Dance the years away

Shirley emailed me to ask for more information on the giant outdoor dance floor that once attracted thousands to dance under the stars.


Above is looking east, probably taken from the second floor of the dance hall. The promenade can be seen to the left, at the front are children heading to the wading pool which was located between the dance hall (also called the casino) and large concrete dance floor, the northwest corner of which is pictured here.



Above, looking to the southeast toward Lake Erie from a spot on the promenade, this photo shows the steamship pier in the background, the background next to the lake and a corner of the kiddie pool in the foreground.


Another view, looking due south toward the lake.

The area as it looks today. I can recall in the '70s when some weeds had popped through cracks but for the most part the surface was intact. This photo, taken in summer 2007 from the southwest corner of the old dance floor (the bandshell would have been located about where that second section of concrete wall has fallen) shows how time, weather and nature have taken a toll. Most people walking across the area today have no idea what it was once used for.

An earlier post, with a photo from the Niagara Falls public library collection, has more information.

Below, you can see the remains, circa early- to mid-1990s (best guess as to when the satellite image used by Google dates from). The weather-accelerated decay is much worse today.


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Four more years?

It may be an election year, north and south of the border, but after looking at the foundation of the swing ride this weekend, I'm betting the Erie Beach relic won't be standing four years from now.

Mother Nature (more so than kids who for decades have tried to knock the centre post) has taken a toll on the structure over the years. Have to dig up photos from last summer, but the ice surge during a storm in January seems to have knocked the middle out another couple of inches, ever closer to the inevitable tipping point.

Do you have photos of the structure, which dates back to the 1910s? I'd love to see how it looked throughout the years after the park closed. Please email me.

(note: I've called this the Lindy Loop in the past, which is incorrect. Erie Beach Amusement Park did have a Lindy Loop, which operated in the last two years of the park's existence, but it should not be confused with the swing ride).

Bull on the beach

After reading about a unique strength testing machine that once graced the midway at Erie Beach Amusement Park, took a trip yesterday to the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum.

There it was, standing out amid the fanciful, colorful horses, ostriches and frogs that bounced along merry-go-rounds at one point in their lives. A wooden bull. With a plug in its forehead.

This peculiar beast was designed by a Herschell carver in his spare time, a break from the usual painted ponies. As an amusement, it was a variant of the "ring the bell" type of game, where men would prove their strength by swinging a mallet over their head and strike the pivot hard enough to send an indicator up the pole and ring the bell atop it.

In this variant of the striking machine, men would swing a mallet (or fist?) at the plug. Hit it hard enough and the beast would buckle at the knees, similar to the way a cow would fall in a slaughterhouse.

It was acquired by the museum about 15 years ago from the employee's daughter.

"We have been told there is, or was, another one," said Chuck Proefrock, a volunteer at the museum. But they haven't been able to locate it yet.

There will be more about the bull in the Erie Beach book/DVD I am currently preparing.



The Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum is located at 180 Thompson St. in North Tonawanda, N.Y., about 10 minutes from any Canada-U.S. border crossing on the Niagara River. Well worth checking out if you have an interest in old amusement parks, especially good, old-fashioned merry-go-rounds. But the bull alone is worth the $5 admission price, plus you get a ride on the restored 1916 #1 Special carousel.

Cool breezes at Erie Beach

Daytime temperatures may be in the double digits regularly now that April is here, but there's still no shortage of ice along the Lake Erie shoreline to help cool breezes. Photo taken from ice along west side of old pier.

Down by the pool

More photos of the ice forced up on the Lake Erie shore during a late January storm, this time showing the giant swimming pool (last summer above, this winter below).

Don't swim in the deep end

Ice fills the old pool (northwest corner above can be seen in upper right of Google map) following last month's storm which drove ice right up to (and onto, as pictured in this post) the new boardwalk and promenade.

The Erie Beach pool was once billed as the world's largest and constructed because of a lack of sand on the rocky Lake Erie shoreline at the mouth of the Niagara River.


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Path of destruction

Last summer (above) before the work to recreated the promenade at Erie Beach, the old concrete at the Bardol end of the walk was busted up, the accumulation of years of Old Man Winter's wrath, plus some help from man. After the late January storm which forced tons of ice up on the shore, the scene is eerily reminiscent of the old days.

Ice for the ages

The Jan. 30 storm which pushed up ice along Lake Erie's north shoreline remains evident today. The above photo shows what it looks like when about 7 feet of ice pushes up around the foundation of the Lindy Loop ride. Below is a photo from mid-summer from about the same angle.

