Luna Park, Alexandria

Alexandria, 1894. Jackson City is at center top; the site that would be developed into Luna Park is the 50-acre plot of Edw. D. Crane, just north of Four Mile Run.

In the late 19th century, the part of Alexandria County, Virginia across from Washington, D.C. near Long Bridge was known as Jackson City. The area was originally intended to be an industrial hub, but after the American Civil War and anti-gambling crackdowns in New Jersey and Washington, D.C., the area became known as the "Monte Carlo of the East". Jackson City became filled with gambling dens and racetracks. Though the Virginia Assembly banned most forms of gambling in 1892, the laws remained unenforced in Jackson City.[1]

In 1903, Crandal Mackey won the race for Alexandria County Attorney General on a progressive anti-corruption platform. Mackey ordered law enforcement to clear out the gambling resorts. After the police did nothing for several months, Mackey assembled, deputized, and armed thirty residents himself. This group marched through Jackson City, smashing up the gambling dens they found. This and other raids shuttered the gambling industry in the area.[1][2]

The loss of business, especially to the now-closed St. Asaph Racetrack, prompted the Washington, Alexandria, and Mount Vernon Railway to seek a new way to attract customers.[2] To that end, they constructed Luna Park in collaboration with the facility's designer and operator, Frederick Ingersoll. Luna Park was one of several amusement parks that Ingersoll built in 1905 and 1906, including Indianola Park in Columbus, Ohio, Rocky Glen Park near Moosic, Pennsylvania, and Luna Parks in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Scranton; by the time of Luna Park Washington's construction, he had constructed 43 such sites.[3][4]

The Washington Luna Park Company was chartered December 29, 1905.[5][6] The park site consisted of an approximately 40-acre (16 ha) plot[lower-alpha 1] situated on an old farm, north of Four Mile Run and west of the Alexandria Canal and adjacent roadway and trolley line. Prior to the Civil War, the area was known as "Swallow Hill" and later "The Wild Man's Cave" after the hermit who lived there for years.[7] The area was already a popular picnic spot for residents.[4] The park was built in a matter of months.[4] In late January, laborers began grading the site, moving more than 60,000 cubic yards of earth. Workers accidentally discovered a series of manmade subterranean rooms on the site, including a library, which The Washington Post reported as the work of an unknown person, "evidently an eccentric."[8][9] Interest from committees and clubs who wanted to use the new park for picnics and outings led to changes in the park's plans, and the construction of a larger picnic grove with a running track and partially-enclosed athletic field.[10] In March, the builders invited representatives of lodges and social clubs to tour the park to attract their business,[11] and in September the company offered common stock for shares in the completed park.[12] The cost of construction was reported as $350,000,[13] but would ultimately rise to approximately $500,000 (equivalent to $16,285,000 in 2022),[14] with $4,000 for paint alone.[15] A "Luna Park Special" spur line connected the park to the trolley system,[2] making it a 12 minute rail trip from Washington, D.C.[4] The Railway spent $200,000 to build the additional line and upgrade the nearby power house to handle Luna Park's artificial lighting.[12] Water was supplied by a concrete reservoir built near Fort Scott on a hill.[2] The park was initially managed by George E. Gill, with the company and a majority of its stock controlled by John W. Pittock.[12]

Main entrance gates prior to opening, May 1906. The side of the gate housed offices and a telegraph and telephone booth.[4]

A Sanborn map of Luna Park, November 1907. The entrance and rail lines are to the right edge, with the rollercoaster at the top and attractions sprawling south.

