Americana Amusement Park
[Previously known as Le Sourdesville Lake]
Middletown, Ohio
This park opened in 1922. It originally was home to a bathhouse, dance
halls, and restaurants, and was the ‘happenin’ place to be during the 1940′s and
50′s. At one time, 1,000 tons of white sand for the lake’s beach area.
Famous bands would come play for crowds of park goers. And new rides
and attractions popped up frequently, keeping the park fresh and exciting.
But multiple fires seemed to burn an important piece of the park down at
least one time every decade, which caused set backs in the park.
Middletown, Ohio
This park opened in 1922. It originally was home to a bathhouse, dance
halls, and restaurants, and was the ‘happenin’ place to be during the 1940′s and
50′s. At one time, 1,000 tons of white sand for the lake’s beach area.
Famous bands would come play for crowds of park goers. And new rides
and attractions popped up frequently, keeping the park fresh and exciting.
But multiple fires seemed to burn an important piece of the park down at
least one time every decade, which caused set backs in the park.
During the 1980′s and early 1990′s, the park really began to hit it’s decline.
A huge electrical fire took down a large section of the park, costing 5
million in damages. And after Americana / Le Sourdesville switched hands
(Cedar Point and Coney Island both had ownership at some time) and changed names
many times, the park closed in 1999. It opened in 2002 for a short season,
but then closed again unexpectantly, not to be reopened.
A huge electrical fire took down a large section of the park, costing 5
million in damages. And after Americana / Le Sourdesville switched hands
(Cedar Point and Coney Island both had ownership at some time) and changed names
many times, the park closed in 1999. It opened in 2002 for a short season,
but then closed again unexpectantly, not to be reopened.
Multiple different rides were imported to the park over the years, but none was
more famous than the Screahin Eagle, an all wooden roller coaster.
Unfortunately, we were not able to personally see this great coaster,
because it had been demolished in August of this year due to the current park
owners concerns that frequent trespassers would injure themselves on the
deteriorating ride. A slight disappointment to us, but we were still able
to identify many structures that were part of the park’s prime back in the day.
more famous than the Screahin Eagle, an all wooden roller coaster.
Unfortunately, we were not able to personally see this great coaster,
because it had been demolished in August of this year due to the current park
owners concerns that frequent trespassers would injure themselves on the
deteriorating ride. A slight disappointment to us, but we were still able
to identify many structures that were part of the park’s prime back in the day.
To check out more without actually going, I would recommend this
video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEOAkqKvHp4 . Even today, the
park looks much more run down than the video, showing the effects of time and
weathering.
video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEOAkqKvHp4 . Even today, the
park looks much more run down than the video, showing the effects of time and
weathering.