White City (amusement park) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

White City is the common name of dozens of amusement parks in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, and Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Inspired by the White City and Midway Plaisance

Midway Plaisance

The Midway Plaisance, also known locally as the Midway, is a park on the South Side of the city of Chicago, Illinois. It is one mile long by 220 yards wide and extends along 59th and 60th streets, joining Washington Park at its east end and Jackson Park at its west end. It divides the Hyde Park...

sections of the World's Columbian Exhibition of 1893, the parks started gaining in popularity in the last few years of the 19th century. After the 1901 Pan-American Exposition

Pan-American Exposition

The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is present day Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Ave. to Elmwood Ave and northward to Great Arrow...

inspired the first Luna Park in Coney Island

Coney Island

Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....

, a frenzy in building amusement parks (including those to be named White City, Luna Park, and Electric Park

Electric Park

Electric Park was a name shared by dozens of amusement parks in the United States that were constructed as trolley parks and owned by electric companies and streetcar companies...

ensued in the first two decades of the 20th century.

Like their Luna Park and Electric Park cousins, a typical White City park featured 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....

and lagoon, a roller coaster

Roller coaster

The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...

(usually a figure eight

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...

or a mountain railway

Mountain railway

A mountain railway is a railway that ascends and descends a mountain slope that has a steep grade. Such railways can use a number of different technologies to overcome the steepness of the grade...

), a midway

Midway (fair)

A midway at a fair is the location where amusement rides, entertainment and fast food booths are concentrated....

, a 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...

, games, and a pavilion

Pavilion (structure)

In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...

. Some White City parks featured miniature railroads. Many cities had two (or all three) of the Electric Park/Luna Park/White City triumvirate in their vicinity... with each trying to outdo the others with new attractions. The competition was fierce, oftentimes driving the electric parks out of business due to increased cost due to equipment upgrades and upkeep and increasing insurance costs. More than a few succumbed to fire. Only one park that was given the White City name continues to operate today: Denver's White City, opened in 1908, is currently Lakeside Amusement Park

Lakeside Amusement Park

Lakeside Amusement Park is a family-owned amusement park in Lakeside, Colorado near Denver. Originally named White City, it was opened in 1908 as a popular amusement resort adjacent to Lake Rhoda spearheaded by prominent Denver brewer Adolph Zang...

Origin

The enormously successful 1893 World's Columbian Exposition

World's Columbian Exposition

The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...

in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

attracted 26 million visitors and featured a section that is now commonly considered the first 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...

: a midway

Midway (fair)

A midway at a fair is the location where amusement rides, entertainment and fast food booths are concentrated....

(the mile-long Midway Plaisance

Midway Plaisance

), the first Ferris wheel

Ferris wheel

constructed by George Ferris

George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr.

George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. was an American engineer. He is most famous for creating the original Ferris Wheel for the 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition.-Early life:...

, a forerunner of the modern roller coaster

Roller coaster

The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...

(Thomas Rankin's Snow and Ice Railway, later moved to Coney Island

Coney Island

), lighting and attractions powered by alternating current

Alternating current

In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....

(Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti

Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti

Sebastian Pietro Innocenzo Adhemar Ziani de Ferranti was an electrical engineer and inventor.-Personal life:...

had just completed the first power plant with AC power in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

only the year before), and the debut of several kinds of foods in the United States: the hamburger

Hamburger

A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...

, shredded wheat

Shredded Wheat

Shredded wheat is a breakfast cereal made from whole wheat. As of January 2010, it was available in three sizes: bite sized , miniature , and full size, which may be broken into small pieces before milk is added .Both sizes are available in a...

, Cracker Jack

Cracker Jack

Cracker Jack is a U.S. brand of snack consisting of strong molasses flavored candy-coated popcorn and peanuts, well known for being packaged with a prize of nominal value inside. Some food historians consider it the first junk food...

, Juicy Fruit

Juicy Fruit

Juicy Fruit is a brand of chewing gum made by the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, a U.S. company that since 2008 has been a subsidiary of the privately-held Mars, Incorporated. It was introduced in 1893, and in the 21st century the brand name is recognized by 99 percent of Americans, with total sales in...

chewing gum, and pancakes made using Aunt Jemima

Aunt Jemima

Aunt Jemima is a trademark for pancake flour, syrup, and other breakfast foods currently owned by the Quaker Oats Company of Chicago. The trademark dates to 1893, although Aunt Jemima pancake mix debuted in 1889. The Quaker Oats Company first registered the Aunt Jemima trademark in April 1937...

pancake mix. The Zoopraxographical Hall was the first commercial theater. Ragtime

Ragtime

Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...

composed and performed by Scott Joplin

Scott Joplin

Scott Joplin was an American composer and pianist. Joplin achieved fame for his ragtime compositions, and was later dubbed "The King of Ragtime". During his brief career, Joplin wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas...

exposed millions of people to a new form of music and instantly became a staple for fairs and carnival

Carnival

Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...

s.

