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Menlo Park- The Past |
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Menlo Park- The Past |
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| Menlo Park was founded in 1892 by Samuel Kramer, Grier Scheetz, and Isaac Groff. The three men bought a five acre piece of woodland, with a hillside creek. They improved it by putting picnic tables, and pavilions on the property. Boats were also provided for rowing. They eventually put the carousel in during 1892. In 1894 the park put in the first land toboggan in the area (see Lenape Park). The ride used the natural terrain and hillside to make it exciting. In 1907 a casino was built, and it also had a roller skating rink, bowling alleys, pool tables, ice cream parlor, and a movie hall. During that same time there was a dance hall being built. |
This is a picture of the bowling alley in Menlo Park . This is the skating rink inside of the casino. |
During an interview with Mr. James Moyer, a local historian, he said as a boy he liked to go to the park three times a month. He said that he liked the Merry-Go-Round, Mirror Maze, and the other rides. On the holidays the park was very crowded. They had trolleys that brought the people to the park. In 1894 the toboggan had 6000 people ride it from 8 am - 10 p.m.. a toboggan went off every 20 seconds.
To the east of the creek there was a racing track. The race track was complete with a grandstand. In 1911 to 1916 the Bucks County Fair was held in this park. People everywhere would come to the park. They had hotels in the town and on the weekend people would come from Philadelphia to ride the amusements and have fun in the park.When train excursions came to an end the Railroad Co. refused to use passenger cars. This caused a slow decline in the use of the park.
When ownership went into the hands of Henry S. Wilson in 1926 he made programs to improve and make additions to the park. He built a 150 foot dam in the East Branch of the Perkiomen Creek below Menlo (now Lenape Park) and dredged it out from four to ten feet deep for swimming and diving. Wilson installed a water slide on the South Perkasie side of the creek and a new bath house on the site of the old baseball grandstand.
In Menlo Park he added the whip and kiddie rides and in 1939 he built a concrete pool which helped regain popularity with the Sunday School picnics. In 1955 Maurice Neinken, owner of the Royal Pants Manufacturing Company said he would contribute $25,000 to help the Borough purchase Menlo Park. For $115,000 more the borough had a community park.
In time the casino and all amusements, except the carousel, were removed due to the deterioration of of the buildings and the equipment. Many repairs and improvements were made on the pool to keep it part of the park. Today the pool is known as Menlo Pool.
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| This is the whip, a ride, inside of Menlo Park. | On the Avenue near the pump house at Menlo Park. |
