Im so glad that these cool old places- even when theyre unfortunately gone, hold a special place in folks lives. If youre on Facebook you might enjoy this page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paragon-Park-Memories/103289636409972?sk=wall, Or its sister website: http://www.paragonparkmemories.com/. I believe Lake Compounce still there. A. Schiff & Associates steel wild mouse roller coaster located at Paragon Park in Hull, Massachusetts, USA. From 1971-78, I spent my entire summers at Paragon Park. Dogs are banned from the state-owned Nantasket Beach Reservation from May 1 to September, and a local law change would have no effect on the states rules. During peak season, street parking (for free) fills up by 7 a.m. A couple of $20 grassy lots are available away from the beach but close, such as across the street. Who makes these lists? As I have spent all my 51 summers at Pemberton point at my grandparents cottage, I will never forget spending my summers enjoying the park especially my favorite the roller coaster. I believe the amusement park in Lincoln Rhode Island is no longer there. Thank you William C. Could you be my brother Billy? Roller coasters. Makes the Delaware beaches we now frequent seem downright tropical! Remember Revere Beach and Canobie Lake when I was a kid growing up in Somerville, Ma. Such wonderful memories of a different time!???? WHAT IS IT? Us and some of our neighbors would take advantage of $5 after 5 nights to take the kids to Whalom Park a few times a summer. Master carousel artisan Charles I.D. Waves are just as likely to come from local windswells as distant groundswells, and the best swell direction comes from the northeast. I just found out that the Giant Coaster was relocated to Six Flags in Maryland and is now the Wild One. In its 96 years, 1985 was the only season of operation the roller coaster has missed. How about the screech of the wheels or the screams of the riders? Dodge threw himself into making the park a success, changing exhibits each year and adding to the mix of rides and attractions. But, it was a nice park located conveniently on Route 6 between Fall River and New Bedford. Aw, Les that sounds like a lot of good times! Police said the ride was going full-speed when the Ferguson was struck. It is now adjacent to the old train station and clock tower. The Giant Coaster opened at Paragon Park in 1917; at 98 feet tall, it was the tallest roller coaster in the world at the time. No Paragon Park??? Take a ride down Memory Lane! It was a Big Deal! Paragon Park was an amusement park located on Nantasket Beach in Hull, Massachusetts. No more races. Did you hold on tight or tempt fate and ride with your hands stretched toward the sky? On September 20, 1922, George A. That park put $1 million into renovating the coaster, and it has been refitted and redesigned multiple times over the decades. News of the developers interest appeared in December 1984 in a place that was unlikely to attract attention a column in the pages of The New England Real Estate Journal, a trade publication generally seen only by those in the real estate industry. In talking to Alexander Graham Bell, 13 miles away in Providence, Hayes opened with the not-so-memorable quote, Please speak a little more slowly.). 20 Best Things to Do in New England in March, 10 Best Things to Do in The Spring in New England, 40 Cozy Fireside Experiences in New England, Yankee Magazines Ultimate Guide to Autumn in New England, Yankee Magazines Ultimate New England Winter Guide, Yankee Magazines Ultimate New England Summer Guide, 63 Reasons Why We Love the Cape & Islands, For $14 Million, You Could Own Provincetowns Iconic Lobster Pot Restaurant. What a surprise to have Colossus live at our Zoo here, for many years. The park celebrated the ride's centennial in 2017, although it is thought that none or the original lumber remains. There was also a small park in or near Whitman, MA cant recall the name that we went to once. The $6 million roller coaster replaced the Inverter, a ride that was discontinued in 2017 off the main boulevard. Whalom Park was my go to place, the rides, the roller skating rink and the summer stock Playhouse. Rick- that vaguely rings a bell with me but I dont have any photos. Went there as a little kid driving Rt.2 all the way from Hartford. Jankovic was riding "The Voyage" roller coaster on June 4 when she became "unresponsive," the theme park said in a Facebook post. Paragon Park was an amusement park located on Nantasket Beach in Hull, Massachusetts. Ah, yes, Norumbega Park..grew up in Auburndale, so visiting the Park was a frequent occasion. Beginning with the 1920 season, Stone and Golden took over management of the entire Paragon operation, leasing all of the rides and concessions controlled by Dodge. The coaster was 1,400 feet long and featured an 88-foot drop. It opened in 1905 and closed in 1985. It remained on the site for a short time after the closing, a hulking ghost of the parks past. Salisbury Beach was a once a year treat. Of the parks you describe, I visited Rocky Point and Bensons Wild Animal Farm as a child. Does ANYONE remember the giant blue slide that was down next to the clock where they moved the Carousel too? A great park for a day trip with the family. My sister was born early on the morning of July 3rd. Glad to know that the Giant Coaster is still around and can be enjoyed by those who have the stomach for it . Copyright 2021 Retro Roadmap. I had a bad experience on one as a kid and never went on one until then. Games manager Myron Klayman, the brother-in-law of owner Phyllis Stone, was a selectman in Hull at the time of the storm, and recalled serving dual roles in helping the town clean up from the disaster while also directing crews at his employer. At the time, it was considered the deadliest. Two things come to mind.I will bet all of us have family photo and slide albums, perhaps converted now to disc,of our good old days attending these venuestime waits for no one,but we have our memories..and second; it has always baffled me why Cape Cod,of all places,never seems to have boasted a world class amusement parkit would seem like a natural,but . We held Strong Family reunions there, one year my cousin Ted Strong parachuted into the Park! We had so much fun back in those days 1958 ,so many places to