Starlight Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Starlight Park |
|
|---|---|
Pedestrian bridge in unopened section of public park
|
|
| Type | Urban park |
| Location | West Farms, Bronx, New York City |
| Area | 13 acres (5.3 ha) |
| Operated by | NYC Parks |
| Status | Open |
| Public transit access | Subway:  to Whitlock Avenue,   to West Farms Square–East Tremont AvenueBus: Bx11, Bx36 |
| Previously known as Exposition Park (during the 1918 Bronx International Exposition of Science, Arts and Industries) | |
Bathers at the Cascade in Starlight Park, 1921.
|
|
| Location | Bronx, New York, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°50′13″N 73°52′48″W / 40.83694°N 73.88000°W |
| Opened | 1918 |
| Closed | 1937 |
| Theme | Amusement park |
Starlight Park is a cool public park in the Bronx, New York City. It's located right along the Bronx River. What's really interesting is that this park sits on the same spot where a famous amusement park with the same name used to be! That old amusement park was open in the early 1900s.
The original amusement park was first built for a big event called the Bronx International Exposition of Science, Arts and Industries in 1918. Back then, it was known as Exposition Park. The amusement park was a popular spot. It had lots of fun rides, a huge building called the Bronx Coliseum, and even a real submarine called the USS Holland! Sadly, a big fire in 1932 destroyed much of the park. The remaining parts stayed open until 1946.
Later, the northeastern part of the old amusement park became a bus depot. In the late 1950s, a new city park was built on the site. This happened when the Sheridan Expressway highway was constructed right next to the Bronx River, where the amusement park used to be. Today, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation operates this modern public park.
Contents
History of Starlight Park
The Old Amusement Park
How Starlight Park Started
The land where Starlight Park is today was once owned by a politician named William Waldorf Astor. In 1914, plans began for the Bronx International Exposition of Science, Arts and Industries. This big event opened in 1918. It was supposed to show off the new Bronx County. However, it wasn't very successful and only one country, Brazil, participated.
After the exposition closed, the park was renamed Starlight Park on October 18, 1919. The company that owned it bought many rides and attractions. They even turned the main "exhibition hall" into an ice rink and a dance hall.
Fun Times at Starlight Park
The new Starlight Park opened in 1920. That year, more fun things were added. These included shooting galleries, games, and a spooky dark ride with "grottos and other worldly sights." In 1921, they added a baseball field, more shows, and a special kids' club.
More cool stuff arrived in 1922. There was a sound system for the pool, movies shown from a projector, and new rides. These rides included electric cars, the Gyroplane, and the Maelstrom. The park also hosted many special events. There was a fundraiser, a singing contest, and a "Surprise Week" with different performances every day.
Later Years and Closing Down
Starlight Park was at its biggest in 1926. It had 150 food stands and 26 rides! The next year, a restaurant and performance hall called the Forest Inn was built. Many original attractions were still there. These included the Bug House, Nonsense House, the Whip, a Noah's Ark ride, and a Skee-Ball game. There was also a wooden roller coaster, a Ferris wheel, the Frolic, the Motor Dome, the Whirlpool, Witching Waves, and the Canals of Venice.
In 1929, the 15,000-seat Bronx Coliseum opened at Starlight Park. This became the park's main sports arena. When the Great Depression started in 1929, the park tried to attract more visitors. They added new rides and offered promotions like free-admission days and contests. They also increased their schedule of events, as this was cheaper than building new rides.
On August 8, 1932, a large part of Starlight Park was destroyed by a fire. It started under the old roller coaster and spread quickly. Thousands of guests saw the fire. After the fire, the Coliseum was the biggest attraction left. It helped the park stay open for a while. Political meetings were even held there. The swimming pool, picnic areas, and sports fields also helped the park make money. By 1933, the park's manager added more sports facilities. It was no longer really an amusement park.
By 1940, Starlight Park was in financial trouble. Parts of the park and the Coliseum were sold. The new owner leased the buildings in 1941, planning new sports fields. But these plans were stopped by World War II. The United States Army used the Coliseum from 1942 to 1946. The bathing pavilion was damaged by fire in 1946 and completely destroyed in 1947. The park site was then taken over by the city. The Coliseum became the West Farms bus depot.
Starlight Park Becomes a City Park
In the late 1950s, a new city park was built. This happened during the construction of the Sheridan Expressway. The highway was built next to the Bronx River, on the land where the old amusement park used to be. The city took over this land to build both the highway and the new park. The new Starlight Park was created east of the expressway. It included land west and south of the old amusement park site, along both sides of the river.
In the 1990s, people started cleaning up the Bronx River. This was because of pollution. Cleanup efforts were delayed in 2003 when chemicals from an old gas plant were found. To help clean up, the New York State Department of Transportation agreed to rebuild the park. They also planned to connect it to the Bronx River Greenway. This is a path along the Bronx River.
