toothbrushs" and right into the parking lot. That entrance would later become Murworth Street. Right after the park was torn down and there was nothing but bare land and the street, you could look to the right and see a Weeping Willow tree still standing. I planted that tree when I was 10 years old. I looked for that tree every time I came back to Houston and saw it for a couple of years until apartments and businesses grew up on Murworth. Oh, the memories this site is bringing back. I thank all of you for this gift at this time in my life. Sparky.

WHoever is selling these prints is full of it.

Go back and look at post #143

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...st&p=102266

This photo came from the Smithsonian, Dated May 1943. Looks like the same photo they are running prints off of and sell on eBay. Something is fishy. I am not buying it's 1967, I went to the Dome too many times back then and it would stick out. It was down before Colt 45 Stadium went in, I am almost positive. Playland was where Murworth intersects Main st. You couldn't miss it.

Maybe I can help out a little. Only the first hump fell over. The rest of the coaster was not damaged. It was rebuilt and the things in the park were repaired. If any one knows when ground was broken for the Astrodome that will tell us when the coaster was dismantled. The land under the race track and under the back half of the coaster was sold to the Astrodome complex and converted into a parking lot. Once the back of the coaster was gone, the park itself only lasted a few years. Like I said in a previous post I left the park in l952 after I got married. I know that the coaster was still complete at that time and up until at least l954 or l955 because I brought my son back to ride the boat road for children. Speaking of rides, I don't see any of them thru the framework of the coaster. You should be able to see the Ferris wheel, the Dive Bomber, The airplanes, the racetrack, etc.. I don't know when this picture was taken but I believe that it was taken when the park was just going up. I haven't heard from the library yet. Sparky

The park was definitely gone by Carla, because Colt 45 Stadium had broke ground. Not sure how much total damage Audrey did, but sparky said the coaster fell over causing a lot of damage, not sure to the extent of destroyed. I am sure Sparky could come up with a year.

Audrey @ landfall

Not sure what other it could be, unless it was the Cat 1 that hit Houston in 1943.

It was the first hump that was blown over so it only damaged things in the front part of the park. I married and moved away in 1952 so I know it was well before that year. I believe it was in the early 40's. Maybe the Houston Library can help us. I will try to get some information from them. Sparky

The video is being shot from the north stands looking south. the roller coaster went behind the north stands, so it wouldn't show in the direction being shot. I know the roller coaster was there in the early 50's, when I first rode it. I'm not sure, but I think it was built back in the early to mid 40's before the track was built.

The coaster was the keystone of Playland. It was always there at the park. The track came later. You could walk thru my Dad's Beer Garden at the end of the park and walk into the front gates of the racetrack right up to the front stand where Sam was killed. I don't know if anybody remembers that the coaster was once blown over by a hurricane. It landed in the park causing a lot of damage. We watched the first hill going down from my bedroom window. It mashed the snow-cone, pop-corn stand that I worked in, and some of the rides. Took a while to clean it up and rebuild. When we moved to Playland we lived in a trailer where the racetrack would be built. Then we moved into our house bordered by the fun-in-the-dark on one side and the glass house on the other. It backed up to the mug-joint my mother ran, the mit-camp, and the cat-game. The mug-joint was the get-em-while-you-wait photo joint, the mit-camp was the gypsy

fortune telling booth and the cat game was where you tried to knock three stacked cats off a table with three baseballs. I don't remember there ever being a dirt track at Playland. There might have been one before we moved to the park but I saw no signs of it anywhere. We moved to Playland when it first opened in the early 40's and my Mom worked there till the park closed. Good memories. Sparky

It wasn't really a haunted house, just a series of rooms you walked through. I definitely remember that moving floor. I don't know where else it might have been-Playland was the only amusement park we went to Maybe it was a Glass house. Was that located in Playland?

Like I said, we did have a glass house with a walk around dark tunnel in the back. But no rotating floor at all. I hope somebody out there can tell us where it was. Thanks for the videos. I played them over and over. This is a step back into my childhood. I can show these to my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Thank you all so much. Sparky

Yep. I used to hang out at Playland in the early 60's. I was in high school. I particularly remember the "haunted" house. You would walk through it-pretty primitive actually- and end up in a room with a moving floor that went in a circle. I remember seeing a rather wild young girl who would make out with all the guys while going arouind in circles.

Hi. I don't know where the "haunted" house that you are talking about was located but it was not at Playland on South Main. There was a "fun in the dark" there, right next to our house, but it was a ride in a dark building. The cars looked like scooter cars and ran on a rail. Spooky things would light up and scare you. I would be interested in knowing where the "haunted" house you are talking about was located. Sparky

Hi. I don't know where the "haunted" house that you are talking about was located but it was not at Playland on South Main. There was a "fun in the dark" there, right next to our house, but it was a ride in a dark building. The cars looked like scooter cars and ran on a rail. Spooky things would light up and scare you. I would be interested in knowing where the "haunted" house you are talking about was located. Sparky

P.S: There was a "Glass" house on the other side of our house that had dark tunnels in the back of the glass part. You could walk around in the glass part and then you could walk thru the dark tunnels and you would come out in the glass part again. Sparky

If you would like me to post them for you, you can email them to me, however it is fairly simple, you can either host them on a free site like photobucket, or if they are not extremely large you can just attach them to your post. I will be posting more as time goes by. I fly home tuesday and will get busy then.

