Lakeside Amusement Park was an amusement park located in Salem, Virginia, neighboring Roanoke, at the intersection of U.S. Route 460 (East Main Street in Salem) and State Route 419 (Electric Road in Salem). The park was named after a very large (300 feet long, 125 feet wide) swimming pool which was opened on the site in 1920. The pool was surrounded by a beach and quickly became a favorite summer retreat for residents of Roanoke and Salem. Amusement park rides were added to the facility within a few years of its opening. The park also included a pavilion, which hosted celebrity concerts. Frequent performers included country artists Tom T. Hall and Conway Twitty.
The pool eventually declined in popularity as home swimming pools became popular and after courts mandated desegregation. In 1967, the pool was filled in as part of an expansion project, the highlight of which was a new wooden roller coaster named the Shooting Star, which replaced the Wildcat. Lakeside remained a popular destination through the 1970s and early 1980s, though larger parks such as Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens were beginning to draw away visitors. Nearby Masons Creek inundated the park during the flood of November 1985. Somewhat surprisingly, the park was able to repair the damage and even construct new attractions for the 1986 season. Unfortunately, that year a maintenance worker, a 19-year old named Tom Austin, was struck and killed by the roller coaster, due to the noise of a weed trimmer preventing him from hearing the roller coaster as it came down a hill at a high speed, during a test run.[1]
The park's updates had failed to reverse the decline in attendance and revenues. The park also occupied a very valuable parcel of real estate at the intersection of two highways only a mile south of Interstate 81. Lakeside Amusement Park closed its gates for the last time on October 19, 1986.
Aftermathedit
Within a few years, the site was the location of a strip mall, named Lakeside Plaza, with Kroger and several other stores and restaurants. This neighborhood of Salem is still commonly referred to as Lakeside and several churches and businesses bear the name.
The closure of Lakeside led to the creation of the Salem Fair in 1988. This event, which has free admission, runs annually for ten days in late June to early July. Estimated attendance in most years averages around 300,000, which makes it the second largest fair in Virginia, trailing only the State Fair of Virginia in Doswell, Virginia.
Rides as of 1985edit
Shooting Star – John Allen Out and Back Roller Coaster
PBS 2017 documentary - This hyperlink no longer exists. Need New Source
Lakeside on YouTube
January 01, 1970
lakeside, amusement, park, virginia, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, lakeside, amusement, park, virg. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Lakeside Amusement Park Virginia news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2010 Learn how and when to remove this message Lakeside Amusement Park was an amusement park located in Salem Virginia neighboring Roanoke at the intersection of U S Route 460 East Main Street in Salem and State Route 419 Electric Road in Salem The park was named after a very large 300 feet long 125 feet wide swimming pool which was opened on the site in 1920 The pool was surrounded by a beach and quickly became a favorite summer retreat for residents of Roanoke and Salem Amusement park rides were added to the facility within a few years of its opening The park also included a pavilion which hosted celebrity concerts Frequent performers included country artists Tom T Hall and Conway Twitty LakesideLocationSalem Virginia U S Coordinates37 17 47 N 80 01 44 W 37 296413 N 80 028942 W 37 296413 80 028942Opened1920Closed1986AttractionsTotalIn 1985 approximately 20 25 Nearby Roanoke College also had use of the park when it was closed in the winter as an area for its men s lacrosse team to use for practice Contents 1 Decline and closure 2 Aftermath 3 Rides as of 1985 4 Former rides as of 1985 5 References 6 External linksDecline and closure editThe pool eventually declined in popularity as home swimming pools became popular and after courts mandated desegregation In 1967 the pool was filled in as part of an expansion project the highlight of which was a new wooden roller coaster named the Shooting Star which replaced the Wildcat Lakeside remained a popular destination through the 1970s and early 1980s though larger parks such as Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens were beginning to draw away visitors Nearby Masons Creek inundated the park during the flood of November 1985 Somewhat surprisingly the park was able to repair the damage and even construct new attractions for the 1986 season Unfortunately that year a maintenance worker a 19 year old named Tom Austin was struck and killed by the roller coaster due to the noise of a weed trimmer preventing him from hearing the roller coaster as it came down a hill at a high speed during a test run 1 The park s updates had failed to reverse the decline in attendance and revenues The park also occupied a very valuable parcel of real estate at the intersection of two highways only a mile south of Interstate 81 Lakeside Amusement Park closed its gates for the last time on October 19 1986 Aftermath editWithin a few years the site was the location of a strip mall named Lakeside Plaza with Kroger and several other stores and restaurants This neighborhood of Salem is still commonly referred to as Lakeside and several churches and businesses bear the name The closure of Lakeside led to the creation of the Salem Fair in 1988 This event which has free admission runs annually for ten days in late June to early July Estimated attendance in most years averages around 300 000 which makes it the second largest fair in Virginia trailing only the State Fair of Virginia in Doswell Virginia Rides as of 1985 editShooting Star John Allen Out and Back Roller Coaster Astro Liner Motion Simulator Ferris wheel Eli Bridge Ferris wheel Western Railroad Crown Metal Products 3 ft 914 mm narrow gauge 2 Steam Train now at Busch Gardens Williamsburg Paratrooper Paratrooper Ride Monster Eyerly Monster Mini Firetrucks Kiddie Ride Mini Cars Kiddie Ride Horse Carts Kiddie Ride Scooters Kiddie Ride Rocket Ships Kiddie Ride Carousel Casino A Trabant Ride Scrambler Eli Bridge Scrambler Tilt A Whirl Avalanche Flying Bobs Ride Bumper Cars Flying Scooters Giant Slide Paddle Boats Junior Ferris wheel Skyway Spider Cloud Nine Umbrellas The WhipFormer rides as of 1985 editThe Rebel Yell A mini ride that played the famous Billy Idol song with the same name Miniature Train CP Huntington Closed 1983 Cloud Nine Round Up Closed 1980 Flight Thru Space Dark Ride Closed 1979 Rep by Astro Liner Wild Cat Roller Coaster Closed 1967 Skylift went over adjacent highway and returned to park Wild Mouse Closed sometime before 1974 References edit Park worker killed by roller coaster The Tennessean May 10 1986 p 45 Surviving Steam Locomotive SearchExternal links editSalem Museum article on Lakeside PBS 2017 documentary This hyperlink no longer exists Need New Source Lakeside on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lakeside Amusement Park Virginia amp oldid 1203925304, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