While the Midway Plaisance became the Exposition's main drawing card, it was not the primary purpose of the World's Fair

World's Fair

World's fair, World fair, Universal Exposition, and World Expo are various large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All...

in the eyes of its founders, who pictured it to be the beginning of a classical renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

featuring electricually-lit white stucco

Stucco

Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...

While the Midway Plaisance became the Exposition's main drawing card, it was not the primary purpose of the World's Fair

World's Fair

in the eyes of its founders, who pictured it to be the beginning of a classical renaissance

Renaissance

featuring electricually-lit white stucco

Stucco

buildings (collectively known as White City) occupying the main court. While White City gave the park its visual identity, the throngs who attended the Columbian Exposition tended to collect at the Midway Plaisance (and Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, which set up shop just outside the park grounds after the fair's founders rejected Buffalo Bill Cody's attempt to become an official Columbian Exhibition exhibitor). The World's Fair was destined to be remembered primarily for two ironic visions, that of the crowds at the Midway Plaisance (which essentially was the first modern amusement park with its entertainment, including exhibitions of boxer John L. Sullivan

John L. Sullivan

John Lawrence Sullivan , also known as the Boston Strong Boy, was recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing from February 7, 1881 to 1892, and is generally recognized as the last heavyweight champion of bare-knuckle boxing under the London Prize Ring rules...

and exotic dancer

Exotic dancer

The terms exotic dancer and exotic dance can have different meanings in different parts of the world and depending on context. In the erotic sense, "exotic dance" is a often used to refer to practitioners of striptease...

Little Egypt

Little Egypt (dancer)

Little Egypt was the stage name for three popular belly dancers. They had so many imitators, the name became synonymous with belly dancers generally.Farida Mazar Spyropoulos, Little Egypt was the stage name for three popular belly dancers. They had so many imitators, the name became synonymous with...

, its games and its rides) and the architecture of the (far less popular) White City. Much of the Midway Plaisance reappeared in Coney Island's Steeplechase Park

Steeplechase Park

Steeplechase Park was an amusement park in the Coney Island area of Brooklyn, New York from 1897 to 1964. It was one of the leading attractions of its day and one of the most influential amusement parks of all time.-Beginnings:...

by the end of 1897 (but not the Ferris wheel, which had been committed to the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

: a smaller version was built and installed in Paul Boyton

Paul Boyton

Paul Boyton , known as the Fearless Frogman, was a showman and adventurer some credit as having spurred worldwide interest in water sports as a hobby, particularly open-water swimming...

's Steeplechase Park instead... along with a sign that stated "On this sile will be erected the world's largest Ferris Wheel").

While Steeplechase Park eventually became one of the earliest embodiments of an amusement park, Chicago had one to replace Midway Plaisance a year after the close of the Columbian Exposition, Paul Boyton's Water Chutes, featuring a shoot-the-chutes

Shoot-the-Chutes

ride that wasn't present in the Columbian Exposition, but would soon become a staple of amusement parks to come. Paul Boyton's Water Chutes was the first amusement to charge admission when it opened in 1894; inspired by the immediate success of his Chicago park (500,000 people visiting it in its first year of operation), he moved (and expanded) Water Chutes in 1896, a year after he started the similar Sea Lion Park

Sea Lion Park

Sea Lion Park was a amusement park started in 1895 on Coney Island by Paul Boyton. He fenced the property and charged admission, the park becoming the first enclosed and permanent amusement park in North America. Up until the establishment of this park, amusement areas around the country consisted...

in Coney Island

Coney Island

.

Foretelling a fate similar to most amusement parks that followed, Paul Boyton's Water Chutes went out of business in 1908, in the face of increasing competition, mainly exhibition park

Exhibition Park

Exhibition Park may refer to:*Exhibition Park *Exhibition Park, Newcastle*Exhibition Park in Canberra, Australia...

s inspired by the Columbian Exposition in Chicago ("White City") and the 1901 Pan-American Exposition

Pan-American Exposition

in Buffalo

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

("Luna Park") and the emergence of 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...

s owned and operated by railroads and electric companies ("Electric Park

Electric Park

Electric Park was a name shared by dozens of amusement parks in the United States that were constructed as trolley parks and owned by electric companies and streetcar companies...

"). In 1901, Boyton sold Sea Lion Park to Frederick Thompson and Elmer Dundy, who operated "A Trip to the Moon" in both Buffalo and Steeplechase Park. Thompson and Dundy quickly redesigned Sea Lion Park and redubbed it Luna Park

Luna Park, Coney Island

Luna Park was an amusement park at Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City from 1903 to 1944. A second Luna Park was opened on the former site of the nearby Astroland amusement park...

, which quickly added to the legend of Coney Island.

White City parks and the amusement park boom

In the half decade after the end of the Columbian Exposition, the American concept of the amusement park was starting to take hold, with the increased popularity of shoot-the-chutes

Shoot-the-Chutes

rides, roller coasters (with roller coaster designer and entrepreneur 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...

providing many parks - many of long standing - with figure 8 roller coaster

Figure 8 roller coaster

s and scenic railways long before starting his Luna Park chain in 1905) were being erected in a frenetic pace (over a quarter century period, the Ingersoll Construction Company, erected more than eleven roller coasters per year). Railway companies, noticing the popularity of Midway Plaisance of the Columbian Exposition and the lack of railroad ridership on the weekends, constructed trolley park

Trolley park

s as an effort to improve their bottom line. Power companies were starting to partner with railroad companies to create electric trolley companies... and construct Electric Parks.

