Idora Park

Did you know that Youngstown had its very own amusement park?  Idora Park was built in 1899 at the end of a trolley line owned by the Youngstown Park and Falls Street Railway Company.  This streetcar company built the park to attract more riders into riding the trolley.  Local residents could ride the line from downtown, to the park, near Lanterman’s Mill on Youngstown’s south side. 

In Idora Park’s earliest years, it had only a merry-go-round, an outdoor theater, a dance hall, and a very simple rollercoaster.  But over the next several decades, Idora Park would become one of the most famous amusement parks in the United States, adding many notable attractions, rides and rollercoasters, such as the Jack Rabbit and the Wildcat.  The Wildcat became one of the top 10 rollercoasters in the entire United States!

One of the biggest attractions at Idora Park was its ballroom, or dance hall.  Built in 1910, the ballroom hosted the most famous Big Bands in the nation.  Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Guy Lombardo and Glenn Miller all brought their orchestras to the ballroom, and people enjoyed dancing to the most popular tunes of the era.  A couple could pay per dance, or pay one price and dance all evening.  Popular dance styles back then were the Foxtrot, the Waltz, the Jitterbug, and Swing.  

Thousands of people visited Idora Park every year.  Companies scheduled outings and picnics for their employees.  Many local people visited Idora with their families.  Idora Park even attracted visits from celebrities and politicians like then Senator John F. Kennedy, former president Harry S. Truman, and legendary musician and entertainer Louis Armstrong.

In 1984, a devastating fire burned a significant portion of Idora Park, including part of the famous Wildcat, and the park officially closed down for good later that year, after 85 years of operation.  Idora Park is gone, but it still lives on in people’s memories as one of the best amusement parks in the United States.  Do any of your family members remember going to Idora Park?  Do you like going to amusement parks?  What are your favorite rides?

The Mahoning Valley Historical Society educates and promotes an interest in the history of the Mahoning Valley by collecting, preserving, and developing material representative of the people who have inhabited the region.

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