We are still in Santa Cruz looking at the old Boardwalk and the Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific Railroad. The boardwalk dates from 1907 and is largely intact.
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The amusement park features the original casino and swimming pavilion buildings, a 1911 Merry-go-round, 1927 roller coaster called "The Giant Dipper" and the big band ballroom, "The Coconut Grove"
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From their web site:
As the only major seaside amusement park remaining on the West Coast, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk offers a unique combination of classic and modern rides, a sandy mile-long beach, and a variety of attractions. California’s other seaside amusement parks such as Whitney’s Playland in San Francisco and the Pike in Long Beach closed decades ago, due to pressure from real estate developers.
The family-owned and operated Boardwalk has been a popular destination since the early 1900s.
“A key to our success is our ongoing effort to blend vintage and modern attractions,” said Charles Canfield, president of the Santa Cruz Seaside Company, which owns and operates the Boardwalk. “While we continue to open exciting new attractions, we also make sure to preserve the classic rides and family atmosphere that generations of visitors have cherished.”
In the Beginning
The Boardwalk’s roots go back to 1865, when John Leibrandt opened a public bathhouse near the mouth of the San Lorenzo River. Other bathhouses followed; scores of tourists began visiting Santa Cruz to enjoy this highly touted health benefits of bathing in salt water. Soon more concessions sprang up including restaurants, curio shops, and photo stands. Toward the end of the 1800s, Fred W. Swanton, considered one of the greatest promoters and entrepreneurs of his time, laid plans for a casino and boardwalk - a “Coney Island of the West.”
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The first Casino opened in 1904 but survived only 22 months; on June 22, 1906, the uninsured building was completely destroyed by fire. Legend has it that Swanton was on the phone before the last wisps of smoke disappeared, lining up financing and ordering materials to rebuild. By summer’s end, famed architect William H. Weeks was drawing up plans, and in October a foundation had been laid for the new Casino. The new Casino included a ballroom, the Plunge indoor swimming pool, a pleasure pier, and boardwalk.
Some 500 people worked on the project, and on June 22, 1907, exactly one year after the devastating fire, the new attractions opened. More than 1,200 people attended the opening ball, and thousands more watched outside as the Casino and Boardwalk were illuminated by thousands of white lights.
And Then There Were RIDES
A few months after the opening gala, construction began on the Boardwalk’s first thrill ride, the L.A. Thompson Scenic Railway which opened in 1908. The four-minute coaster ran on one mile of wooden track and cost $35,000 to build.
In 1911 European woodcarver Charles I.D. Looff delivered a new merry-go-round, complete with hand-carved horses and two chariots. The carousel and its original 342-pipe, 1894 Ruth Und Sohn band organ is still in operation.
It was Looff’s son, Arthur, who convinced the Boardwalk to replace the Scenic Railway ride to make way for a “modern” wooden roller coaster. The Giant Dipper coaster opened in 1924 and soon became the park’s most popular ride; the Dipper’s ridership is now more than 60 million.
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From Trees to Shining Seas - Felton to Santa Cruz
Departing from the Santa Cruz Mountains, travel through Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, down the scenic San Lorenzo River Gorge, across a 1909 steel truss bridge and through an 1875 tunnel before arriving at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Reverse roundtrips departing from the beach in Santa Cruz to Roaring Camp and back may be purchased from the conductor on the train departing from Santa Cruz.
The Santa Cruz Big Trees & Pacific Railway operates passenger and freight services on one of the oldest and most historic lines in California. When the route opened in 1875 it carried lumber as well as picnickers and tourists to the Big Trees and Santa Cruz. Today's Beach Train passengers can start their roundtrip journeys from either Roaring Camp in Felton or from the beach in Santa Cruz.
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