Nunley's Happyland facts for kids
Nunley's Happyland (later known as Smiley's Happyland) was a fun amusement park located in Bethpage, on Long Island, New York. It was found at the corner of Hempstead Turnpike and Hicksville Road. The park welcomed visitors from 1951 until 1977 or 1978.
Nunley's Happyland was created by William Nunley, whose family had been in the amusement park business for a long time. He already ran other parks in places like Baldwin, Queens, and Yonkers, New York. Happyland was special because it was bigger than his other parks and was built to be open all year round. It even had a heated indoor area for rides! Two walls of the main building had huge glass panels that could open when it was warm or close when it was cold. These cool glass doors actually came from the French building at the 1939-40 World's Fair.
When William Nunley first announced his plans, some people in the amusement park world thought the location was too far away from towns to be successful. They called it "virtually deserted." However, after World War II, many new homes were built in the suburbs, and the area around Happyland quickly grew. The park became very popular with young families moving into nearby towns like Bethpage, Levittown, Massapequa, and Farmingdale. More people visited than expected in the first few years! Unlike older parks, Happyland wasn't near a train or trolley line. Instead, it was made for people driving cars, with a parking lot that could hold 400 cars.
Sadly, William Nunley passed away in April 1951, just six months before Happyland opened on October 12, 1951. His wife, Miriam, took over running Happyland and the other family businesses. She worked with her partner, Norman Russell, for many years.
Right next to the main Happyland building, there was a fast food restaurant called the Jolly Roger. This restaurant was built by Max Lander and owned by Robert Rubin and Bill Feldstein. Over time, people often got the park and restaurant names mixed up. Many Long Islanders would call the whole place "Jolly Roger's Amusement Park."
Later, the Smiley's Happyland Park was owned by Mildred Tarnow (and later her husband, John Tarnow) and the Giddens family. John Tarnow managed the park and made sure the carousel and other rides were always working well. The Jolly Roger restaurant changed its name to "Robin Hood" in 1974. Even though the name changed, everything else inside the restaurant stayed the same. The Robin Hood restaurant closed in 1976, and the amusement park closed two years later, in 1978 (some say 1977). Today, a shopping center stands where Happyland used to be.
Contents
What Rides and Games Were at Happyland?
When Happyland first opened in 1951, it had a mix of rides both outside and inside the building.
Outdoor Adventures
Outside, you could find:
- A Schiff Ferris wheel
- A Schiff roller coaster
- Hodges hand cars
- A ridable miniature railway
Indoor Fun and Games
Inside the heated pavilion, there were:
- A Herschel "Sky Fighter" ride
- A Pinto fire engine ride
- A Schiff boat ride
- A Pinto pony ride
- A large 48-horse carousel (This is not the same carousel from Nunley's Baldwin park, which is now at a museum.)
Along the walls of the indoor area, there were over one hundred arcade games! These included small coin-operated rides, pinball machines, skee-ball games, and hand-cranked movie viewers that were like old-fashioned cartoons.
The Amazing Mechanical Organ
One very special attraction was an old German mechanical organ. It had beautifully carved figures of musicians that moved as the music played! This organ was built in Germany in 1910 and was one-of-a-kind. It had been at Nunley's Rockaway park for many years before being moved to Bethpage. The organ was fixed up in 1948, and its music system was updated. After Happyland closed, a collector bought the organ and spent several years restoring it.
New Rides Over Time
As the years went by, more rides and attractions were added. Some of the most notable additions were a Wild Mouse-style roller coaster and a building just for bumper cars.
Across Hicksville Road from the main park, there was also a miniature golf course and batting cages. These are still open today, but it's not known if they were ever officially part of Nunley's Happyland.
