“Amusing America is the story of participatory commercial amusements in American cities—San Francisco in particular—and how they changed the way Americans lived.”
Just how did they change America? That’s what I was wondering as I began my journey through this site. Click an image on the Ferris Wheel to begin exploring, each picture is a different section.
The sections are: Introduction, Art to Zoo, Cliff House, Suiting Everyone, Splish Splash at the Chutes, Moving Pictures, De Young’s Delights, PPIE The City that Knows How, Chutes at the Beach, Playland at the Beach, and Goodbye to all that. The “Introduction” is the Midway image and the rest of the sections follow in a clockwise order.
You’ll find so much interesting information. My favorite section was learning about the Chutes at the Beach. I spent a lot of summers on the beaches of Lake Erie so I was interested in the beach side exhibits of amusements.
These exhibits show you what the precursor to Cedar Point, Six Flags, and even Disney World were like. Why don’t you take a trip into the past this summer and enjoy this site.
http://sfpl.lib.ca.us/news/onlineexhibits/amusing/
5-23-2005