Luna Park was an amusement park

Amusement park

thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...

 in Arlington, Virginia, USA, from 1906 to 1915. A trolley park

Trolley park

In the United States, trolley parks, which started in the 19th century, were picnic and recreation areas along or at the ends of streetcar lines in most of the larger cities. These were precursors to amusement parks. These trolley parks were created by the streetcar companies to give people a...

 that was constructed (for $350,000) and owned by Frederick Ingersoll

Frederick Ingersoll

Frederick Ingersoll was an inventor, designer, and builder who created the world's first chain of amusement parks and whose manufacturing company built 277 roller coasters, fueling the popularity of trolley parks in the first third of the Twentieth Century...

, the park occupied 34 acres (137,593.2 m²) near the intersection of South Glebe Road and Jefferson Davis Highway (U. S. Route 1) and featured a figure eight roller coaster

Figure 8 roller coaster

A Figure 8 roller coaster is the generic name given to any roller coaster where the train runs through a figure 8 shaped course before returning to the boarding station. This design was one of the first designs to be featured in roller coaster design, along with the out and back roller coaster...

, a shoot-the-chutes

Shoot-the-Chutes

Shoot-the-Chutes is an amusement ride consisting of a flat-bottomed boat that slides down a ramp or inside a flume into a lagoon. Unlike a log flume, a Shoot-the-Chutes generally has larger boats and one single drop....

 ride, a ballroom

Ballroom

A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...

, circus

Circus

A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...

 arena, restaurants, and picnic

Picnic

In contemporary usage, a picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors , ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance,...

king facilities for 3000 people. Exhibits were housed in buildings displaying different architecture styles (Japanese

Japanese architecture

' originated in prehistoric times with simple pit-houses and stores that were adapted to a hunter-gatherer population. Influence from Han Dynasty China via Korea saw the introduction of more complex grain stores and ceremonial burial chambers....

, Moorish

Moorish architecture

Moorish architecture is the western term used to describe the articulated Berber-Islamic architecture of North Africa and Al-Andalus.-Characteristic elements:...

, Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

).

The Arlington Luna Park was one of several that Ingersoll built and ran in 1905 and 1906 (including Indianola Park

Indianola Park

Indianola Park was an amusement park that operated in the University District in Columbus, Ohio from 1905-37.-Location:The entrance to Indianola Park was at N. 4th St. and E. 19th Ave. The park itself covered approximately and extended from E. 18th Ave. north to E. Norwich Ave. and east from N....

 in Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

, Rocky Glen Park

Rocky Glen Park

Known by a variety of names over its 101-year existence, Rocky Glen Park was a park near Moosic, Pennsylvania, USA. Founded by Arthur Frothingham in 1886 as a picnic park, it was transformed into an amusement park by engineer and entrepreneur Frederick Ingersoll in 1905...

 near Moosic, Pennsylvania

Moosic, Pennsylvania

Moosic is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania six miles south of Scranton and northeast of Wilkes-Barre on the Lackawanna River....

, and Luna Parks in Pittsburgh

Luna Park, Pittsburgh

Luna Park was an amusement park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, from 1905 to 1909. Constructed and owned by Frederick Ingersoll, the park occupied a 16 acre hilly site bounded by Baum Boulevard, North Craig Street, and Centre Avenue, and included roller coasters, picnic pavilions, carousels, a...

, Cleveland

Luna Park, Cleveland

Luna Park was an amusement park in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, from 1905 to 1929. Constructed by Frederick Ingersoll, the park occupied a hilly site bounded by Woodland Avenue, Woodhill, Mt...

, Scranton

Luna Park, Scranton

Luna Park was an amusement park in Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA, from 1906 to 1916. Constructed and owned by Frederick Ingersoll, the park occupied a hilly site and included roller coasters, picnic pavilions, carousels, a fun house, a roller rink, a concert shell, a dance hall, bumper cars, and a...

, and Mexico City). Although Ingersoll's amusement park empire was drastically reduced as a result of his declaration of bankruptcy in 1908, he retained ownership of the Arlington park.

On April 15, 1915, a fire destroyed the Arlington park's signature roller coaster. According to the Washington Post, "the origin of the fire is thought to have been from sparks from a blaze in the woods adjoining the park" (the nearest fire hydrant was in Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...

, miles away). The damage was extensive, and the park's precarious finances forced the park to go out of business. The structures in the park were mostly dismantled later in the year, though traces of the park were evident until as late as 1988. The site is currently occupied by the Arlington county sewage treatment facility.