Abandoned Roller Coasters with Author Sarah Ickes
Author Sarah Ickes gives us a presentation on abandoned theme parks from not just the U.S., but also from around the world, on Wednesday night.
Have you ever wondered how far back in history that roller coasters first entertained people with their thrilling hills and daring speeds? All over the world, people's attempts to create an amusement park have either failed or flourished, and that is where Sarah's presentation began. It started in Memphis, TN with a dive into the rich past of a now demolished amusement park called Libertyland. From its humble origins in the 1800s, Sarah ran us through a shortened version of how the park came to be, before going into what ultimately took down the park towards the beginning of the twenty-first century.
Most notable was the famous celebrity that used to rent the park after hours just so he could enjoy the rides for countless times on end. It also so happened to be this person's last public appearance before his death about a week later; Elvis Presley. But it was also neat to follow along with the lifespan of its two famous rides, The Pippin and The Grand Carousel. Especially since there are multiple ties to our home state with this park. Who knew?
From there, we visited Palisades and its cultural importance to the musical scene and pageant shows. It became so popular, in fact, that people complained about the traffic and noise. From the outdoor saltwater pool, The Cyclone roller coaster, and the live broadcasted TV shows almost every day, this place hosted the greats such as Tony Bennett, the Rolling Stones, and Diana Ross and the Supremes. But after a number of factors took aim at the park, it ultimately closed and the area was re-zoned to make way for buildings, leaving only a rock monument to mark where the glorious park once stood.
We were briefly given a glimpse at Bushkill Park, located in our home state, but were quickly re-routed into the International field with topics covering crocodile infested waters at a failed Vietnam water park, reclaimed farmer's lands surrounding incomplete ruins in China and an enormous ode to a literature classic rotting away in Japan. The interesting facts she pulled out continued to keep the audience's attention, and the presentation moved at a nice pace with the numerous pictures, statistics, and jokes sprinkled throughout.
Landing back in America for the final two parks, Sarah finished off her talk in North Carolina with Ghost Town in the Sky and The Land of Oz. The first one, based off an old western town, started off strong but was plagued with a few issues stemming from the long entrance by means of a ski-lift ride spanning over twenty minutes. It was eventually left abandoned after the decline of western interest in the 1980s and the price of gas was not helping in keeping their attendance numbers up. The Land of Oz, which has miraculously made a dramatic comeback as a weekend and seasonal attraction, was once an entire theme park dedicated to the literature novel published in the year 1900. Bigger rides at newer parks, price of travel, and minimal reinvestment getting put back into the park, all assisted in the fall of the once popular sensation. And that is without mentioning the fire and the theft of movie props stolen from the museum located on the other side of the park, and damaging the staff's own costumes in the process.
While Sarah did not have a book published on the specific talk of her presentation, she did have her Murial Robertson series available for purchasing. Why such an interest in abandoned theme parks when her series takes place in 1880s America? Because it was all in the pursuit of research for a new series, The Vectra Tillerman Adventures, being released very shortly.
If you would like to find out more about her books, you can visit Sarah's website, and you can visit our shop, as we have them in stock on our shelves. Thanks again to Sarah Ickes for delighting our audience with her in-depth research into abandoned theme parks.
Thanks to our staff member, Sherry, and for the author herself, Sarah, for the above images of the day's event. See ya at the next, and final PROMM event, of the year! #authorlife #books #mysteries #abandonedparks #talks
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