Roseland 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 ...

located at 169 Lake Shore Drive in Canandaigua, New York, along the north shore of Canandaigua Lake. Roseland started operation in 1925 under its founder and original owner, William Muar. It continued to operate for 60 years until its closure on September 2, 1985.

History

Roseland originally opened up under the name "Lakeside Park" with little more than a dance hall and a few rides. The dance hall itself was named "Roseland" after the Roseland Ballroom in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. After three years it had become such an integral component to the park's identity that the park itself was renamed from Lakeside to Roseland. Over the years, as the park changed and grew, it saw many rides come and go. Some of the additional attractions included a Ferris wheel,

bumper 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 ...

, a miniature train ride, a sky ride that went out over part of Canandaigua Lake before returning to the station, and the park's

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 ...

, which was purchased for the park in 1941 from the defunct Long Branch amusement park. For a period of time there was even a live circus act. Additional attractions have been added and changed over the years, including the addition of the park's major

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 ...

, the Skyliner, which was built in 1960.

Park rides

The following is a partial list of attractions Roseland had at various points throughout its history.

After closure

On September 16, two weeks following the park closure, an auction was held to sell off all of the park's remains. While almost nothing of the site that Roseland once occupied remains today, two of the park's most notable rides can still be found in operation. Philadelphia Toboggan Company's carousel No. 18, was purchased at the auction for $397,500 by the Pyramid Companies of Syracuse. It was refurbished and restored to its original colors, and then installed at the

Carousel Center Destiny USA (stylized as destiny usa and also known by its former name Carousel Center) is a six-story, automobile-oriented super-regional shopping, dining, and entertainment complex on the shore of Onondaga Lake in the city of Syracuse, New York ...

mall in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

on October 15, 1990. Carousel No. 18 was originally built in 1909. The other ride still in operation is the

Skyliner The is an airport limited express train service between Tokyo and Narita Airport in Japan. It is operated by Keisei Electric Railway and runs on the Narita Sky Access route. This article also covers the and services. Service The ''Skylin ...

, a wooden roller coaster. This ride was also built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. It was built at Roseland and opened in 1960, where it operated until the park closure in 1985. It was then moved to Lakemont Park in Altoona, Pennsylvania reopening in 1987 under the same name. It was one of the first large roller coasters designed by famous coaster designer

John C. Allen John C. Allen (May 21, 1907 – August 17, 1979) was a roller coaster designer who was responsible for the revival of wooden roller coasters which began in the 1960s. He attended Drexel University. He started working for the Philadelphia Tobogga ...

. It is a double out and back coaster with a track length of 2400 feet, and a maximum height of 60 feet. A housing development now sits on the property where Roseland Park once was. Though the park has long since shut down, its name still exists today in the form of

Roseland Waterpark Roseland Waterpark is a () water park in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. Bristol Mountain owns the waterpark. It is located at 250 Eastern Boulevard in Canandaigua, New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the ...

, which is also located in Canandaigua.

References

External links

* *Palmer, Richard F. (December 1992)
Memories of Roseland Park
''Crooked Lake Review''. * {{Coord, 42, 52, 29.93, N, 77, 15, 43.47, W, display=title Buildings and structures in Ontario County, New York Defunct amusement parks in New York (state) 1925 establishments in New York (state) 1985 disestablishments in New York (state) Amusement parks opened in 1925 Amusement parks closed in 1985