The park opened at 7 p.m. on May 28, 1906.[16] The railway ordered 20 streetcars to service the route to the park every three minutes.[17] The opening day program included musicians, dancers, jugglers, "comedy sheep", and stage actor John W. Ransome doing his impersonation of William Jennings Bryan.[18] Some parts of the park, including a circle swing ride and a scenic river, were not yet complete.[19] The park hosted over 30,000 visitors on Memorial Day. The Washington Post attributed to the happy and orderly crowds to good management and the park's prohibition on alcohol.[20]

The entrance was topped by an Egyptian-styled tower with a searchlight.[19] The main concourse, called "The Great Trail", featured concessions and attractions and was illuminated at night with 80,000 electric lights.[14] Exhibits were housed in buildings displaying different architecture styles including Japanese, Moorish, Gothic, and Byzantine.[13][19] The park featured throwing games, figure eight roller coaster, and a shoot-the-chutes dropping 150 feet to the lagoon. The scenic river ride wound 2,200 feet through the park and featured ten "scene houses" featuring themes such as the Arctic, tropics, and Dante's Inferno.[4] Non-ride attractions included a ballroom, mutoscope parlor, casino, restaurants, a bandstand with 2,000 free seats, picnic facilities for 3,000 people, and an 8,000-seat arena to accommodate circuses, aerialists, and equestrian acts.[4][13][21][22] A hospital provided free medical services to guests.[4] In its opening season, the park featured a "photograph garage" where people could pose with the newfangled automobile and illusion shows.[19] A Luna Park brochure highlighted that visitors would not find low-brow "fat women, tattooed freaks or other distasteful features of the tented shows", while Billboard described the park in 1908 as having "big dumb [mute] acts".[23][24]

Local organizations, church, and clubs would have picnics and events at the park.[25] In addition to concerts and plays, the Park also hosted air shows, such as A. Roy Knabenshue and Lincoln Beachey in 1906.[26][27] Fireworks shows and special events rounded out the offerings.[22]

The park featured special features rented from Coney Island in New York, such as a diving horse and trained elephants. On the morning of August 21, 1906, four elephants from one such traveling show, Barlow's Elephants, escaped. Attempts to round them up were frustrated by the elephants stampeding after being frightened by local dogs. The escape caused a stir in the region, and the elephants left a trail of devastation. After failing to capture the elephants after a day of searching, Barlow offered a $500 bounty for the capture of any of the escapees. One was captured on the second day of the hunt, but subsequently broke loose again. The showman Pawnee Bill, who was traveling through the region, was asked to help corral the remaining two. The final elephant, who had been beaten by an emboldened posse, was located and captured on August 26. The elephants had wandered as far as Baileys Crossroads and 20 miles south of Alexandria. Suggested causes of the elephants' stampede included thunder and lightning during a violent storm the night before the escape, to a deliberate release to garner publicity.[22][2][24]

While the park's reservoir failed in July 1906 after heavy rains, the park was not damaged.[28] Luna Park finished its first season in October with a series of events including a daredevil bicycle act and trapeze performance.[29] It reopened in May 1907, featuring improvements including a skating rink and "resting room" for female patrons.[30] The park was updated with new attractions over the following years, including an airship ride called "A Trip to the Moon".[31]

While the park enjoyed a period of popularity, it was never a profitable endeavor, and the electric railway made more money from train operations than the park itself. Washingtonians patronized closer resorts and parks instead,[7] and the park saw a slow decline in popularity.[32]

In the early afternoon of April 15, 1915, amid a spate of fires caused by dry weather across the region,[33] fire destroyed the park's signature roller coaster. The suggested origin of the blaze were sparks from burning brush in the neighboring woods.[34][35] While the isolated location of the coaster and prevailing winds meant the rest of the park was largely spared,[36] the park's precarious finances forced the park to go out of business, and the site idled for years.[2][32] 19 acres of the park site was listed for auction in 1917,[7] with the site's attractions dismantled in early 1918; some attractions were intended to be shipped to other parks for reuse.[37][38] The Washington Herald reported New York businessmen were contemplating buying and refurbishing the park in 1919,[39] though the site would never reopen. By later that year, woods and brush were described as occupying the site.[40]

The entrance gates and a few buildings survived for decades afterwards,[2] and traces of the park were reportedly evident as late as 1993.[41] The Arlington County sewage treatment facility now covers part of the park's site near the present intersection of South Glebe Road and Jefferson Davis Highway (U.S. Route 1).[21]

• Luna Park at the Roller Coaster DataBase
• "Riding Shoot the Chutes at Luna Park". Arlington Public Library. July 11, 2006. Retrieved April 30, 2018.

38°50′40″N 77°03′20″W