Forest Park Highlands was an American amusement park in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. It operated from 1896 to 1963. Forest Park Highlands opened in 1896 as a beer garden.

Sophie Tucker Sophie Tucker (born Sofia Kalish; January 13, 1886 – February 9, 1966) was an American singer, comedian, actress, and radio personality. Known for her powerful delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertaine ...

, John Philip Sousa, and Jack Dempsey appeared there. It featured a pagoda from the

1904 World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds tota ...

held across the street in Forest Park. It also had a ferris wheel, railway,

dodgem cars Bumper cars or dodgems are the generic names for a type of flat amusement ride consisting of multiple small electrically powered cars which draw power from the floor and/or ceiling, and which are turned on and off remotely by an operator. Bumpe ...

, tiltawhirls, shooting galleries, doll throws, and wheels of chance. By 1963, the park was struggling and there was interest in building a community college on the site. A fire on July 19, 1963, destroyed all but the swimming pool and the frame of the wooden roller coaster. Two years later, it was announced that

St. Louis Community College–Forest Park St. Louis Community College–Forest Park (also known as STLCC-Forest Park, and Forest Park) is a public community college in St. Louis, Missouri. It is one of the four schools of the St. Louis Community College System and is one of nine communit ...

would be built on the land.{{Cite web, url=https://photos.riverfronttimes.com/vintage-photos-forest-park-highlands-amusement-park/, title=21 Vintage Photos of Forest Park Highlands Amusement Park, date=2016-07-11, website=Riverfront Times Slideshows, language=en-US, access-date=2020-04-05

References

External links

Unofficial Forest Park Highlands website

in the

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-Dem ...

Defunct amusement parks in the United States 1896 establishments in Missouri 1963 disestablishments in Missouri Tourist attractions in St. Louis Buildings and structures in St. Louis