Electric Park was an

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

that was in operation from 1906 to 1928.Detroit's Amusement Parks
- Patricia Zacharias, ''Detroit News'' 30 September 1995 Owned by Arthur Gaulker and his family, the park was also known by Riverview Park, Luna Park, and Granada Park in its 22-year existence, with several unofficial nicknames like "Pike's Peak", "Riverside", and "Granada". The park was sited on East Jefferson Drive adjacent to the approach to the bridge to Belle Isle.

Trolley park

Electric Park was originally a trolley park at the end of three streetcar lines (the Myrtle, Fort-East, and the Crosstown); public transportation to Electric Park to nearby Belle Isle gradually shifted toward the use of buses, even after the completion of new streetcar tracks after the construction of a new MacArthur Bridge in the early 1920s (the new tracks were never used). The park's main entrance was dominated by a large windmill across the street from the entrance to the park's boardwalk, which had a sign stating: "The Boardwalk: Just for Fun."photos o
Waterwinterwonderland entry: Electric Park (Detroit)
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Rides and attractions

Rides and attractions in the densely packed Electric Park include a

roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

(one was called the Derby Racer; another featured a sign that said "Trip Thru the Clouds - Detroit's Greatest Ride"; others that appeared in the park were the Big Dipper, the Bobs, and the Dare Devil), Ferris wheel, an interactive simulation of the Johnstown Flood, a

Shoot-the-Chutes Shoot the Chute is an amusement ride consisting of a flat-bottomed boat that slides down a ramp or inside a flume into a lagoon. Unlike a log flume or super flume, which generally seats up to eight passengers, a modern-day Shoot the Chute ride ge ...

around which the rest of the park is configured, a Whip ride, aerial swings, various other mechanical rides, live entertainment (including acrobats and aerialists) performing in front of a bank of bleacher seats that dominated one side of the park), a riverfront pier, a

coliseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

facilities, and the Palais de Danse

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

built (in 1912) over the edge of the water of the Detroit River. Another dance hall, Palace Gardens, was destroyed in a May 1911 blaze; the Coliseum and the pier and

boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of bridge ...

(site of the park's concession stands) burned down ten years later. Before the fire, the Pier Ballroom and the Ramona were popular places for dancing; afterwards, the nearby Merry Gardens Ballroom kept drawing crowds even after the demise of the park.When Detroit Danced to the Big Bands
- Detroit News, 21 January 2002]

Legal battles

The 1920s saw a series of legal battles challenging the ownership of the park and challenging the existence of the park. In 1927, the legal contests came to an end as the City of

condemned many of the park's structures as a blight (contemporary accounts called the buildings "eyesores"), and Electric Park closed permanently. The following year, the buildings were leveled to create a new public park, which eventually became

Gabriel Richard Park The Detroit International Riverfront is a tourist attraction and landmark of Detroit, Michigan, extending from the Ambassador Bridge in the west to Belle Isle in the east, for a total of 5.5 miles (8.8 kilometers). The International Riverfront en ...

References

{{reflist History of Detroit Defunct amusement parks in Michigan 1906 establishments in Michigan 1928 disestablishments in Michigan