Description: Coney Island is an amusement park on the banks of the Ohio River east of Cincinnati. It started as an apple orchard farm owned by James Parker. He soon realized that it was an attractive place for visitors. The orchard was then sold to Ohio Grove Corporation. It was officially named "Grove Park, the Coney Island of the West" and opened on June 21, 1886. In 1887, the Grove Park name was dropped, and it became Coney Island. Despite suffering through the Great Depression, World War I, World War II, and constant flooding of the Ohio River it became "America's Finest Amusement Park." Over the years, it became a full fledged amusement park, with rides and carnival games. In 1968, it was sold to Taft Broadcasting and moved 25 miles north of Cincinnati. With the opening of Kings Island in 1971, the park began to close, with only Sunlite Pool remaining open. No longer restricted by it's parent company, the successor to Taft Broadcasting, Coney Island has again become a traditional amusement park with rides. Coney Island is still an amusement park that thrills thousands of Cincinnatians. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B03F10_016_1
Subjects: Amusement parks--Ohio; Coney Island Amusement Park, Ohio
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Postcard showing the "Shoot the Shutes" water ride at Indianola Park in Columbus, Ohio, ca. 1907-1915. Indianola Park was a 30-acre amusement park operated in Columbus’s University District at N. 4th Street and E. 19th Avenue. It opened to the public on June 8, 1905, and early visitors could enjoy a large swimming pool, a dance pavilion, a roller coaster, a restaurant and picnic grounds, and more. A vaudeville-style theater was added in 1908, soon to be followed by more roller coasters, a funhouse, and the “Shoot the Shutes” ride. The park was also home to the Columbus Panhandles pro football team, serving as their home field between 1909 and 1915. During the 1910s and early 20s, Indianola hosted as many as 10,000 visitors in a single weekend, and could see up to 5,000 people enjoying its pool on hot summer days. But in the wake of the Great Depression and other cultural shifts, the park eventually shut down in 1937. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07731
Subjects: Franklin County (Ohio); Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Amusement parks--Ohio; Amusement rides
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Postcard showing the entrance to Indianola Park, Columbus, Ohio, ca. 1907-1915. Indianola Park was a 30-acre amusement park operated in Columbus’s University District at N. 4th Street and E. 19th Avenue. It opened to the public on June 8, 1905, and early visitors could enjoy a large swimming pool, a dance pavilion, a roller coaster, a restaurant and picnic grounds, and more. A vaudeville-style theater was added in 1908, soon to be followed by more roller coasters, a funhouse, and a “Shoot the Shutes” water ride. The park was also home to the Columbus Panhandles pro football team, serving as their home field between 1909 and 1915. During the 1910s and early 20s, Indianola hosted as many as 10,000 visitors in a single weekend, and could see up to 5,000 people enjoying its pool on hot summer days. But in the wake of the Great Depression and other cultural shifts, the park eventually shut down in 1937. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07732
Subjects: Franklin County (Ohio); Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Amusement parks--Ohio; Amusement rides
Places: Columbus (Ohio)
 

Description: Visitors strolling past attractions at Olentangy Park, an amusement park that was located on North High Street in Columbus, Ohio, ca. 1910-1930. Signs on the buildings read "Ye Olde Mill," "All For Fun," "Mysterious Sensation" and "Joy Mill." Olentangy Park closed in September of 1938. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04957
Subjects: Franklin County (Ohio); Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Amusement parks--Ohio; Amusement rides
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Children on a miniature automobile ride at Olentangy Park, an amusement park that was located on North High Street in Columbus, Ohio, ca. 1910-1930. A sign for miniature golf can be seen in the background. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04966
Subjects: Franklin County (Ohio); Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Children; Amusement parks--Ohio; Amusement rides
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph showing a crowd of visitors strolling through the midway rides at Olentangy Park, an amusement park that was located on North High Street in Columbus, Ohio, ca. 1910-1930. In the distance a roller coaster is visible. Olentangy Park had a number of roller coasters, including the Whirlwind, the Figure Eight, the Red Devil and the Loop-the-Loop, which was one of the country's first looping coasters. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04967
Subjects: Franklin County (Ohio); Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Amusement parks--Ohio; Roller coasters; Amusement rides
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Visitors on water ride at Olentangy Park, an amusement park that was located on North High Street in Columbus, Ohio, ca. 1910-1930. Olentangy Park had multiple water rides including "The Olde Mill," the "Tunnel of Love," and "Shoot-the-Chutes." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04972
Subjects: Franklin County (Ohio); Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Amusement parks--Ohio; Amusement rides
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph showing a roller coaster at Olentangy Park, an amusement park that was located on North High Street in Columbus, Ohio, ca. 1910-1930. Olentangy Park had a number of roller coasters, including the Whirlwind, the Figure Eight, the Red Devil and the Loop-the-Loop, which was one of the country's first looping coasters. The sign on this ride reads "Scenic Coaster." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04973
Subjects: Franklin County (Ohio); Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Amusement parks--Ohio; Roller coasters; Amusement rides
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Visitors riding a miniature train at Olentangy Park, an amusement park that was located on North High Street in Columbus, Ohio, ca. 1910-1930. In the background are additional attractions including a rifle range, the "Joy Mill," and the "Mysterious Sensation." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04976
Subjects: Franklin County (Ohio); Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Amusement parks--Ohio; Amusement rides
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Sheltered area where visitors could catch the trolley at Olentangy Park, an amusement park that was located on North High Street in Columbus, Ohio, ca. 1910-1930. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04977
Subjects: Franklin County (Ohio); Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Amusement parks--Ohio; Amusement rides
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated ca. 1935-1940, this photograph shows the midway of Buckeye Lake Amusement Park, with the pavilion and the boat launch visible. The amusement park boasted a roller coaster, roller skating rink, a nightclub, and the Crystal Ballroom and Pool. The ballroom attracted a number of famous performers including Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, among others. The amusement park attracted as many as fifty thousand people each day. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B13F02_004_001
Subjects: Buckeye Lake State Park (Ohio); Amusement parks--Ohio; Amusement rides; Summer; Midways
Places: Buckeye Lake (Ohio); Fairfield County (Ohio); Licking County (Ohio)
 

Description: Children and adults riding a roller coaster at Cedar Point amusement park. Opened in 1870, Cedar Point is an amusement park located on a 364-acre peninsula in Lake Erie. It is in the city of Sandusky, Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03327
Subjects: Erie County (Ohio); Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Roller coasters; Amusement parks--Ohio; Amusement rides
Places: Sandusky (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio)