Wonderland Amusement Park (San Diego)

Wonderland was a beachfront amusement park in the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego, California from 1913 to 1916. It was the first amusement park in San Diego.[1]

For other parks of the same name, see Wonderland Amusement Park.
Wonderland Amusement Park
LocationOcean Beach, San Diego, California
StatusDefunct
OpenedJuly 14, 1913
ClosedJanuary 1916
OwnerHerbert P. Snow
General managerBert Snow

The 8-acre (3.2 ha) amusement park was built on or near the Pacific Ocean beach by the Ocean Bay Beach Amusement Center, owned by Herbert P. Snow and managed by Bert Snow. It opened on July 4, 1913[2] to a crowd of more than 20,000.[3] It featured the largest roller coaster on the West Coast, called the Blue Streak Racer, as well as a carousel, water slide, and carnival games. A menagerie featured "lions, bears, leopards, wolves, mountain lions, a hyena, and 56 varieties of monkeys".[3] Additional amusements were a dance hall, bowling alley, roller skating rink, and salt-water bathing plunge. Patrons were dazzled by the 22,000 tungsten lights which illuminated the park and by the entrance gate with its towering minarets.[3]

The amusement park helped to put the community of Ocean Beach on the map for San Diegans. The formerly 2+1⁄2-hour trip to the beach from central San Diego had been reduced to a 40-minute trolley ride in 1909 by the construction of the Point Loma Railroad by developer D. C. Collier.[4]

The park thrived for two seasons, but saw a massive drop-off in attendance in 1915 due to the opening of the Panama California Exposition in Balboa Park. The park fell into foreclosure and was sold at auction in March 1915. In January 1916, storm tides undermined the roller coaster, which had to be closed. It was dismantled and eventually shipped to Santa Monica's Pleasure Pier.[3] The rest of the park was also destroyed by winter storms and was eventually demolished.[1]

Legacy

The menagerie was rented to the Panama California Exposition in Balboa Park during its run (1915–16); the animals were eventually sold to the fledgling San Diego Zoo.[5]

A KPBS-TV public television series about the history and neighborhoods of San Diego is called Wonderland after the amusement park.[6]

In 2013, to mark the 100th anniversary of the opening of the amusement park, the annual Ocean Beach Street Fair featured a "Wonderland" theme,[7] and a restaurant called "Wonderland" opened in Ocean Beach, with decor focusing on local history.[8]

References
  1. Stanton, Jeffrey. "Wonderland Park - Ocean Beach CA". Lost Amusement Parks. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  2. Hall, Matthew T. (June 28, 2011). "San Diego's Wonderland opened 98 years ago Monday". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  3. Crawford, Richard (May 10, 2008). "Ocean Beach had its own amusement park long ago" (PDF). San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  4. Gormlie, Frank (September 20, 2012). "Part Four in Quest for OB's True Birthday and Founder". OB Rag. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  5. Shaw, Marjorie Betts (Summer 1978). "The San Diego Zoological Garden: A Foundation to Build on". Journal of San Diego History. San Diego History Center. 24 (3).
  6. Gentile, Anthony (2010). "OB's Noah Tafolla living in television 'Wonderland'". San Diego Community Newspaper Group. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  7. "34th Annual Ocean Beach Street Fair & Chili Cook-Off". Ocean Beach Mainstreet Association. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  8. Wonderland restaurant/tavern making a splash with its view, historic theme, The Beacon, September 4, 2013
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