SAY WHAT? I didn't understand one word of what you said past email. Thanks for the thought but I don't speak tech talk. I will have my son teach me and show him your posting. Thanks again, Sparky.

More Playland action

Here's the roller coaster

And another

Mark, you have no idea what this site means to me. I lost my pictures of the park in a flood. I had nothing except the Chronicle picture to show my children where I grew up. My brother and sister gave me a few pictures that I will post when my son shows me how. I check this site every day. Thanks, Sparky

I believe you just answered a question that has been on my mind for over 50 years. I seem to remember the name of Porter. Now does the name Doc Casey or Cassedy ring a bell with anyone. It seems that he was not a crown favorite. Thanks for help. Sparky

--

Thanks for the message. I appreciate everything you said. Does anybody out there know the last name of a driver whose first name was "Hugh"? He was a friend of Buddy. Sparky

Sue Payne, Agnes McCandless (sp?), and Aurora and Virginia Bowen.

I am not familar with any of these names, but they must have worked there with my mom. I had been gone from the Park for a while so I did not know some of the newer help.

There was an other time that a wheel came over the same place but did not hit anyone.

Tbird, your reply was edited so I could not read it. To change the subject again do any of you remember The Plantation night club right next to the Park? They had big name bands that used to come and play there. Further down the Hi-Way was a root beer drive in that showed free short movies. I can't remember if it was before or after the South Main Drive in Theater. Back to the Park. Someone had mentioned the park giving away free dyed rabbits on Easter. Sometimes my brother, sister, and I were the younger kids in the pen. We also gave out baby ducks. Only later did we find out how cruel that was. When the racetrack land was sold, that also contained the land that was under half of the coaster. Once the coaster was "cut in half" the park did go into a decline. I wonder if any one has any picture of that. Sparky

Nope! It was the one where Blackie Lothringer went over the wall between turn 1 and turn 2. He landed in the area between the concession stand and south stands near the west entrance gate. Here is a Chronicle report on the accident. Front page and other page.

Sparky, Was your mom one of the ladies named, at the concession stand, in the Chronicle article?

That is the first time I have seen that article. I had already married and moved away when the wreck happened. My sister called me to let me know about the wreck before I saw it on TV.. She wanted me to know that Mom was ok. and home in bed. My mothers name was Myrtle Gordon. I would like to know the names that were in the paper. I have a feeling my Mom left the stand right away after seeing Sam being killed.

Mark, OH YEAH that is Buddy. I had such a crush on him. I know he must have thought I was a pest because I hung around him so much. He had a beautiful wife who was very nice to me. Thirteen year old girls are such a mess to begin with. That is not the picture of the wreck that Sam was involved in. It was closer to the front wall where my dad's stand was. I love the picture that shows the third hump of the coaster. The next part of the coaster was the end

turn around which was a soft square. I don't know if many people noticed the fenced in sheep that were under the coaster. They kept the grass mowed and were great to play with. I am really enjoying all of this. Sparky

I went to Sutton, Fannin, Poe El, Lanier, Lamar '53. My wife went to MacGregor, Johnston, and San Jac '55.

So you went to San Jacs arch rival, Lamar. Hmmm. Your wife might have been in all three schools with my brother, David Gordon, who is two years younger than me. Let me know. By the way, my name is Becky Gordon McKeehan. I was a majorette at San Jac with Amy Levine, Barbara Battlestien and another girl whose name escapes me at the moment. Sparky

Here's one for you Sparky, I believe that to be Buddy Rackley in front, correct me if I am wrong.

Hi Mark. I sent you an e-mail and I don't know if you got it or not. I then found out I could join and post. I believe that is Buddy, but I am looking a man that I knew as a much younger person. The photos are great. They brought back lots of memories. My brother and I used to go swimming in the pit pool where they rolled in cars to put them out. That was another thing my dad put a stop to. I was looking to see if Cotton Grable, the flag man was in the pictures, but I didn't see him. For a short rotound man, Cotton could really move fast once he flagged the race to start. Finding this site has been like a Christmas present to me. I am pulling out pictures for my son to post for me. Will post more later. Sparky

I had forgotten about the Pla-Mor arcade downtown until you mentioned it. It was on Dallas, between Main and Fannin, across from where Sakowitz would eventually be built. I went there many times as a youngster in the mid-40's. As I remember, it was open-air, on the ground floor of some type of structure that may have been a parking garage.

Where did you go to school while living at Playland? You and I are the same age. I am the "gentleman" you mentioned in your first post who was buying a Coke when that horrible accident occurred at Playland in 1959.

Hi Alpha. They were probably made at Playmore in one of my dads mug-joints. He also had one at Stuarts Drive Inn where OST and Main street meet. Stuarts was inside of the V and Princes Drive Inn was on the point of the V.

