Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct

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 ...

s. They are named after, and partly based on, the first

Luna Park Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Island parks. Luna parks are small-sc ...

, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

parks. Luna parks are small-scale attraction parks, easily accessed, potentially addressed to the permanent or temporary residential market, and located in the suburbs or even near the town center. Luna parks mainly offer classic funfair attractions (great wheel), newer features (electronic displays) and catering services.

History

The original Luna Park on Coney Island, a massive spectacle of rides, ornate towers and cupolas covered in 250,000 electric lights, was opened in 1903 by the showmen and entrepreneurs

Frederic Thompson Frederic Williams Thompson (October 31, 1873 – June 6, 1919) was an American architect, engineer, inventor, and showman known for creating amusement rides and one of the first large amusement parks. Biography Frederic Thompson was born i ...

and

Elmer "Skip" Dundy Elmer Scipio "Skip" Dundy Jr. (March 31, 1862 – February 5, 1907) was an American showman and promoter known for creating amusement rides and one of the first large amusement parks. Biography Elmer Scipio Dundy Jr. ("Skip") was born in Falls ...

. The park was either named after the fanciful airship Luna, part of the new park's central attraction

A Trip to the Moon ''A Trip to the Moon'' (french: Le Voyage dans la Lune) is a 1902 French adventure short film directed by Georges Méliès. Inspired by a wide variety of sources, including Jules Verne's 1865 novel ''From the Earth to the Moon'' and its 1870 s ...

, or after Dundy's sister. Luna Park was a vastly expanded attraction built partly on the grounds of

Sea Lion Park Sea Lion Park was a amusement park started in 1895 on Coney Island by Paul Boyton. He fenced the property and charged admission, the park becoming the first enclosed and permanent amusement park in North America. Up until the establishment of t ...

, the first enclosed amusement park on Coney Island which closed down due to competition from nearby

Steeplechase Park Steeplechase Park was a amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. Steeplechase Park was created by entrepreneur George C. Tilyou in 1897 and operated until 1964. It was the first of the three large amusement parks built on Cone ...

. In 1905,

Frederick Ingersoll Frederick Ingersoll (1876 – October 23, 1927) was an American inventor, designer, builder and entrepreneur who created the world's first chain of amusement parks (known collectively as "Luna Parks" regardless of their actual name) and whose manu ...

, who was already making a reputation for his pioneering work in roller coaster construction and design (he also designed scenic railroad rides) borrowed the name when he opened Luna Park in Pittsburgh and Luna Park in Cleveland. These first two amusement parks, like their namesake, were covered with electric lighting (the former was adorned with 67,000 light bulbs;Jim Futrell, ''Amusement Parks of Pennsylvania'' (Flagpole Books, 2002) the latter, 50,000Luna Park's luminary: Entrepreneur/roller coaster designer deserves his due
– ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

'', September 1, 2008). Later, in 1907, Charles Looff opened another

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. Ultimately, Ingersoll opened 44 Luna Parks around the world, the first chain of amusement parks. For a short time, Ingersoll renamed his parks Ingersoll's Luna Park to distinguish them from the Luna Parks to which he had no connection.Robert Cartmell, ''The Incredible Scream Machine'' (Popular Press 1987) Ingersoll's death in 1927 and the closing of most of his Luna Parks did not stop new parks from taking the name. Today, the term ''luna park'' or ''lunapark'' is a noun meaning "amusement park" in several languages, including

Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...

such as

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

(, ), as well as

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

, Hungarian and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

(לוּנָה פַּארְק, but the term גן שעשועים lit. 'park of amusements' is also widely used).