Rival path

More than half of this concrete sidewalk (first one north of the reconstructed promenade) has been covered over the years with sand, dirt and decaying leaves. While the south side (left) is crumbling away more and more each year, there is an equal amount of concrete under the leaves on the north (right) side of the path. And of course, trees have grown through cracks over the past 77 years and now stand in the middle of the path in some sections.

Off the beaten path

Deep in the woods, after the leaves have fallen, some ruins which usually hide in the shadows can be seen clearly. Footings from the Tumble Bug or something else? If you know for sure, please email me.

Three cheers

Work is nearly done on the three-metre wide recreation of the concrete promenade through Erie Beach. Railings are up, greenery has been planted in strategic sites and there is a section (below) which includes modern versions of the concrete columns which supported decorative light posts along the full length of the walkway.

Stevensville Lawn Service, the company which won the contract to do the work on the promenade, which is the final section of Fort Erie's Friendship Trail, did an incredible job in keeping some of the old flavour of the park, recycling some of the ruins and incorporating them into the new layout. In a couple of spots they even replaced the steps leading up to the paths which run deeper into the park.

Some work is still to be done -- I believe the plan calls for some signage with historical notes and some seating in certain spots -- but the Friendship Trail through Erie Beach is pretty much done.

A Niagara This Week story notes a ceremony is planned for the spring.

With the increase in foot traffic along the trail, now all that needs to be done is for the town to get serious about a plan for the length of the shoreline from Erie Beach to Waverly Beach and the potential for increasing tourism in the area. Reconstructing the pier as an amazing vantage point for both shores or filling in the old swimming pool and erecting a bandshell as a unique ampitheatre are just two ideas suggested by those with an interest in the old amusement park.

Just about done

Concrete was poured this week on the east end of the Erie Beach section of the Friendship Trail. It's looking good; just a little landscaping and some final touches (such as the lookout point in the bottom photo) to go and the workers will be out of the area.

Past and present

Have to hand it to Stevensville Lawn Service, the company that is constructing the Erie Beach section of the Friendship Trail. Along the way, wherever possible, they have preserved elements of the old promenade. And where they've found some of the few guard rails/lamp posts that remain, they've incorporated them into the trail. Nice work.

The above and below photos, taken Friday, also shows the progress of the work being done at the east end of the promenade, where the rubble had to be sorted -- large blocks of the old concrete are being used to reinforce the new section and also act as steps to the waterfront -- and a new base is being installed.

Ticket to ride

Ken dug into his collection of old roller coaster photos and passed along this beauty of the Wildcat.

The fountain

Remains of the electric fountain from the Erie Beach Amusement Park were somewhat hidden for a long time, but in recent years have been dug out and used as a fire pit by those who have fun in the woods after the sun goes down. The above photo, taken by Doug Garner in the 1980s, shows how the centre portion of the fountain, installed pre-1920, was filled in with weeds and small trees at the time. When compared to photo below, taken in July, it also shows how thick the trees have grown in during the last two decades.



Below, you get an idea of what the fountain looked like in its heyday.





The above photo, taken from the opposite angle of the first three, shows the fountain near the middle on the right side, giving you an idea of where it is located next to the promenade just east of where the old dance hall stood.

Can't recall off the top of my head if the rest of the concrete is around there (it must be). Next time I am down there I plan to move some dirt around and see what's buried under there.

How low can it go?

The water level at the east end of Lake Erie is lower than I ever recall seeing it. I recall when the water where that mid-sized dog is standing, in this photo from Saturday, was usually at least six feet deep and only the tops of those rocks were visible.

Nearly there

Construction at the west end of the old promenade is nearly complete. The cement is is place, just a little work on the boardwalk at Waverly Beach remains. Work on the east end, though, where there was no concrete base left to work on, continues slowly. What is done looks great -- and what is to come will no doubt look as good. It should be completed in mid-October.

Half-way there

Well, maybe not half way but there is a lot of progress on the Friendship Trail. This 10-foot wide section of cement was poured Tuesday along the stretch of the old promenade which passed the dance hall.

Facelift

Work began this week on the cleanup of the promenade in preparation for the section of the Friendship Trail which will soon pass through the old park at Erie Beach. The facelift should be complete in early October.

The world's largest outdoor dance floor

At one time, Erie Beach Park had what was billed as the largest outdoor dance floor in the world. The giant concrete pad, located beside the wading pool on the east side of the dance hall/casino, featured a large bandshell along the water and, according to some books on the park, was the area where movies were shown on a large screen toward the end of the park's life.

Below is a look back today across the concrete pad from the south east corner (dance hall rubble is located in the upper left).