Cascade Park (amusement park) facts for kids
Cascade Park Main Entrance
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| Location | 1928 E Washington St, New Castle PA |
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| Coordinates | 40°58.759′N 080°19.231′W / 40.979317°N 80.320517°W |
| Status | Operating |
| Opened | May 29, 1897 |
| Owner | City of New Castle, PA |
| Park no longer has amusement rides | |
Cascade Park is a beautiful nature park in New Castle, Pennsylvania. It used to be a fun amusement park with lots of rides!
The park started as a natural area called Big Run Falls. In 1892, a man named Col. Levi Brinton bought the land. A few years later, in 1897, a company called New Castle Traction Company (which later became Penn Power) bought the park. They wanted to create a place for people to have fun.
To find a name for the park, they held a contest. A ten-year-old girl named Edwina Norris won ten dollars for suggesting the name Cascade Park. The park officially opened on May 29, 1897. People could easily get to the park by trolley or bus.
Fun Rides and Attractions
Just one year after opening, Cascade Park added many exciting things. They built a carousel, a baseball field, a theater, and a huge dance pavilion. The dance pavilion was the biggest in Pennsylvania at the time, and it's still there today!
The park also got its first roller coaster, called the Toboggan. In 1899, they added a zoo, a picnic area, and a lake. The lake was made by building a dam on the Big Run Creek, which runs through the park.
In 1922, the park got a new carousel. It was built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. This carousel had been at another park called Idora Park before coming to Cascade Park. Around the same time, a new roller coaster called The Gorge was added.
By 1925, Cascade Park had grown to cover 138 acres (about 0.56 square kilometers). Its main area, called the midway, had 17 rides! Some of the rides included:
- Carousel
- Original Gorge roller coaster
- Tumble Bug
- Bumper Cars (Auto Skooters)
- Circle Swings
- Whip
- Fire Truck Ride
- Penny Arcade
- Kiddyland (an area for younger kids)
- Tubs of Fun
- Rocket Ride
- Tractor Ride (mini gas-powered tractors kids could drive)
- Riverboat
- Comet roller coaster
One of the people who helped run the park in those early days was Billy Glenn. Even after he stopped managing the main attractions, he kept running his popcorn stand in the park!
Changes and Challenges
In 1934, something big happened: Penn Power gave Cascade Park to the city of New Castle. They made sure the park would always be a place for everyone to enjoy.
However, as time went on, fewer people visited the park. The popular lake, where people loved to fish, swim, and boat, dried up when the dam on Big Run Creek broke.
In the 1950s, a man named Paul Vesco took over running the park. He replaced the old Gorge roller coaster with a new one he designed himself. He first called it Gorge, but later changed its name to The Comet.
The Comet's cars were built in a cool style called Century Flyer. The coaster reached a height of 65 feet (about 20 meters) and had a track that was 2,400 feet (about 730 meters) long. What made The Comet special was that it was built on the edge of a valley. Most roller coasters start with a big hill, but The Comet actually dropped into the valley right after leaving the station! This made the first drop the second biggest on the ride. It would go down into the valley, turn around, climb a hill, then drop again for its biggest dip before returning to the station.
Even with a drop in visitors, the park kept going through the 1970s and early 1980s. Sadly, in 1982, a tree fell on The Comet roller coaster and damaged it. Around this time, the local area was also facing tough economic times. A few years later, The Comet was taken down.
A New Beginning
In the late 1970s, a local square dancing group called the Paws and Taws started raising money. They wanted to fix up the park's historic dance pavilion. This sparked a lot of interest in the community to bring the park back to life!
In 1980, a group of volunteers formed the Cascade Park Development Committee. They created a plan to restore the park. Everyone agreed that any new improvements would fit the park's old-fashioned, Victorian style.
Throughout the 1980s, the park's old rides were removed. Volunteers planted beautiful flowers and shrubs, improved buildings, and built new public restrooms. They even added a playground for kids! Local groups like the Rotary Club, Lawrence County Garden Club, and the Lawrence County Bocce Ball League also helped a lot with the park's restoration. New walking and hiking trails were added too.
Today, Cascade Park is a wonderful place for community events. One popular event is the Back to the 1950s Weekend, which celebrates the park's history.
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Cascade Park at the Roller Coaster DataBase
