Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Island parks. Luna parks are small-scale attraction parks, easily accessed, potentially addressed to the permanent or temporary residential market, and located in the suburbs or even near the town center. Luna parks mainly offer classic funfair attractions (great wheel), newer features (electronic displays) and catering services.[1]
History
The original Luna Park on Coney Island, a massive spectacle of rides, ornate towers and cupolas covered in 250,000 electric lights, was opened in 1903 by the showmen and entrepreneurs Frederic Thompson and Elmer "Skip" Dundy. The park was either named after the fanciful airship Luna, part of the new park's central attraction A Trip to the Moon, or after Dundy's sister.[2][3] Luna Park was a vastly expanded attraction built partly on the grounds of Sea Lion Park, the first enclosed amusement park on Coney Island which closed down due to competition from nearby Steeplechase Park.
In 1905, Frederick Ingersoll, who was already making a reputation for his pioneering work in roller coaster construction and design (he also designed scenic railroad rides) borrowed the name when he opened Luna Park in Pittsburgh and Luna Park in Cleveland. These first two amusement parks, like their namesake, were covered with electric lighting (the former was adorned with 67,000 light bulbs;[4] the latter, 50,000[5]). Later, in 1907, Charles Looff opened another Luna Park in Seattle, Washington. Ultimately, Ingersoll opened 44 Luna Parks around the world, the first chain of amusement parks. For a short time, Ingersoll renamed his parks Ingersoll's Luna Park to distinguish them from the Luna Parks to which he had no connection.[6] Ingersoll's death in 1927 and the closing of most of his Luna Parks did not stop new parks from taking the name.
Luna Park, BeirutLuna Park, Tel Aviv currently operates in Israel.Night photograph of the original Tsutentaku Tower overlooking Luna Park, Osaka in 1912
^Caves, R. W. (2004). Encyclopedia of the City. Routledge. p. 439. ISBN 9780415252256.
^Dale Samuelson, AJP Samuelson, and Wendy Yegoiants, The American Amusement Park ISBN 0-7603-0981-7
^Coney Island's success with electronic attractions and rides also inspired a proliferation of parks named Electric Park (Samuelson, Samuelson, Yegoiants, The American Amusement Park).
^ a bJim Futrell, Amusement Parks of Pennsylvania (Flagpole Books, 2002) ISBN 0-8117-2671-1
^ a b c d eLuna Park's luminary: Entrepreneur/roller coaster designer deserves his due – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 1, 2008
^ a b c d e f g hRobert Cartmell, The Incredible Scream Machine (Popular Press 1987) ISBN 0-87972-342-4
^
"lunapark" in Polish-English dictionary: retrieved February 2, 2015
"lunapark" in French-English dictionary: retrieved February 2, 2015
"lunapark" in Dutch-English dictionary: retrieved February 2, 2015
"λούνα παρκ" in Greek-English dictionary: retrieved February 2, 2015
^"lunapark" in Turkish-English dictionary: retrieved February 2, 2015
^"האקדמיה ללשון העברית - המוסד העליון ללשון העברית". האקדמיה ללשון העברית (in Hebrew). Retrieved September 4, 2021.
^Magda Baraka, The Egyptian Upper Class Between Revolutions, 1919–1952 (Garnet & Ithaca Press 1998) ISBN 0-86372-230-X
^Yasser Elsheshtawy, Planning Middle Eastern Cities: An Urban Kaleidoscope in an Urbanizing World (Routledge 2004) ISBN 0-415-30400-8
^"Casualty Clearance (2)". anzacday.org.au. ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee (Queensland) Incorporated. 2005. Archived from the original on April 24, 2015.
^"Cameroon:The Centre and East". rwti.com. Rainier World Travel. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008.
^"Leisure Facilities: Luna Park (adjacent to Abha Palace)". abhapalace.com.sa. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008.
^Official site - Alanya Lunapark
^"Luna Park Baku site". Archived from the original on June 7, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2009.
^"Lucky Star Park site". Archived from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved January 12, 2009.
^"official site - Luna Grand Park". Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
^Y. Arielli (May 22, 2002). "Luna Grand Park in Haifa Shuts Down". Dei'ah veDibur. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011.
