Jantzen Beach Amusement Park was a popular

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 ...

from 1928 to 1970 in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, on

Hayden Island Hayden Island is an island in the Columbia River between Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The wide main channel of the Columbia (and the Washington–Oregon state line) passes north of the island. To the south, sheltered by the islan ...

in the middle of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

. ''"The Coney Island of the West"'' opened on May 26, 1928 as the largest amusement park in the nation, covering over 123 acres (50 ha) at the northern tip of Portland.

History

In 1927, William A. Logus and Leo F. Smith purchased of land on

from the Portland Electric Power Company. Logus and Smith headed the Hayden Island Amusement Company and they built an amusement resort and tourist park named ''Jantzen Beach Amusement Park'' for one of the park's investors, Carl Jantzen, of Jantzen swimsuit fame. The door opened to the public on May 26, 1928. It surpassed all attendance expectations; over 30 million people patronized the park through its 42 years. On opening day, Saturday May 26, 1928, 15,000 people paid the $0.10 admission. The following day, 25,000 people came out to the park. The amusement park included a merry-go-round, fun house, Big Dipper roller coaster, Golden Canopy Ballroom, four swimming pools, a

natatorium A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

, of picnic grounds, and of parking. The C.W. Parker

carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...

, built in 1921, was moved to Jantzen Beach in 1927. Some of the hand carved horses were made by inmates of the

United States Penitentiary The Federal Bureau of Prisons classifies prisons into seven categories: * United States penitentiaries * Federal correctional institutions * Private correctional institutions * Federal prison camps * Administrative facilities * Federal correctio ...

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351. It is located on the west bank of t ...

. The amusement park's popularity peaked during the 1940s. In the late 1950s, attendance declined while the commercial value of the land increased. The park closed on Labor Day, 1970. The pumping system from the swimming pools remains installed, and is used to pump drinking water to the residents of Hayden Island. The

Jantzen Beach Carousel The Jantzen Beach Carousel, also known as the C. W. Parker Four-Row Park Carousel, is a carousel formerly installed at Portland, Oregon's Jantzen Beach, in the United States. History The carousel was built circa 1904 by C. W. Parker in Abilene ...

, also known as the C.W. Parker Four-Row Park Carousel, was installed inside the

Jantzen Beach Mall Jantzen Beach Center is an outdoor shopping mall located in Portland, Oregon, on Hayden Island in the Columbia River, known as Jantzen Beach SuperCenter from 1996 until about 2012. Opened in 1972 as an indoor mall, sometimes known informally as ...

, a

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

located on the grounds formerly occupied by the park, and it operated there from 1972 to 2012. However, it was removed in 2012 for the reconstruction of the shopping center, and it remains in storage . The carousel was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1987 but was removed in 2008.

Attractions

* Big Dipper —

wooden roller coaster A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also b ...

(May 26, 1928 – 1969) * Kiddie Dipper —

steel roller coaster A steel roller coaster is a roller coaster that is defined by having a track made of steel. Steel coasters have earned immense popularity in the past 50 years throughout the world. Incorporating tubular steel track and polyurethane-coated whee ...

(1947–1970) * Golden Canopy Ballroom * The

Natatorium A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

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 ...

grounds * Two robot circus criers, "

Laffing Sal Laffing Sal is one of several animatronic characters that were built primarily to attract carnival and amusement park patrons to funhouses and dark rides throughout the United States. Its movements were accompanied by a raucous laugh that someti ...

" and "Joe Barker" * Venetian Canal ride * Jantzen Beach Railway *

Fun House A funhouse or fun house is an amusement facility found on amusement park and funfair midways and is where patrons encounter and interact with various devices designed to surprise, challenge, and amuse them. Unlike thrill rides or dark rides, fu ...

* Elbow Room Restaurant * Midway * Buzzer * Roll-O-Planes * Ferris Wheel * Haunted house

References

"The Coney Island of the West"
nbsp;— The Spectator, July, 1942 2006.

nbsp;— PDXHistory.com.

��Oregon Journal, May 24, 1928

External links

collection of historic photos

* {{Coord, 45.613, -122.682, type:landmark_region:US-OR_source:googlemaps, display=title 1928 establishments in Oregon 1970 disestablishments in Oregon Amusement parks in Oregon Defunct amusement parks in the United States 20th century in Portland, Oregon Hayden Island, Portland, Oregon North Portland, Oregon

History

Attractions

See also

References

External links