In 2013, after a 10-year, $18 million renovation, NYC Parks reopened a 13-acre section of the park. Another 11-acre part stayed closed due to a disagreement with Amtrak. Amtrak owned the railroad tracks on the park's eastern side. In 2016, a new, eco-friendly building opened in the park. It's the headquarters for the Bronx River Alliance. The New York Times called it "the greenest building in the South Bronx."
In 2017, plans for expanding the new Starlight Park were announced. Parts of the park would be cleaned up. This project would also connect Starlight Park to Concrete Plant Park. New bridges would cross the Bronx River and the railroad tracks. This plan also included changing the Sheridan Expressway into a regular street. This would make it easier for people to get to Starlight Park. Before, the park was only reachable by the East 174th Street bridge. The project aimed to make walking safer and improve access to the park and river. The work on the Sheridan Expressway started in late 2018 and finished in December 2019.
What Can You Do at Starlight Park Today?
Starlight Park has many fun things to do now! There are four baseball fields. Two are grass, and two are asphalt. You can also find five checkers tables and eight handball courts. A soccer field overlaps with two of the baseball fields. South of the 174th Street bridge, there's a basketball court and a playground. During certain seasons, you can even launch a canoe from the park! Future plans include a path along the waterfront and opening more parkland on the eastern side of the Bronx River.
What Was at the Old Amusement Park?
Rides and Water Fun
The old Starlight Park amusement park had fireworks, a roller coaster, a swimming pool, and carnival games. The first attractions were built for the Bronx International Exposition. The swimming pool was huge! It was called the world's largest saltwater pool. It measured 300 by 350 feet and held 2.5 million gallons of water. It was 0 to 10 feet deep. The pool had diving boards and a wave machine. There was even a 50 by 55-foot beach with sand from Rockaway, Queens.
The fair also had a scenic miniature train ride along the Bronx River. There was a "mountain" exhibit with a 65-foot waterfall. A hotel was nearby too. LaMarcus Adna Thompson built a wooden roller coaster with two tracks. The Eli Bridge Company's Ferris wheel from another big fair was also brought to the Bronx. Other attractions included a bathing building for 4,500 people, a convention center, and 15 large pavilions. These pavilions had themes like Chinese and North Sea, and showed fine arts and American achievements.
After the 1918 Exposition, the main "exhibition hall" became an ice rink and dance hall. When it burned down in 1922, two smaller dance halls replaced it. By 1927, the park had a "Witching Waves" ride, which was a flat ride that moved up and down. In 1929, a Tilt-A-Whirl, a scooter ride, a new Noah's Ark, and a "Snap o' the Whip" ride were added. In 1931, a miniature golf course and a roller rink were added.
Other Cool Attractions
_-_Scientific_American_1898.jpg)
One of the most popular attractions was the submarine Holland. This was the first submarine ever used by the United States Navy! It was built in 1888 by John Philip Holland. After being used for training, it became a museum ship in other cities. Then, it moved to Starlight Park in 1918. It stayed there until 1932, when it was taken apart for scrap metal.
The 15,000-seat Bronx Coliseum was also at Starlight Park. It opened in 1929. It was the home field for the New York Giants soccer team. But it also hosted many other sports events and circuses. Sometimes, events were held there when Madison Square Garden in Manhattan was busy. This stadium was first built for a fair in Philadelphia in 1926. It was moved to the Bronx in 1928. It was called the New York Coliseum, but it's not related to the later building with the same name in Manhattan.
The amusement park was also home to the studios of radio station WBNX. It started broadcasting in 1926 and was known as "the official broadcasting station of the New York Coliseum." It was at Starlight Park until 1932, when the park's partial closing made the station move.
Events and Shows
The first summer music festival at Starlight Park was in 1921. The Russian Symphony Orchestra Society performed music by Wagner. Starting in 1926, the park offered free opera music programs in the summer. These were 14 weeks long and aimed to give everyone access to great music. The first opera, Rigoletto, was performed in May 1926. These shows were outdoors until the Starlight Park Stadium was built. Then, performances moved inside. On Saturday nights, big-band jazz music played for dancers on an outdoor dance floor. This made the park feel like a "blue collar country club."
Semi-professional sports teams played at Starlight Park's baseball field, added in 1921. Events like baseball and soccer games, boxing matches, horseshoe throwing, and track and field competitions also brought crowds. After the Coliseum opened in 1929, these events moved to the stadium.
Kids could also join a club called the Kiddie Klub. Members got free admission days at several amusement parks in New York City. To join, kids had to collect three coupons from different newspapers for a membership pin. The first Kiddie Klub day on July 13, 1921, had over 20,000 children! In 1922, there was a mix-up. The Kiddie Klub free day was at Coney Island's Luna Park, but about 50 children showed up at Starlight Park instead. The actual Kiddie Klub day at Starlight Park was two weeks later.
Vaudeville acts and high diving performances were also popular events. Later in the 1920s, the park started hosting more shows to try and bring back visitors.
Images for kids
-
Pedestrian bridge in unopened section of public park
-
Bathers at the Cascade in Starlight Park, 1921.
-
Boat dock on reopening day
-
The Holland, exhibited at Starlight Park from 1918 to 1932
