Wedgewood Village Amusement Park
Encyclopedia
Wedgewood Village Amusement Park was an amusement park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
. It was originally started in 1955 by Maurice Woods and located at May and 60th, where it was known as Duffys Golf. Maurice started to notice that wives and children were sitting in their cars while their husbands used the driving range. Thus, the idea was to place a few kiddie rides to keep them occupied. The rides became so popular that Maurice decided to acquire the land at 60th and N.W. Expressway. Here he built Wedgewood Village (named after the idea of a wedge and wood golf club). This took place in 1958 and lasted until 1969. Most of the rides were sold after the 1968 season. The park sported a number of rides, most notably the Tornado coaster.
and the Philadelphia Toboggan Company
. The coaster was built in 1961, and enlarged from its original 58 feet tall to 75 feet tall for the 1962 season. After 1962, the lift hill led directly into a turn before the first drop, and a new high turn was added at the station end, with the rest of the ride maintaining its pre-expansion configuration The trains are now operating at Strickers Grove in Ohio on a roller coaster called The Tornado.
Maurice Woods died in July 2008. He was working on a coffee table Wedgewood Book at the time.
The olympic regulation size pool is still in existence and the Wedgewood Apartments have now been built around it.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
. It was originally started in 1955 by Maurice Woods and located at May and 60th, where it was known as Duffys Golf. Maurice started to notice that wives and children were sitting in their cars while their husbands used the driving range. Thus, the idea was to place a few kiddie rides to keep them occupied. The rides became so popular that Maurice decided to acquire the land at 60th and N.W. Expressway. Here he built Wedgewood Village (named after the idea of a wedge and wood golf club). This took place in 1958 and lasted until 1969. Most of the rides were sold after the 1968 season. The park sported a number of rides, most notably the Tornado coaster.
Tornado
The Tornado was a wooden roller coaster built and designed by John C. AllenJohn C. Allen
John C. Allen was a roller coaster designer who was responsible for the revival of wooden roller coasters which began in the 1970s. He attended Temple University. He started working for the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in 1934 as a coaster operator and rose to become president of the company by...
and the Philadelphia Toboggan Company
Philadelphia Toboggan Company
The Philadelphia Toboggan Company is one of the oldest existing roller coaster manufacturing companies in the world.Mack Rides of Germany dates back to 1781, but it did not start building coasters until 1921 Based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, it was established in 1904 by Henry B...
. The coaster was built in 1961, and enlarged from its original 58 feet tall to 75 feet tall for the 1962 season. After 1962, the lift hill led directly into a turn before the first drop, and a new high turn was added at the station end, with the rest of the ride maintaining its pre-expansion configuration The trains are now operating at Strickers Grove in Ohio on a roller coaster called The Tornado.
Maurice Woods died in July 2008. He was working on a coffee table Wedgewood Book at the time.
The olympic regulation size pool is still in existence and the Wedgewood Apartments have now been built around it.