Hi 57Tbird. So glad to be able to talk with you and know that you are still alive. I went to South Main elementary until the school bus changed routes and then I went to McGregor. I attended Johnston Jr. High School and then San Jacinto High School. I was in the class of l953. Where did you attend school?

Thanks Sparky for a great story. Got any pics you can post?

Jim

[/quote

I do have pictures I can post but I will have to have my son show me how to do that. I just discovered that my sister had posted #119 on 5-10-2006, as member No. 2116. What a pleasant discovery. She passed away on July 3, 2006, one day shy of her 73rd. birthday on July 4th.. When we were little she always thought the July 4th. celebrations were for her birthday. I really don't know what kind of posts to do so I will just ramble on about living in the park. Some one said they remembered the neon towers at the park entrance. They did look like giant toothbrushes from a distance. They were hollow inside and filled with spiders, webs, and a lot of wiring. Before the school bus was allowed to pick us up inside the park grounds, we would have to catch the bus in front of the park. We would take cover in the towers if it was raining. When my dad found out we were doing this, he got the buses to come into the park and pick us up by our frozen custard stand. The first job I can remember having was blowing us ballons for the dart joint. I blew them up by mouth, tied them and them put them in a big ballon box. If you ever try this game at a carnival throw the dart up so it will come down to hit the ballon. It works better than a hard straight throw. I worked in the front food stand until I was old enough to run the snow cone, cotton candy, and popcorn stand by myself. I still roll cotton candy cones if I am holding a dollor bill. To change the subject, my sister had mentioned Playmore that was in downtown Houston. It had bumper cars, a penny arcade, my dads food stand, some joints, and of course the man who was buried alive. That was my "Uncle Homer". He was not really a blood uncle, but was one of the people that came in off the road when my family did. Coming in off the road meant that you had left the sawdust trail and settled down. The saw dust trail meant that you traveled with a carnival or a circus which we had done. If anyone is interested I can post some stuff about that. Uncle Homer not only was buried alive, he also managed to make the board cut-outs that my mom used in the mug joint. The favorite cut-out of course was the jail. When I married and moved away from the Park, I still could hear the sounds at night when I went to bed. My father had the concessions at Arrowhead which was on Old Spanish Trail. The monorail was also on OST.. As a matter of fact the year my father passed away he had the concessions at almost all of the public places in Houston. The Colliseum, The Music Hall, The Auditorium, The Zoo, Herman Park, Playland Park, and was bidding on the Astrodome when it was built. Like I said I am just typing what comes to mind. Let me know if you like it. Thanks again for the site. Sparky

I am a new member and this is my first posting. My posted name is "Sparky" which is a nickname given to me by Buddy Rackly at the old Playland Park race track. My Family lived at Playland. My dad fed you and my mom put you in jail and took your "get em while you wait" pictures. I have a couple of pictures I will get my son to post. It is great to find a site that I can share some memories with. We moved to Houston right after the coaster was built and lived in a trailor where the racetrack would be built. The Park was our personal front yard and the racetrack our sideyard. If anybody remembers the Fun-in-the-dark ride then you know right where I lived. I could walk out our side door and right into the back door of that building. Buddy nicknamed me Sparky because I wore a spark plug he had given me. I made it into a necklace and never took it off except to take a bath. I do remember the accident you are talking about. My Mom was working in the booth right inside the front gate to the raceway and had just finished talking to Sam Sulsky when he walked away and was hit by the tire coming over the wall. The gentleman who said buying a coke saved his life bought that coke from my mom. She never got over it and never went back to the racetrack again. I will be posting more memories as time goes by. I am now a seventy-two year old Great-Grandmother and loving this time of my life. And now to answer a question about Crystal Pool and Gateway Roller Rink. They were my home away from home and were run by Les Oldfield, my dad away from home. To answer the question about the bubble in the bottom of the pool read on. If you don't want to know the answer quit reading now. When the pool was built pipes were laid into the bottom of the pool that were just below the bubble. Air was pumped into the bubble and out. The bubble was the bomber bubble from a B-17 from WWII that Les turned upside down and chained over the air pipes. It was great to see the divers hit the water and surface. Just a little side fact, Les Oldfield was the son of Barny Oldfield, the great racer. Les has a son named after his grandfather, Barny, who is an airline pilot. Hope this answers some questions and causes more. Thank you for this site. Sparky

The crash you are refering to happened in '59. One of the 3 people killed was one of the owners of Playland and unfortunately, he was the one owner who was passoinate about the park. This basicaly signaled the beginning of the end of the park since his siblings allowed it to fall into neglect and disrepair.I found this out when I went to the library down town to research Playland. I found several news articles but zero photographs. Where can one find more pictures of Playland?

The crash you are refering to happened in '59. One of the 3 people killed was one of the owners of Playland and unfortunately, he was the one owner who was passoinate about the park. This basicaly signaled the beginning of the end of the park since his siblings allowed it to fall into neglect and disrepair.I found this out when I went to the library down town to research Playland. I found several news articles but zero photographs. Where can one find more pictures of Playland?