Playland Park (Houston, Texas)

Playland Park was an amusement park located in Houston, Texas operating between 1940 and 1967. Louis Slusky opened Playland Park circa 1940 at 9200 South Main. It is popularly remembered for its wooden roller coaster, The Skyrocket. Texas' first elevated monorail train (1956) briefly operated near the park. Next to the park was an adjoining stock-car race track known as Playland Speedway. Slusky also facilitated the miniature children’s train located in Houston’s Hermann Park. This train may have originated from Playland Park. Playland Park closed in 1967.[2][3][4][5]

Playland Park
The Skyrocket roller coaster, May 1943, Houston, Texas[1]
LocationHouston, Texas, U.S.
StatusDefunct
Openedca. 1940
Closedca. 1967
OwnerLouis Slusky
SloganFun For The Whole Family
Attractions
Total10 - 30
Roller coasters1

Playland Park, Houston should not be confused with the Playland Park located in San Antonio, Texas which started around the same time and later had a wooden roller coaster similarly named The Rocket.

The Skyrocket

The Skyrocket was a wooden roller coaster relocated to Playland Park and opened on September, 1941.[6] Originally opened in 1924 at Houston’s former Luna Park, at that time it was billed as the “largest” roller coaster in the country with a reported length of 6,600 feet (2,000 m), height of 110 feet (34 m) and a drop of 90 feet (27 m).[7] The original construction cost (1924) was $75,000.[8] The relocation from Luna Park to Playland Park is believed to be the last Roller Coaster project John A. Miller was involved with. Miller died in Houston in 1941 while working on this project.

The roller coaster, now claiming to be the largest in the South, appears to have been operational until some time between 1962 and 1964. By 1964 the roller coaster was partially removed and no longer operational. This was to make room for a new large building behind the park where the race track was formerly located. The remainder of the roller coaster was torn down after the park finally closed.

Playland Speedway

The race track started ca. 1948. Various races and demolition derbies were held at the track. Local racing talent A. J. Foyt raced there. In 1959 a race car crashed through a fence killing three people including co-owner Sam Slusky.[9] Within a few years of the crash, the race track closed. Many speculate the fatalities contributed to this decision. By 1962 the grand stands were removed and by 1964 a new building was constructed where the track once existed. Alternate names include Playland Park Speedway and Playland Park Stadium.

Closure

The park closed in 1967, just prior to AstroWorld opening in Houston in 1968.[10] Prior to closure, the race track was long gone and the roller coaster had ceased to operate. By 1973, the location was empty. Years later it was eventually redeveloped as retail space and apartments. In the early 1970s, nearby AstroWorld considered purchasing and relocating an existing wooden roller coaster to that park but from Coney Island. Ultimately AstroWorld built its own wooden roller coaster, the Texas Cyclone which opened in 1976.

See also

References
  1. "Photo by Jim Durkee". Photobucket. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
  2. "Google Image Result". www.google.com. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
  3. "Family behind Houston's Playland planning new Texas City amusement park". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
  4. "Playland Park (Houston, Texas, USA)". rcdb.com. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
  5. "1947 Playland Park pamphlet".
  6. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (1942-03-07). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  7. "Amusement Parks | Houston Past". houstorian.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
  8. "Roller Coaster - Playland Park (Houston, Texas, USA)". rcdb.com. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
  9. "A tragic day at Playland Park". Bayou City History. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
  10. "Amusement Parks". The Buzz Magazines. Retrieved 2015-11-19.

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