As the end of the 19th century approached, a few exhibition parks - those inspired by the exhibits and midways of either the Columbian Exposition or the (later) Pan-American Exposition - started to appear. Before the end of the year 1900, White City amusement parks were making their appearance in Philadelphia (1898 - it was also known as Chestnut Hill Park) and Cleveland (1900). Soon, some long-established parks changed their names to White City upon the addition of amusement rides and a midway (Seattle, for example). As the American amusement park was increasing in popularity in the first few years of the 1900s, the success of the 1901 Pan-American Exposition (particularly its "Trip to the Moon" ride, featuring "Luna Park") led to the first Luna Park in Coney Island in 1903... and an explosion of nearly identical amusement parks soon followed. There were roughly 250 amusements operating in the United States in 1899; the number almost tripled (700) by 1905; and more than doubled again (to 1500) by 1919 - and these latter figures do not include the amusement parks that were opened and permanently closed by then.

While the White City in Chicago was not the first one of that name, it was certainly one of the most fondly remembered. Within years of its 1905 founding, dozens of White City parks dotted the United States (with Australia

Australia

and the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

having namesakes built by the 1910s). Although most White City parks were out of business by the end of the United States involvement in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, a few survived into the middle third of the 20th century.
The Chicago White City lasted until 1946; the Worcester park survived until 1960. Of the White City amusement parks, only one survives, the last exhibition park still standing: the Denver White City, built and opened in 1908, continues to this day as Lakeside Amusement Park

Lakeside Amusement Park

. Although the name was officially changed decades ago, the local populace still refer to Lakeside as "White City."

List of White City amusement parks

The following is a list of amusement parks that have had the name White City in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

White City (Atlanta), Georgia
White City (Bellingham), Washington (1906–1912)
White City (Binghamton), New York (1902–1910), also called Wagner's Park
White City (Boise), Idaho
White City (Chicago), Illinois (1905–1946)
White City (Cleveland), Ohio (1900–1908), reopened 1909 as Cleveland Beach Park
White City (Dayton), Ohio (1907–1910); grounds flooded in 1913, then became Island MetroPark in 1914
White City (Denver), Colorado (1908–present) original name of Lakeside Amusement Park
Lakeside Amusement Park
Lakeside Amusement Park is a family-owned amusement park in Lakeside, Colorado near Denver. Originally named White City, it was opened in 1908 as a popular amusement resort adjacent to Lake Rhoda spearheaded by prominent Denver brewer Adolph Zang...
White City (Des Moines), Iowa
White City (Duluth), Minnesota
White City (Fort Worth), Texas - official name: Rosen Heights Amusement Park. Opened 1905; last structure standing (pavilion) destroyed by fire, 17 June 1933
White City (Houghton), Michigan
White City (Indianapolis)
White City (Indianapolis)
For other parks of the same name, see White City White City was an amusement park in Indianapolis, Indiana's Broad Ripple Park that was in operation from 26 May 1906 until 26 June 1908. The trolley park was constructed and owned by the Broad Ripple Transit Company...

, Indiana (26 May 1906-26 June 1908) at Broad Ripple Park
White City (London), United Kingdom (1908–1914), in Shepherd's Bush, park opened to host the 1908 Olympic Games
White City (Louisville), Kentucky (1907–1912)
White City, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom (1907–1928) - originally open 1827 as a botanical garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...

; became amusement park 1907 (closed in 1928); track and stadium built 1930, closed 1982 (demolished in 1980s) Now a shopping center.
White City (Milwaukee), Wisconsin
White City (New Orleans), Louisiana (1907–1913)
White City (Oswego), New York (1906–1918)
White City (Peoria), Illinois (1943-?)
White City (Perth), Western Australia
White City (Philadelphia), Pennsylvania (1898–1911), also known as Chestnut Hill Park
White City (Seattle), Washington (1888–1911)
White City (Springfield, Missouri) (1907–1912)
White City (Sydney), New South Wales (1913–1917), now site of White City Tennis Club (stadium
White City Stadium (Sydney)
thumb|right|300px|White City Tennis Club circa 1923White City Stadium at the White City Tennis Club is a tennis venue in Rushcutters Bay, Sydney, Australia. The stadium was built in 1922 as a new venue for the New South Wales Championships...

opened 1922)
White City (Syracuse), New York (1906–1915)
White City (Toledo), Ohio (1905-?)
White City (Trenton), New Jersey (1907–1920) - also known as Capital Park, White City was built in Spring Lake Park (opened in 1895 with picnic area and merry-go-round)
White City (Vancouver), British Columbia
White City (West Haven), Connecticut (1903-?), also known as White City, Savin Rock
White City (Shrewsbury, Massachusetts), Massachusetts (1905–1960)

Origin

White City parks and the amusement park boom

List of White City amusement parks

See also