Name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks
This article is about the still-running or defunct amusement parks of this name. For other uses, see Luna Park (disambiguation).
The "Electric Tower", the centerpiece of the original Luna Park on Coney Island, ca. 1905. Many subsequent amusement parks that took the name "Luna Park" had their own central towers.
Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Island parks. Luna parks are considered as small-scale attraction parks, easily accessed, potentially addressed to the permanent or temporary residential market, and located in the suburbs or even near the town center. Luna parks mainly offer classic funfair attractions (great wheel), newer features (electronic displays) and catering services.[1]
The original Luna Park on Coney Island, a massive spectacle of rides, ornate towers and cupolas covered in 250,000 electric lights, was opened in 1903 by the showmen and entrepreneurs Frederic Thompson and Elmer "Skip" Dundy. The park was either named after the fanciful airship Luna, part of the new park's central attraction A Trip to the Moon, or after Dundy's sister.[2][3] Luna Park was a vastly expanded attraction built partly on the grounds of Sea Lion Park, the first enclosed amusement park on Coney Island which closed down due to competition from nearby Steeplechase Park.
In 1905, Frederick Ingersoll, who was already making a reputation for his pioneering work in roller coaster construction and design (he also designed scenic railroad rides) borrowed the name when he opened Luna Park in Pittsburgh and Luna Park in Cleveland. These first two amusement parks, like their namesake, were covered with electric lighting (the former was adorned with 67,000 light bulbs;[4] the latter, 50,000[5]). Later, in 1907, Charles Looff opened another Luna Park in Seattle, Washington. Ultimately, Ingersoll opened 44 Luna Parks around the world, the first chain of amusement parks. For a short time, Ingersoll renamed his parks Ingersoll's Luna Park to distinguish them from the Luna Parks to which he had no connection.[6] Ingersoll's death in 1927 and the closing of most of his Luna Parks did not stop new parks from taking the name.
Today, the term luna park or lunapark is a noun meaning "amusement park" in several languages, including Indo-European languages such as Polish, French, Italian, Russian and Greek (λούνα παρκ, loúna park),[7]turkish in which lunapark means "funfair",[8] and Hebrew (לוּנָה פַּארְק, but the term גן שעשועים lit. 'park of amusements' is also widely used).[9]
Was the first in Africa and the Middle East.[11] On January 19, 1915, buildings and grounds were converted into Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Luna Park for World War I.;[12] the hospital was closed July 10, 1916[13]
Closed after five months due to poor attendance following a religious boycott[19] and reopened after negotiations with the local religious community.[20] Closed for good on October 31, 2013 to make room for a new cinema.[21]
Erected on an unused section of the foreshore just north of Sutton's Beach at Redcliffe Point in late 1944. Owners, Redcliffe Town Council appointed Messrs W. Scott and Philip Wirth as amusement managers. Later the enterprise was sold by the Redcliffe Town Council to local businessman Hal Buchanan who sold it on to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane, which sold it again in 1952. Amusements included a steam train, ferris wheel, sideshows and car-rides as well as a salt-water swimming pool.[82][84][85][86][87][88][89]
Established on Auckland's Waitemata Harbour, using rides and equipment from the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition, a world fair that ran in Dunedin, New Zealand, from 1925–1926. Due to the depression, Luna Park began to run at a loss and was shut down in 1931.[95]
Designed and built by Ingersoll. Became site of a sports arena built 1931–1934.[6] As of 2013, it still runs, serving as a venue for stage concerts & presentations, both national and international, and as a sports arena. Acclaimed international shows such as Disney on Ice and the Harlem Globetrotters have performed in Argentinean Luna Park. It is known for its adaptability to host ice-skating rinks, multiple stages, sports courts, and others.
Designed and built by Don Nicolás Liévano where today sits the neighborhood of Barrio Restrepo. The park was built around a lake fed by the Fucha River. It counted with several attractions including the Chicago Ferris wheel, a carrousel, a building for events, and more. Designed to entertain families and children of the south of Bogotá it was also used for parades and events during special occasions. By 1948 the luna park construction company decided to fill the lake and build residential areas on top which was supported by the secretary of public works of Bogotá disregarding the protests by the locals against the project.
^Caves, R. W. (2004). Encyclopedia of the City. Routledge. p. 439. ISBN9780415252256.
^Dale Samuelson, AJP Samuelson, and Wendy Yegoiants, The American Amusement ParkISBN0-7603-0981-7
^Coney Island's success with electronic attractions and rides also inspired a proliferation of parks named Electric Park (Samuelson, Samuelson, Yegoiants, The American Amusement Park).
^ Jump up to: abJim Futrell, Amusement Parks of Pennsylvania (Flagpole Books, 2002) ISBN0-8117-2671-1
^Claudia Puttkammer/ Sacha Szabo: Gruß aus dem Luna-Park. Eine Archäologie des Vergnügens. Freizeit- und Vergnügungsparks Anfang des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts. WVB, Berlin, 2007, ISBN978-3-86573-248-4 (in German)
^Regina Dahmen-Ingenhoven and Kristin Feireiss, Animation: Form Follows Fun (Birkhäuser 2004) ISBN3-7643-6631-1
^Lauren Rabinovitz, For the Love of Pleasure: Women, Movies, and Culture in Turn-of-the-Century Chicago (Rutgers University Press 1998) ISBN0-8135-2534-9
^ Jump up to: abWells Drury and Aubrey Drury, California Tourist Guide and Handbook: Authentic Description of Routes of Travel and Points of Interest in California (Western Guidebook 1913)
^Diane DeMali Francis, Ohio's Amusement Parks in Vintage Postcards (Arcadia Publishing, 2002), ISBN0-7385-1997-9
^Timothy Brian McKee, Mansfield in Vintage Postcards (Arcadia Publishing, 2003), ISBN0-7385-3172-3
^"SHOWMAN SUED BY WIRTH". Brisbane Telegraph (CITY FINAL) ed.). August 22, 1949. p. 10. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^"NEW OWNERS FOR LUNA PR". Brisbane Telegraph. May 15, 1950. p. 10 (SECOND. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^"No Change Yet In Park Lease". Brisbane Telegraph (CITY FINAL ed.). May 29, 1950. p. 10. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^Sam Marshall, Luna Park – Just for fun, 2nd edition. Sydney, Australia: Luna Park Sydney Pty Ltd. (2005) ISBN0-646-44807-2
^"Riding the Surf At Scarborough". Sunday Times (Perth) (2179). Western Australia. October 29, 1939. p. 24. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^"LUNA PARK OPENED". The West Australian. 55 (16,662). Western Australia. November 27, 1939. p. 7. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SCARBOROUGH'S LUNA PARK". Sunday Times (Perth) (2183). Western Australia. November 26, 1939. p. 12. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via National Library of Australia.