Mountain Park, Holyoke, Massachusetts
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Mountain Park, located on Mt. Tom in Holyoke, Massachusetts, was originally built as a trolley park by the Holyoke Street Railway Company. Trolley parks were built just outside of populated areas to encourage trolley usage on weekends. The Holyoke Street Railway company created two attractions, Mountain Park toward the base of Mt. Tom, and a large house on the summit of the mountain.
In 1888, William Loomis, one of the Company's directors, took ownership of the Holyoke Street Railway Company. In the following years, he purchased 365 acres (1.5 km²) of "cow pastures with scenery" on the side of Mount Tom. In 1894, Loomis constructed an open-air stage there, which attracted many patrons. The next year the trolley line was extended up to that point. In 1895, a dance hall, open air restaurant, switchback railway and merry-go-round were constructed. In 1897, A unique cable railway was created to take visitors to a new building at the summit of the mountain. It was from this building President William McKinley stated that the view from Mount Tom was the most beautiful in the world. To access the summit area required disembarking from the main trolley line and taking a special mountain rail system consisting of two counterweighted cars.
That same year the state granted the Holyoke Street Railway Company a charter for a "pleasure resort." A new enclosed theater was built, The Casino, with seating for 2,500 people. It mainly presented light opera. Loomis began plans for expanding the resort with his assistant, Louis Pellissier. One of the biggest attractions for the city folk was the collection of picnic groves and beautiful gardens. There were reflecting pools, arbors and even a "bear cage."
The Summit House burned down on October 8, 1900 and an even larger one was built, six stories high to the top of its golden dome. It had a restaurant for fine dining. The popularity of the Summit House and the park continued to grow. In 1909, a new ballroom, restaurant and carousel were constructed. The former dance hall was converted into an arcade. In 1915 the switchback railway was replaced by the "Gorge Scenic Water Ride." Later on, a ride called the "Tango Dip" was added.
In 1929, Pellissier took ownership of the park. He expanded the midway with a new roller coaster called The Mountain Wildcat, a new carousel (housed in what used to be the dance pavilion), a Circle Swing (called Aeroplanes), Midget Auto Cars (bumper cars), Whip, Penny Arcade, Shooting Gallery, fun house, roller skating rink and games of skill. A new automobile entrance was created off of Route 5. But Pellissier's timing was unfortunate: that year the Great Depression took hold. And in May, the Summit House burned down once again. It was replaced by a smaller all-metal building, but by then with trolleys disappearing and people driving to wherever they needed to go, the Summit House no longer was as popular. It and the cable car system were torn down. Eventually the trolleys vanished as well.
Even so, Mountain Park remained open for over twenty years under the leadership of Pellissier until the Collins family purchased it in December, 1952. That began the park's renaissance. John Collins owned Lincoln Park in Fall River, MA. He placed his brother Dennis (who also ran New Hampshire's Pine Island Park) and his son John J. in charge of the park. They added a Kiddieland area to attract the young families who were populating the area. The midway was extensively renovated. Many new rides were brought in and the roller coaster was renamed The Mountain Flyer.
Throughout the 1960s, Mountain Park was one of the most popular entertainment spots in the Pioneer Valley. Teenagers flocked to the park to hear the latest rock and roll acts and take a spin on the big rides. Parents relaxed under the trees in the expansive picnic grove. And little tykes frolicked in Kiddieland. Throughout the years, the park was modified and improved, with colorful art deco styling and brightly lit structures designed by legendary roller coaster builder Edward Leis and Rhode Island craftsman Dominic Spadola. Together they designed no less than three different walk-thru fun houses and three different dark rides at the park.
From 1941 through 1962, the Casino was home to The Valley Players, a theater company that produced plays and musicals throughout the summer. Among the cast members was a young Hal Holbrook who developed his one-man show Mark Twain Tonight and performed it for the first time at the Casino. After the Valley Players folded, however, a succession of managers was unable to make the Casino financially viable again. The structure was eventually torn down.
In 1971, Collins leased the park to the food service company ARASERV which added a few new rides including the Sky Ride, a chair lift that brought riders down to the Animal Land zoo that was situated where the Casino once stood. On June 11th of that year, a gas explosion leveled the Tap Room and Stardust Ballroom during the Holyoke High School prom. Those landmarks were never rebuilt. Collins took control of the park back from ARASERV two years later. Throughout the 1970s, the midway stage played host to everything from soap opera stars to nostalgia acts such as Danny and the Juniors to bodybuilding competitions. Portions of Arnold Schwarzenegger's first movie, Pumping Iron were filmed at Mountain Park. Walter "Killer" Kowalski put on weekly wrestling matches on the midway stage. Bingo was a big attraction for senior citizens in the Clambake Pavilion every Sunday, as was popular polka king Larry Chesky and his band.
In the 1980s, Massachusetts entered a recession. The park was still popular. Easter (the traditional opening day) of 1987 saw one of the largest crowds in the park's history. But there were a few difficulties. Massachusetts eliminated its Blue Laws, which prevented merchants from opening on Sundays, traditionally one of the busiest days of the week for the park. People began going to the malls on Sundays, and business at the park dried up. Even though the park had very few accidents, liability insurance costs were skyrocketing, devouring almost all of the park's profit. So at the end of the 1987 season, with the impending retirement of Roger Fortin (who had been Collins' friend and park supervisor for 30 years) Collins decided to sell the park. Many hoped a new buyer could be found. Collins advertised the park in trade magazines, but with the recession there were no interested parties. Over the next two years, the rides were sold and dismantled. The Holyoke community did manage to rally and purchase the carousel, which is now located at Holyoke Heritage State Park in downtown Holyoke. Many of the park's other rides are now in operation elsewhere. In 1990, the roller coaster's structure was demolished after Collins exhausted all avenues searching for someone to move it. The roller coaster trains, lift motor and other mechanical parts were sold to Arnold's Park in Iowa in order to repair their own coaster. Beginning in 1994, a series of fires destroyed most of the remaining buildings and all of the structures were bulldozed in 2003.
Within a few years, nature reclaimed the park grounds. Collins sold off much of his remaining 248 acres (1.0 km²) to the state as a nature preserve but he held on to the 60 acres where the park and picnic grove were, hoping for a buyer. In 2005, the city entertained an idea to create a senior citizen housing complex there. But in 2006, local entrepreneur Eric Suher purchased the 60 acres of property from Collins for $1.6 million. By the end of that year, the parking lots and midway were cleaned up of all debris, and a new sign was placed on a new gate at the park entrance: "See you in the summer of '07 -- Mountain Park." However the sign disappeared in the spring of 2007 and the property sat idle throughout that summer. Suher then purchased the nearby Castle Hill Apartment complex.
Although currently gambling in Massachusetts is not legal, there has been talk of a casino either going on the Mountain Park land or in a nearby area. But as of this writing, the future of the property is uncertain.
