Ontario Beach Park was an amusement park located in the Charlotte region of the City of Rochester, New York in the United States of America. The amusement park occupied the lakefront in Charlotte in what is today a City of Rochester park bearing the same name, Ontario Beach Park, but is no longer an Amusement Park. The only operating ride is the historic Dentzel Menagerie Carousel. The park is now used as a picnic, pier, boardwalk, public beach, community center, and the Pot of Rochester.[1][2][3][4][5]
History
Notable Visitors
President Benjamin Harrison
On May 30, 1892 President Benjamin Harrison along with Governor Roswell P. Flower and Mayor Richard A. Curran rode a streetcar to Ontario Beach Park where they stopped off at one of the many hotels on property, Bartholomay Cottage Hotel for breakfast. Following the excursion, they continued on to dedicate the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Downtown Rochester.[1]
The Great Blondin
One of many daredevil talent acts at the park, The Great Blondin was well known throughout the country. His highwire acts often included a variety of additional stunts. One such remarkable stunt included what he referred to as "the most well balanced meal in the country", during which he carried out a kerosene stove, chair, frying pan, an egg, and a table. He proceeded to cook the egg and sat back to enjoy his breakfast 90 feet in the air with only a singular wire supporting him.[1]
Roller Coasters
Defunct
Name | Manufacturer | Type | Opened | Closed | Fate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Breezer | L.A. Thompson | Roller Coater | 1909 | 1919 | Scrapped |
Virginia Reel | Unknown | Roller Coaster | Unknown | Unknown | Scrapped |
Attractions
Operating
Name | Manufacturer | Type | Opened |
---|---|---|---|
Dentzel Menagerie Carousel - "Duchess" | Dentzel | Carousel | 1905 |
Defunct
Name | Manufacturer | Type | Opened | Closed | Fate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chubbuck's Wheel Swing | Chubbuck | Swing | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Circle Swing | Unknown | Swing | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
House That Jack Built | Unknown | Crazy House | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Ferris Wheel | Unknown | Ferris Wheel | 1907 | 1919 | Unknown |
Bromo Seltzer Tower | Unknown | Observation Tower | 1907 | 1919 | Scrapped |
Venetian Canals | Unknown | Boat ride | Unknown | 1919 | Scrapped |
Messmore's Fighting Flames | Messmore | Firefighting Attraction | Unknown | 1919 | Scrapped |
Genesee | Unknown | Shute the Chutes | Unknown | Unknown | Scrapped |
Flash | Unknown | Shute the Chutes | Unknown | Unknown | Scrapped |
Swift | Unknown | Shute the Chutes | Unknown | Unknown | Scrapped |
Lightning | Unknown | Shute the Chutes | Unknown | Unknown | Scrapped |
Carousel | Phillips & Company | Carousel | 1885 | Unknown | Unknown, but disappeared |
Leopold Long Carousel # 3 | Leopold-Long | Carousel | 1829 | 1896 | Relocated to Sylvan Beach |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Shilling, Donovan A. (1999). Rochester's Lakeside Resorts and Amusement Parks. Images of America. Charleston, South Carlolina, USA: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0738501638. LCCN 9962640.
{{cite book}}
: Check|lccn=
value (help) - ↑ Shilling, Donovan A. (July 2008). "Thirty-Five Golden Summers At Rochester's Ontario Beach Park". Crooked Lake Review. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
- ↑ "Ontario Beach Park in Charlotte". Office of the Town Historian - Greece, New York, USA. April 30, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
- ↑ Somerville, Kyle (2013). "This is Where I Love to Go: The (Re)Creation of Place At Ontario Beach Park" (PDF). Rochester History. Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
- ↑ Bartash, Linda, M. (2001). Horses in Motion. Chattanooga, Tennessee: Penman Publishing, Inc. ISBN 0970764618.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)