Pontchartrain Beach

Pontchartrain Beach was an amusement park located in New Orleans, Louisiana, on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. It was founded by Harry J. Batt Sr. and later mananged by his son, Harry J. Batt Jr. It opened in 1928, across Bayou St. John from an existing amusement resort at Old Spanish Fort. Pontchartrain Beach's original location is the present-day lakefront neighborhood of Lake Terrace. In the early 1930s, subsequent to the construction of a seawall extending from West End to the Industrial Canal that created a new shoreline for Lake Pontchartrain, Pontchartrain Beach was moved to a new location at the lake end of Elysian Fields Avenue, a location formerly offshore of Milneburg.

Milneburg Lighthouse, dating from the 1850s, predated Pontchartrain Beach, was a landmark in the park for decades, and still stands within the boundaries of the University of New Orleans Research & Technology Park. The lighthouse once rested offshore and was reached by a wooden pier. Land reclamation in the 1920s stranded it several hundred feet inland from the current lake shore.

The park was originally racially segregated and earmarked for "Whites Only"; another lakefront resort was reserved for "Coloreds", Lincoln Beach. Pontchartrain Beach was integrated in the early 1960s, leading to the closure of Lincoln Beach.

Pontchartrain Beach included a beach, amusement rides (including a large roller coaster, the Zephyr), and concession stands. The park featured live music concerts, including many local musicians and touring national acts such as Elvis Presley.

Other rides included the Zephyr Junior, Smoky Mary, The Wild Maus, Musik Express, Log Ride, The Ragin' Cajun (a modern, looping steel coaster), The Bug, Paratrooper, Calypso, "The Airplanes", Haunted House, Ghost Train, bumper cars, Ferris wheel, the Monster, Trabant, Sky Ride, Hard Rock, Galaxie, Laff in the Dark, Magic Rainbow, Red Baron, and many others. In addition to rides, there were also the summertime shows which changed every few years (Skipper & Dolly dolphin show, Great American High Dive Show, Merlin's Magic Rainbow Show). For a few years there was also a fairly large petting zoo with many farm animals and a huge red barnhouse.

Just outside of "The Beach" gates was the "Bali Hai" south seas "Tiki" style restaurant. Another popular restaurant was the Ship Ahoy, which featured hamburgers and seafood.

Pontchartrain Beach was closed September 23, 1983, due to decreasing attendance, rising insurance costs, pollution concerns in the lake, and the impending competition of the 1984 World's Fair.

Several of the rides ended up in Gulf Shores, Alabama, at a small amusement park - including the Airplanes and many Kiddieland rides - which was subsequently wiped out by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. The Ragin' Cajun moved to The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom in 1984 and opened as Steamin' Demon.

The land formerly housing the park is now occupied by the University of New Orleans Research & Technology Park, home to the Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SPAWAR) and the UNO Advanced Technology Center office building. A mile long sand beach is still at the same area where Pontchartrain Beach once was it is accessible to the public for everyone to enjoy.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pontchartrain Beach.

• The Times-Picayune in 175 years - 1983: The ride is over at Pontchartrain Beach
• PonchartrainBeach.com
• Numerous historical photos
• More Pontchartrain Beach Photos and Information
• Pontchartrain Beach at the Roller Coaster DataBase

30°01′55″N 90°03′43″W / 30.032°N 90.062°W / 30.032; -90.062Coordinates: 30°01′55″N 90°03′43″W / 30.032°N 90.062°W / 30.032; -90.062