Luna Park, Pittsburgh facts for kids
The entrance to the park
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| Location | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates | 40°27′12″N 79°57′04″W / 40.45329°N 79.95123°W |
| Status | Closed |
| Opened | 1905 |
| Closed | 1909 |
| Owner | Frederick Ingersoll |
| Area | 16 acres (6.5 ha) |
Luna Park was a super fun amusement park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It was open for a short time, from 1905 to 1909. A man named Frederick Ingersoll built and owned this park. Luna Park was special because it was one of the first amusement parks to be covered in thousands of electric lights!
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What Was Luna Park?
Luna Park was located in the North Oakland area of Pittsburgh. It covered a big area, about 16 acres. That's like 12 football fields! The park had many exciting rides and attractions for everyone to enjoy.
What Fun Things Could You Do at Luna Park?
At Luna Park, you could ride thrilling roller coasters. There were also carousels, which are spinning rides with horses. You could try a Ferris wheel to see views from high up. The park also had a fun house for laughs and a roller rink for skating.
Other cool attractions included:
- A "shoot-the-chutes" ride, which was like a big water slide.
- A concert shell for live music.
- A dance hall where people could dance.
- Bumper cars for bumping into friends.
- Even a special exhibit with baby incubators!
The park also had picnic pavilions for families to relax.
Exciting Shows and Bright Lights
Luna Park was always busy with fun shows. You could watch bands play music. There were also amazing acrobats performing tricks. Animal acts and horse riders entertained the crowds. Sometimes, even aerial acts would perform high in the sky!
One of the most amazing things about Pittsburgh's Luna Park was its lights. It was the first amusement park ever to be completely covered with electric lights. Imagine 67,000 light bulbs shining brightly at night! Building this park cost about $375,000 back then. That would be like $8.5 million today!
The First Amusement Park Chain
Frederick Ingersoll, the owner, built many Luna Parks. The Pittsburgh park was the very first one. Soon after, he opened another Luna Park in Cleveland. These parks were the start of the world's first amusement park chain! By 1929, 44 Luna Parks had been built all around the world. Some of them still exist today, like in Melbourne, Australia.
Why Did Luna Park Close?
Keeping all these amusement parks running was very expensive for Frederick Ingersoll. He had to spend a lot of money on upgrades and maintenance. Because of this, he had to declare bankruptcy in 1908.
Many of his Luna Parks were sold to other owners. The Luna Park in Pittsburgh closed in 1909. One reason was the competition from another nearby park called Kennywood Park. Kennywood was older and is still open today!
A Tribute to Luna Park
Even though Luna Park is gone, it's not completely forgotten. When Kennywood Park expanded in 1995, they created a new section called "Lost Kennywood." This area was designed to look like the old Luna Park. It even has a ride similar to Luna Park's "shoot-the-chutes."
There's also a special entrance to Lost Kennywood that looks like a smaller version of Luna Park's original entrance. It even spells "Pittsburgh" the old way, as "Pittsburg," just like it was spelled back then!
Today, there are no other signs left of Luna Park in Pittsburgh. The land where it once stood is now used for homes and businesses.