^Luna Grand Park listing in Roller Coaster Database showing reopening of park
^"Luna Grand Park Official Website". Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
^"Amusement park Home page". lunapark.co.il (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on December 19, 2008.
^Twenty evacuated from stalled roller coaster – rideaccidents.com
^אבאל'ה בוא ללונה פארק. ביפו, אתר המועצה לשימור אתרים
^Luna Park, Hong Kong – Gwulo: Old Hong Kong
^Casey, Kevin (November 14, 2008). "From Kansas to Osaka: The evolution of the Billiken" (PDF). student.sluh.org. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 28, 2011.
^"History of Shinsekai - from 1880's to 1910's". shinsekai.ne.jp. Archived from the original on August 29, 2009.
^Sakutarō Hagiwara and Robert Epp, Rats Nests:The Collected Poetry of Hagiwara Sakutarō (Yakusha, 1993) ISBN 1-880276-40-2
^Miodrag Mitrasinovic, Total Landscape, Theme Parks, Public Space (Ashgate Publishing 2006) ISBN 0-7546-4333-6
^Part of Tehran Funfair Will Become Women's Park – Iran-Daily June 26, 2006
^Claudia Puttkammer/ Sacha Szabo: Gruß aus dem Luna-Park. Eine Archäologie des Vergnügens. Freizeit- und Vergnügungsparks Anfang des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts. WVB, Berlin, 2007, ISBN 978-3-86573-248-4 (in German)
^Regina Dahmen-Ingenhoven and Kristin Feireiss, Animation: Form Follows Fun (Birkhäuser 2004) ISBN 3-7643-6631-1
^Les manèges de Lunapark à Brézillet
^Official site: Luna Park Cap d'Agde Archived December 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine (in French)
^French Fun Park Bans the Electric Chair – Der Spiegel Online, August 22, 2008
^Roland Fuller and Allen Levy, The Bassett-Lowke Story (Taylor & Francis, 1984) ISBN 0-904568-34-2
^Eaux-Vives (in French), City of Geneva 2007
^Official website
^"одесский лунапарк, аттракционы". Лунапарк Одеса (in Ukrainian). Retrieved August 31, 2017.
^"Scheda Analitica Dei Parchi Del Divertimento Europei" [Analytical Sheet of European Amusement Parks] (PDF). eprints.unifi.it (in Italian). University of Florence. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 22, 2011.
^Entry in Roller Coaster Data Base – closed April 2008
^History of Luna Euro Park Archived 2009-10-01 at the Wayback Machine (in italian)
^History of Moscow parks Archived 2010-02-25 at the Wayback Machine – Carrousel.ru (official site)
^(1) "Luna Park". Arlington Public Library: A Pictorial History of Arlington - Area H Neighborhoods. Government of Arlington County, Virginia. Archived from the original on April 1, 2010. (2) Luna Park Arlington entry at NorVAPics
^"Buffalo Luna Park Damaged by Fire",New York Times July 15, 1909
^ a b cJim Futrell, Amusement Parks of New York (Stackpole Books 2006) ISBN 0-8117-3262-2
^20th Century Images: Cooling Off at Luna Park – Charleston Gazette, September 8, 2008
^Pictures of Charleston WV Luna Park Archived 2010-01-07 at the Wayback Machine
^Annual Report of the State Health Department of West Virginia 1920/21 (State of West Virginia 1921)
^Perry Duis, Challenging Chicago: Coping with Everyday Life, 1837–1920 (University of Illinois Press 1998) ISBN 0-252-02394-3
^Reports of Cases Determined in the Appellate Courts of Illinois: Edwin C. Day vs. Luna Park Company and James O'Leary, Gen. No. 16,480 – Harvard Press, 1913: Ruling of an appeal of a case involving Luna Park, Chicago, and a concessionaire who declared bankruptcy in 1908. Case was filed in 1909, ruled and appealed in 1910, with the ruling of the appeal in 1912... the year after Luna Park itself was shut down.