go and things to do back then, there were high school dancing, boys club dancing, ice skating, sad that the kids today missed out on all of those things, I will never forget them or the other good times I had growing up. I was in 5th grade so spent much of the summer watching the fishing boats come and leave from Pemberton Pier. A teenager was decapitated by a roller coaster after he hopped a pair of fences and entered a restricted area Saturday at Six Flags Over Georgia, authorities said. It would be two years before Stone and Golden would be able to assume full control of the park, canceling the lease that had been signed in 1919 and making improvements to the fire-ravaged amusement center. Paragon park roller coaster on nantasket . We used all our tickets there. My dad worked there. The midway featured games of skill and chance and performances by Hugo Zacchini, aka the Human Projectile. Thanks so much for sharing your memories here! It is 1984! Romantic Totem Pole with sofas next to table lamps, and one time, the Spike Jones Band. Larry and Phyllis Stone found little common ground in their day-to-day management. Within a few weeks, Kahn announced that the developers would ride to the rescue and keep the ride operating, either on-site or at a separate location within the towns borders. All of that changed in 1984. As a South Shore kid I really miss Paragon Park in Hull MA (Nantasket Beach). Most fun ever as I grew up in Fitchburg. The developers interest prompted the Stones to agree on something they both were tired of running the business and the $5.5 million purchase price would give them enough money to comfortably retire. So many memories of the roller coaster and other rides, as well as swimming at the beach across the street from the park where the water was very cold indeed! EDMONTON - It's been 30 years since Rod Chayko was flung from a flying roller-coaster at West Edmonton Mall, and it bothers him still that there is no memorial at the site to honour the three. Anybody know anything?!!! sadly lasted only about 10 years. The rest of the site is devoted to condominium development. There were dances, performances, and exhibitions at the Alhambra Ballroom; the dinner hall on a bluff overlooking the bay was famed for its Rhode Island shore dinners (steamed clams, clam chowder, lobster, clam cakes, fish, corn on the cob, and watermelon). Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted. The Aftermath: Roller Coaster. Lincoln Park, North Dartmouth, Ma. Kings Castle, Whitman, great amusements for kids to age 10 maybe 12. We took our children there when there were young. My mom told me about going to Whalom Park as a child (she grew up in Fitchburg) but I didnt get there until I had my own family and we returned to Massachusetts after a tour of duty in Europe. Nantasket Beach, Massachusetts, is an exposed beach break with consistent surf that can be used at any time of year. It was moved from Nantasket Beach and opened as The Wild One at Six Flags America outside Washington, D.C. back in 1986. This brings back memories. It was always fun to hang on the beach side with the arcades. Riverside was also my favorite. So little love for Nantasket Beach and Paragon Park!!! Makes me a bit homesick for Mass, summer, the beach and childhood. In 2019, there were 1,299 injuries in US amusement parks. External links Paragon Park on the Roller Coaster DataBase. A wood coaster was just what the park needed for its 10th anniversary, and Predator delivered. Fun fact: a couple of fires over the years changed the configuration of The Giant Coasters track, but it was a fire at another park in St. Louis that allowed Paragon Parks owner to buy a couple of cars from a coaster named The Comet, which is why some of the cars on The Giant Coaster had Comet on them. My best friend took me there when I moved to the area in 1983. About This Item; Obtaining Copies; Access to Original; . Growing up in Everett,MA I know several of these parks. Lone Wolf 83 subscribers Subscribe 95K views 11 years ago I found this video in my archives! Still saw remnants of the park in the area. I have fond memories of an amusement park called Mountain Park that Isnt mentioned. Let us know in the comments below! Thank you for the flashbacks! I can almost picture it. Yea and I still remember that poor gorilla confined in that cement cell of a prison. A roller coaster in Japan known for its "super death" acceleration to triple-digit speeds was reportedly shut down after riders suffered serious bone fractures. One of its readers tipped off the local paper, The Hull-Nantasket Times, which went to press a day early to officially break the news on January 2, 1985 that a condominium developer planned to tear down Paragon Park. Buildings were rebuilt quickly in utilitarian style flat-roofed, single-story concrete block structures that were fire resistant but lacked the grandeur and artistry of past architecture. During the 1930s, part of the Giant Coaster was rebuilt and a brightly colored Art Deco main entrance was erected in 1937. Thanks so much for adding them to the thread here on Retro Roadmap. Their 1928 purchase of a Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel would become the centerpiece of the park, replacing concessionaire John J. Hurleys previous carousel in the same location. Eric- what cool memories! He proposed twin 18-story towers, each double the height of the world-famous roller coasters first hill. The last roller coaster-related death in the country was reported in 2007, when an axle on a car broke during a ride in Expoland in Osaka and sent the roller coaster crashing into a guardrail. Paragon fans were getting used to the idea that there would be no final season. STILL one of my fave attractions there and it wasnt even part of the park REALLY. Rebecca thanks for visiting Retro Roadmap, and best of luck with your novel. It is a warm summer day and Paragon Park is busy with visitors. Vendors along the boardwalk sold fried clams, salt water taffy made in a pulling machine visible to patrons, hot dogs and other food. Till I was a teenager lived in Naugatuck CT and lived to ride the wonderful carousel at nearby Lake Quassapaug! Due to a private event, the Paragon Carousel will be open from 12pm - 4pm on Saturday October 22. 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