Libertyland 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 ...
located in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
. Opened on July 4, 1976, it was located at 940 Early Maxwell Blvd. It was structured under the nonprofit
501(c)4
A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)) and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exempt from some federal income taxes. ...
US tax code. It closed due to financial reasons in 2005.
History
Libertyland opened as an amusement park on the Mid-South Fairgrounds on July 4, 1976. Before then, the fair had operated on the land, including the Coaster Pippin renamed
Zippin Pippin with the opening of Libertyland and the Grand
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 ...
. The city of Memphis decided it was time for a theme park for the city. It opened in 1976 with several rides, including the pre-existing rides that had operated in that place before. The Zippin Pippin was widely popular as it was
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
's favorite wooden roller coaster. In fact, on August 8, 1977, just eight days before his death, Elvis rented Libertyland as a gift for his 9 year old daughter,
Lisa Marie Presley
Lisa Marie Presley (born February 1, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter. She is the only child of singer and actor Elvis Presley and actress Priscilla Presley, as well as the sole heir to her father's estate. Presley has developed a career ...
. From 1 am until dawn, Elvis, Lisa Marie, Elvis' then-fiance
Ginger Alden
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...
and about a dozen friends rode the park's then fourteen rides. The Grand Carousel was also a classic and was widely appreciated. The park gradually drew in decent crowds over the years, but never made a great profit. It continued to add attractions, such as a steel coaster called the Revolution, and others. During the late 1990s, it added a
Top Spin ride, dubbed "Tidal Wave." It was removed later, and in April 2002, the drop tower Rebellion was added. It featured a drop and drew larger crowds to the park.
Attractions
Libertyland featured around 24 attractions.
*Bumper Boats
*Car-Go-Round
*Casey's Cannonball Train Ride
*Dragon Wagon
*Fun Run
*Grand Carousel
*Kamikaze - Fabbri Kamikaze
*Little Bumper Boats
*Old Hickory Log Flume
*Paratrooper
*Park's Peak
*Pirate Ship
*Rebellion - Drop Tower
*Red Baron
*Revolution - Arrow Loop & Corkscrew
*Screamer
*Sea Dragon
*Surf City Water Slide
*Tennessee Tilt - Tilt-A-Whirl
*Thriller
*Turnpike Antique Cars
*Twain's Twister - Eli Bridge Scrambler
*Umbrella Ride
*Wipeout - Chance Wipeout
*
Zippin Pippin - Wooden Coaster
Financial troubles
For many years, it was widely known that Libertyland was having financial difficulties, failing to turn a profit. Few new attractions were being added, and crowds began to diminish. In 2005, it commissioned a firm to redo its image. A new logo was designed and buildings were repainted, but the effort did not bring in enough of a profit, if any, to maintain the park as a viable ongoing operation. Although the operating loss was minimal compared to the tax revenue generated in area around the park by tourist. The city later spent more than the operating loss on a youth jobs creation program to replace the jobs lost by teenagers who worked at the park.
Closure
The park operated its last day for a corporate day on October 29, 2005. In early November, a meeting was called before the Mid-South Fair board of committee to close it. The vote was passed and the announcement was made public. Their reasonings included lack of profit, a steady decline of attendance, and they wanted to extend the midway for the annual
Mid-South Fair
The Mid-South Fair is a fair that was held for many years in Memphis, Tennessee, every year in late September and early October. It is now held in neighboring northwest Mississippi. It hosts many shows and attractions, as well as different type ...
which operates adjacent to the park's site for 10 days in October. Its closure followed that of
Adventure River, Memphis' only water park by less than ten years. The City of Memphis had also closed
Bud Boogie Beach in the early 1990s.
Grass Roots Effort
Within days of the announcement to close the park, a group formed to save it. Save Libertyland! fought against Mid-South Fair to keep it open, citing that it drew in hundreds of jobs for the Memphis area teens and was one of the few places for families to spend time there.
Misty J. White - Join in bold re-imagining of fairgrounds''The Commercial Appeal
''The Commercial Appeal'' (also known as the ''Memphis Commercial Appeal'') is a daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by the Gannett Company; its former owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, also ...
'', April 3, 2009. Several benefits were held to gain support for the movement. The park brought in a few companies willing to purchase it, mainly Joyland, Inc. (T-Rex Entertainment), which was known for buying financially troubled amusement parks and turning them around. Though there was a debate over who actually had rights to the rides since, in reality, the city actually owned some of them. Mid-South Fair did not back down and went on with plans to auction the assets off.
Auction & Post-Movement
Mid-South Fair brought in an auctioneer group and the auction was held on June 21, 2006. Most of the rides were sold, including the Zippin Pippin, which sold for only $2,500. It was bought by a traveling rock museum who only wanted one of the train's cars.
Carolina Crossroads
Carolina Crossroads is a planned entertainment development near Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina located near the intersection of I-95 and US 158. The development was hoped to bring new jobs to the area which had been affected in recent years as tex ...
later bought it but decided not to move it.
It has now been bought by the city of
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...
, which rebuilt it at their city-owned
Bay Beach Amusement Park. The Revolution was bought by
DelGrosso's Amusement Park
DelGrosso's Park is a family-oriented amusement park located in Tipton, Pennsylvania, a northern suburb of Altoona, Pennsylvania. The park was purchased by the DelGrosso family in 1946 and was named "Bland's Park" until 2000. In 2000, the DelGros ...
but has yet to be erected as of April 2010. Other rides were dispersed to other locations around the country. The Rebellion was sold to
Ghost Town in the Sky
Ghost Town Village (formerly "Ghost Town in the Sky at Ghost Mountain Park") is an abandoned Wild West-themed amusement park in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, United States that is currently, as of October 2019, under contract for possible sal ...
and reopened in 2007.
In December 2006, Joyland Inc. made a bold move and sent the city a letter of intent stating their intention of reopening the park, more as a new amusement park on the former site. The deal was to be completed on a three-year lease plan. However, upon viewing it in person, Joyland Inc. pulled out of the deal due to extensive damage including infrastructure damage, wiring, and plumbing.
Outcome
The Grand Carousel was bought by The Children's Museum Of Memphis and has been in operation for many years following its closure. The Revolution was bought by an amusement park in the Philippines and now operates as The Zimerman Corkscrew Coaster. The Zippin Pippin is in Wisconsin and is still operating to this day. People with Tennessee State IDs or drivers licenses can ride the Pippin for free.
The area is now a massive parking lot and green space known as Tiger Lane that has also added a disc golf course named Libertyland to a large part of it on the south end.
References
External links
Remember Libertyland - A Libertyland Tribute*
{{coord, 35.118539, -89.982447, type:landmark, display=title
Defunct amusement parks in the United States
History of Memphis, Tennessee
Amusement parks in Tennessee
Landmarks in Tennessee
Buildings and structures in Memphis, Tennessee
1976 establishments in Tennessee
2005 disestablishments in Tennessee