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The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is an oceanfront amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. Founded in 1907 and operated by the family-owned Santa Cruz Seaside Company, it is California's oldest surviving amusement park and one of two seaside parks on the West Coast of the United States (the other is the Santa Monica Pier). The West Coast once hosted many more beach parks, including the Pike in Long Beach, California and Playland-at-the-Beach at San Francisco's Ocean Beach. Both have long since closed, but the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk survives as a reminder of a bygone era in amusement.
Overview
Late evening at the Boardwalk The Boardwalk extends along the coast of the Monterey Bay, from just east of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf to the mouth of the San Lorenzo River. At the western edge of the park lies a large building known as the Casino, which contains a video arcade, an indoor miniature golf course, a lasertag arena and the Cocoanut Grove banquet room and conference center. (The Casino does not offer gambling.)
East of the Casino, the "boardwalk" portion of the park stretches along a wide, sandy beach visitors can access easily from the park. The eastern end of the boardwalk is dominated by the Giant Dipper roller coaster, one of the best-known wooden coasters in the world and one of the most visible landmarks in Santa Cruz. The Dipper and the Looff Carousel, which still contains its original 342-pipe organ built in 1894, are both on the United States National Register of Historic Places. In addition, the park itself is a California State Historic Landmark.
In many ways, the Boardwalk has changed little from its turn-of-the-century origins. Old-fashioned carnival games and snack booths can be found throughout the park. There are no upscale shopping venues, restaurants with full table service or other more modern amenities typical of newer Disney, Universal and Six Flags theme parks. The atmosphere can be said to invoke East Coast seaside parks, such as Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York and the many parks on the Jersey Shore.
History
The Boardwalk was founded by Santa Cruz businessman Fred Swanton, who aimed to create a "Coney Island" for the West Coast. Swanton began his project in 1904 with the original Casino. 22 months after it opened, the building was gutted by a devastating fire that started in the kitchen. Rebuilding began just a few months later; the original Boardwalk, a pier and a new Casino opened in 1907.
In 1911, woodcarver and amusement park pioneer Charles Looff created the Looff Carousel. His son, Arthur, suggested that the park owners replace the park's first "thrill ride," the aging L.A. Thompson Scenic Railway, with a "modern" wooden coaster—the Giant Dipper, which was designed by the younger Looff and opened in 1924.
Business slowed down during the Great Depression and World War II, but the Casino's Cocoanut Grove ballroom was at its peak, attracting popular big band leaders like Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw and Lawrence Welk.
Beginning in the 1950s and 1960s, the amusement industry went through many important changes. Interstate highways and affordable airline travel gave people greater options for where to spend their vacation time. Disneyland and the Six Flags parks drew visitors away from many older local parks, including the Pike and Playland-at-the-Beach. The Boardwalk survived—and thrived—by introducing many new attractions and undergoing an extensive renovation in the early 1980s.
Trivia
- At Disney's California Adventure park, the "Paradise Pier" area takes much of its inspiration from the Boardwalk and other California oceanfront amusement parks. In particular, the "California Screamin'" roller coaster bears a striking resemblance to the Giant Dipper.
See also
External links
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