Neptune Beach was an amusement park on the shore of

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

in the city of

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is built on an informal archipe ...

, in operations from 1917 until 1939. The park was served by the

Southern Pacific Transportation Company The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

and ferries from San Francisco. It was nicknamed, the "Coney Island of the West". Opened in 1917, Neptune Beach occupied a beach front zone now known as Crab Cove and was originally owned by the Strehlow family. Admission to the park was a dime. The park was described as a place for private picnics, with a clubhouse for dancing, and barbecue pits. The ''Cottage Baths'' were vacation cottages, available for rent. There were dances on Friday and Saturday night.

Attractions

The Strehlows owned and operated the beach and filled in a section of the Bay to add an additional

Olympic-size swimming pool An Olympic-size swimming pool is a swimming pool which conforms to the regulations for length, breadth, and depth made by World Aquatics (formerly FINA) for swimming at the Summer Olympics and the swimming events at the World Aquatics Champions ...

and a

roller coaster A roller coaster is a type of list of amusement rides, amusement ride employing a form of elevated Railway track, railroad track that carries passengers on a roller coaster train, train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usua ...

with views of the Bay. Its two outdoor pools hosted swimming races and exhibitions by swimmers such as Olympian

Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller ( ; born Johann Peter Weißmüller, ; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was a Hungarian-born German American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive-swimming records o ...

, who later starred as MGM's Tarzan, and

Jack LaLanne Francois Henri LaLanne (; September 26, 1914 – January 23, 2011), the "Godfather of Fitness", was an American fitness and nutrition guru and motivational speaker. He described himself as being a "sugarholic" and a "junk food junkie" until he ...

who started a chain of health clubs. The park also featured a hand-carved

carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...

from the Dentzel Company and a

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a big wheel, giant wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondola ...

. Both the American snow cone and the popsicle made their public debuts at Neptune Beach where they were first sold in 1923. The popsicle name comes from Frank "Pop" Epperson who sold his Epperson Ice Pop known as "Pop's Sicle." 1920s Neptune Beach Alameda

Closure

The park closed in 1939 because of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, the completion of the

San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, commonly referred to as the Bay Bridge, is a complex of bridges spanning San Francisco Bay in California. As part of Interstate 80 in California, Interstate 80 and the direct road between San Francisco an ...

, people circumventing paying the admission price and, in general, the rise of car culture. Once the Bay Bridge was complete, the rail lines that ran past the entrance to Neptune Beach on the way to the

Alameda Mole The Alameda Mole was a transit and transportation facility in Alameda, California for ferries landing in the East Bay of San Francisco from 1878 to the 1930s. It was located on the west end of Alameda, and later became part of the Alameda ...

and the Ferry, lost riders in droves. People began using their cars to escape the city and the immediate suburbs like Alameda and traveling further afield in California. Alameda lost its resort status as more distant locations became more attractive to cash-rich San Francisco tourists. Young people in town became aware of ways to avoid paying the dime for admission to the park. Strong swimmers or even waders could sneak in on the bay side by swimming around the fence. While some of the resort homes from Neptune Beach still exist and can be seen near Crab Cove, the vast majority of the structures—the carousel, the Ferris wheel, roller coaster and other rides—were auctioned off in 1940 for a fraction of their original costs. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the federal government bought the space to hold offices and renamed it Neptune Pointe.

References

External links

* http://www.alamedainfo.com/Alameda_CA_Postcards_2.htm {{Defunct Amusement Parks in California Buildings and structures in Alameda, California Defunct amusement parks in California History of Alameda County, California San Francisco Bay Area amusement parks 1917 establishments in California 1939 disestablishments in California Amusement parks closed in 1939 Amusement parks opened in 1917