Children's Fairyland
Encyclopedia
Children's Fairyland, U.S.A. was the first theme park in the United States
created to cater to families with young children. Located in Oakland, California
on the shore of Lake Merritt
, Fairyland includes 10 acres (40,000 m2) of play sets, small rides, and animals. The park is also home to the Open Storybook Puppet Theater, the oldest continuously operating puppet theater in the United States.
Fairyland was built in 1950 by the Oakland Lake Merritt Breakfast Club. The sets were designed by artist and architect William Russell Everritt. The park was nationally recognized for its unique value, and during the City Beautiful movement
of the 1950s it inspired numerous towns to create their own parks. Walt Disney
even came to Fairyland often to get ideas for Disneyland.
Numerous artists have contributed exhibits, murals, puppetry, and sculptures to the park. Some of the better-known artists are Ruth Asawa
and Frank Oz
.
The park has rides like the spiderweb Ferris wheel
, carousels and the Jolly Trolly (a train).
For safety reasons, Fairyland admits adults only when they’re accompanied by children and children only when they’re accompanied by adults.
, Oakland nurseryman Arthur Navlet saw a collection of small nursery rhyme themed buildings, and wanted to create something similar in Oakland's Lake Merritt
Park. His hope, though, was to create much larger sets that children could climb in and interact with. After getting the backing of the Lake Merritt Breakfast Club, a civic organization devoted to improving the park, he took his ideas to William Penn Mott, Jr.
, then director of Oakland's parks department. Mott and the Breakfast Club were able to raise $50,000 from Oakland citizens among the sponsors: Earl Warren
, Clifford E. Rishell, Joseph R. Knowland
and Thomas E. Caldecott
to create the park.
Navlet hired fantasy architect William Russell Everritt to design the original 17 sets. Everritt originally presented models which followed a standard fantasy architecture: straight-sided, "precious" buildings in gingerbread and candy. When told his models were too staid, he delightedly destroyed them and came back with buildings with no straight sides and outre colors and textures. It was exactly what Navlet was looking for.
The park continued to grow through the early years, adding the Open Storybook Puppet Theater, also designed by Everritt, in 1956, as well as other sets. Another important addition were the Fairyland Talking Storybooks and Magic Keys
. Oakland television personality Bruce Sedley would often make appearances at the park to tell the stories of the sets. The constant strain of speaking threatened his voice, and he invented a system of talking books with recorded stories on tape. The boxes were activated by a plastic key. Sedley took the system he developed at Fairyland to zoos and children's parks across the country, where they are still used extensively.
Every year Fairyland has plays put on by local kids ages 8–10. The past 2005 shows were The Monkey King's Journey to the West
, Brer Rabbit, and the classic The Wizard of Oz. The past 2006 shows were Cuoi, the Boy in the Moon, Ohana Means Family, and Little Red Riding-Hood, Lost in Fairyland. The 2007 shows were Hip-Hop Pinocchio
, The Panchatantra
, and Méxica
. The 2008 shows are Aesop's Fables
, The Girl Who Lost Her Smile, and Harvest at the Lake; the 2008 season is the first on Fairyland's new Aesop's Playhouse, a dedicated children's theater funded by Oakland City bond measure DD.
In 2006, Children's Fairyland's Open Storybook Puppet Theater celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a near-complete renovation including the addition of a new facade and workshop.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
created to cater to families with young children. Located in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
on the shore of Lake Merritt
Lake Merritt
Lake Merritt is a large tidal lagoon that lies just east of downtown Oakland, California. It is surrounded by parkland and city neighborhoods. A popular 3.1 mile walking and jogging path runs along its perimeter...
, Fairyland includes 10 acres (40,000 m2) of play sets, small rides, and animals. The park is also home to the Open Storybook Puppet Theater, the oldest continuously operating puppet theater in the United States.
Fairyland was built in 1950 by the Oakland Lake Merritt Breakfast Club. The sets were designed by artist and architect William Russell Everritt. The park was nationally recognized for its unique value, and during the City Beautiful movement
City Beautiful movement
The City Beautiful Movement was a reform philosophy concerning North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of using beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. The movement, which was originally associated mainly with Chicago,...
of the 1950s it inspired numerous towns to create their own parks. Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
even came to Fairyland often to get ideas for Disneyland.
Numerous artists have contributed exhibits, murals, puppetry, and sculptures to the park. Some of the better-known artists are Ruth Asawa
Ruth Asawa
Ruth Asawa is a Japanese American sculptor. In San Francisco, she has been called the "fountain lady" for her works that include the mermaid fountain at Ghirardelli Square...
and Frank Oz
Frank Oz
Frank Oz is a British-born American film director, actor, voice actor and puppeteer who is known for creating and performing the characters Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear in The Muppet Show, Cookie Monster, Bert and Grover in Sesame Street, and for directing films, including the 1986 Little Shop of...
.
The park has rides like the spiderweb Ferris wheel
Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger cars attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, the cars are kept upright, usually by gravity.Some of the largest and most modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on...
, carousels and the Jolly Trolly (a train).
For safety reasons, Fairyland admits adults only when they’re accompanied by children and children only when they’re accompanied by adults.