^Jazz Age Chicago - Urban Leisure from 1893 to 1945
^Lauren Rabinovitz, For the Love of Pleasure: Women, Movies, and Culture in Turn-of-the-Century Chicago (Rutgers University Press 1998) ISBN 0-8135-2534-9
^Sloan's Lake Century
^Luna Park (Houston) – Houstonian
^Luna Park, Hull entry in "Closed Canadian Parks" – Coaster Enthusiasts of Canada
^Randy G. Whittle, Johnstown, Pennsylvania: A History (History Press) 2005, ISBN 1-59629-051-X
^Chutes & Luna Park Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine – Venice, California History Site
^ a bWells Drury and Aubrey Drury, California Tourist Guide and Handbook: Authentic Description of Routes of Travel and Points of Interest in California (Western Guidebook 1913)
^Some sources refer to it as Luna Park, Clinton Park when not calling it by its longest-used (and most recent) name, Rexford Park
^Susan Rosenthal, Schenectady (Arcadia Publishing 1999) ISBN 0-7385-0339-8
^Rexford Ramble page
^John L. Scherer, Clifton Park (Arcadia Publishing 1996), ISBN 0-7385-5461-8
^Pictures of Rexford Park (Luna Park) ca. 1906, 1920, 1926 Archived October 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine – CDLC Digital Collections
^The Way We Were - Town of Clifton Park Archived 2010-05-27 at the Wayback Machine – Saratoga County (New York) official site
^Luna Park, Scranton, Lackawanna County, PA Archived 2009-02-13 at the Wayback Machine – defunctparks.com
^Cheryl A. Kashuba, Darlene Miller-Lanning, and Alan Sweeney, Scranton (Arcadia Publishing 2005) ISBN 0-7385-3859-0
^Alki Beach Park: former site of Seattle Luna Park – official Seattle Parks and Recreation page
^Brandy Ann, Around Sylvan Beach (Arcadia Publishing 2008) ISBN 0-7385-5656-4
^"Connecticut History Online - Luna Park West Hartford". Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2009.
^"Picture of entrance - Connecticut History Online". Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2009.
^As town's 150th nears, residents share memories[permanent dead link] – Pam Shearer, WestHartfordNews.com, December 5, 2003
^ a b"A Time Line of All You Need to Know in Luna Park Sydney and Everything Else" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 21, 2008. Retrieved January 12, 2009.
^Redcliffe Historical Timeline Archived 2012-02-15 at the Wayback Machine – Moreton Bay Regional Council
^ a b"Redcliffe Luna Park Tax Free". The Courier-Mail. No. 3437. Brisbane. September 12, 1944. p. 3. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Photograph: At Luna Park (Redcliffe)". 1946. Archived from the original on March 31, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
^"Out Among The People: Wirth Of Circus Fame & Five Sisters In Show". The Advertiser. Adelaide. July 10, 1946. p. 10. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Showman Sued By Wirth". Brisbane Telegraph (City Final ed.). August 22, 1949. p. 10. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^"New Owners For Luna Pk". Brisbane Telegraph (Second ed.). May 15, 1950. p. 10. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^"No Change Yet In Park Lease". Brisbane Telegraph (City Final ed.). May 29, 1950. p. 10. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Bay Alderman Walks Out: Amusements At Redcliffe Cause Clash". Brisbane Telegraph (City Final ed.). June 19, 1950. p. 11. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^Unidentified (1962). "Luna Park at Redcliffe around the early sixties". John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Archived from the original on April 1, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
^Sam Marshall, Luna Park – Just for fun, 2nd edition. Sydney, Australia: Luna Park Sydney Pty Ltd. (2005) ISBN 0-646-44807-2
^"Riding the Surf At Scarborough". Sunday Times (Perth). No. 2179. Western Australia. October 29, 1939. p. 24. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Luna Park Opened". The West Australian. Vol. 55, no. 16,662. Western Australia. November 27, 1939. p. 7. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Scarborough's Luna Park". Sunday Times (Perth). No. 2183. Western Australia. November 26, 1939. p. 12. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Patriotic Funds: Will Benefit From Luna Park Opening". The Mirror. Vol. 17, no. 909. Western Australia. November 18, 1939. p. 9. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via National Library of Australia.