Woodside Park
eastfallshistoricalsociety.org/then-and-now-2015#b00...77
Fallsers loved Woodside Park, a Coney Island-like amusement park in West Fairmount Park built by the Fairmount Park Transportation Company in 1897. Like Chestnut Hill and Willow Grove Parks, Woodside was built along a trolley route. 10 miles of trolley tracks surrounded it.
Woodside Park closed in 1955, but memories are still fresh and evocative:
"Loved their fireworks!!!!" ~Shirley Shronk
"Oh what a wonderful place! You could drive yourself in a motorboat on the giant lake. You exited one of the funhouses by rolling down a giant carpet! In the shooting gallery you learned to shoot your first 22 rifle. Did you know the carousel is now in the Please Touch Museum?" ~Joe Petrone
"Lucky me! My dad managed the big merry-go-round for 30 years so I had run of the park - I never paid. The carousel had beautiful flashing colored lights and real merry-go-round music. Sometimes I loaded the brass ring grabber.
"As you entered Woodside, you’d get orangeade at the fresh orange stand.
"Three roller coasters! The giant Wild Cat was a mile high--or so it seemed. It climbed slowly up the wooden hill then raced down in 5 seconds! It ran crazy, throwing bodies all over--the best ride in the park, especially the front seat ... Wowzzzzzzzz! The Tornado slammed you to the bottom with your body shaking--not for the light hearted. The Hummer was gentler.
"The Fun House had air holes all over – large puffs of air shot out from the bottom and blow up the girl’s skirts ... in front of everyone it happened!" ~Robert Connolly
Note: The above descriptive information came from the park's East Falls Historical Society page.