Origins of the park
On a 1947 trip to the Detroit children's zoo in Belle Isle ParkBelle Isle Park
Belle Isle is a island park in the Detroit River, between the United States mainland and Canada, managed by the Detroit Recreation Department. It is connected to the rest of Detroit, Michigan by the MacArthur Bridge...
, Oakland nurseryman Arthur Navlet saw a collection of small nursery rhyme themed buildings, and wanted to create something similar in Oakland's Lake Merritt
Lake Merritt
Lake Merritt is a large tidal lagoon that lies just east of downtown Oakland, California. It is surrounded by parkland and city neighborhoods. A popular 3.1 mile walking and jogging path runs along its perimeter...
Park. His hope, though, was to create much larger sets that children could climb in and interact with. After getting the backing of the Lake Merritt Breakfast Club, a civic organization devoted to improving the park, he took his ideas to William Penn Mott, Jr.
William Penn Mott, Jr.
William Penn Mott, Jr. , worked for the NPS as a landscape architect from 1933 to 1940 but devoted most of his later career to California's local and state parks.-Early career:...
, then director of Oakland's parks department. Mott and the Breakfast Club were able to raise $50,000 from Oakland citizens among the sponsors: Earl Warren
Earl Warren
Earl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States.He is known for the sweeping decisions of the Warren Court, which ended school segregation and transformed many areas of American law, especially regarding the rights of the accused, ending public-school-sponsored prayer, and requiring...
, Clifford E. Rishell, Joseph R. Knowland
Joseph R. Knowland
Joseph Russell Knowland was an American politician and newspaper publisher. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from California and was owner, editor and publisher of the Oakland Tribune. He was the father of United States Senator William F...
and Thomas E. Caldecott
Thomas E. Caldecott
Thomas Edwin Caldecott was a politician in Alameda County, California in the San Francisco Bay Area in the first half of the 20th century. The Caldecott Tunnel which is a key highway link through the Berkeley Hills is named after him....
to create the park.
Navlet hired fantasy architect William Russell Everritt to design the original 17 sets. Everritt originally presented models which followed a standard fantasy architecture: straight-sided, "precious" buildings in gingerbread and candy. When told his models were too staid, he delightedly destroyed them and came back with buildings with no straight sides and outre colors and textures. It was exactly what Navlet was looking for.
The original park
The park opened on September 2, 1950. Admission was 9 to 14 cents, depending on age. The original guides to the park were a dwarfish married couple dressed in glamorous Munchkin-style costumes. The park was reported on nationally, with numerous newsreels shot in the park. The original sets included Pinocchio's Castle, Thumbelina, Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Merry Miller, The Three Little Pigs, Willie the Whale, and several others. The entrance to the park was the shoe from The Old Woman in the Shoe. The entrance through the shoe was sized for children so that adults had to bend over to go through.The park continued to grow through the early years, adding the Open Storybook Puppet Theater, also designed by Everritt, in 1956, as well as other sets. Another important addition were the Fairyland Talking Storybooks and Magic Keys
Zoo key
A Zoo Key is a key that activates talking storybook boxes located throughout a zoological garden. The story recordings provide an audio tour of the zoo.-Origin:...
. Oakland television personality Bruce Sedley would often make appearances at the park to tell the stories of the sets. The constant strain of speaking threatened his voice, and he invented a system of talking books with recorded stories on tape. The boxes were activated by a plastic key. Sedley took the system he developed at Fairyland to zoos and children's parks across the country, where they are still used extensively.
Children's Theater Programs
Journey to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
, Brer Rabbit, and the classic The Wizard of Oz. The past 2006 shows were Cuoi, the Boy in the Moon, Ohana Means Family, and Little Red Riding-Hood, Lost in Fairyland. The 2007 shows were Hip-Hop Pinocchio
Pinocchio
The Adventures of Pinocchio is a novel for children by Italian author Carlo Collodi, written in Florence. The first half was originally a serial between 1881 and 1883, and then later completed as a book for children in February 1883. It is about the mischievous adventures of Pinocchio , an...
, The Panchatantra
Panchatantra
The Panchatantra is an ancient Indian inter-related collection of animal fables in verse and prose, in a frame story format. The original Sanskrit work, which some scholars believe was composed in the 3rd century BCE, is attributed to Vishnu Sharma...
, and Méxica
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
. The 2008 shows are Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables or the Aesopica are a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today...
, The Girl Who Lost Her Smile, and Harvest at the Lake; the 2008 season is the first on Fairyland's new Aesop's Playhouse, a dedicated children's theater funded by Oakland City bond measure DD.
In 2006, Children's Fairyland's Open Storybook Puppet Theater celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a near-complete renovation including the addition of a new facade and workshop.
External links
- Official Website
- Children's Fairyland, USA on YouTube - A promotional movie made of the park in 1962
- A visit to Fairyland (Tunnel of Laffs article on Walt Disney's visit in 1950, and the park today)
- Toddler Heaven: Camping in Fairyland - Michael LewisMichael Lewis (author)Michael Lewis is an American non-fiction author and financial journalist. His bestselling books include The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, Liar's Poker, The New New Thing, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, Panic and Home Game: An...
, Slate.com