| Author | Message | |||
     vocallee Citizen Username: Vocallee Post Number: 23 Registered: 9-2001 |
Someone at work told me that they used come to Maplewood to go to the amusement park? | |||
| susan1014 Supporter Username: Susan1014 Post Number: 982 Registered: 3-2002 |
Yes, border of Maplewood and Irvington, way before my time. Merry-go-round is now at Disney World. Olympic park, I believe. May be more in the archives? Certainly I read about it in one of the local papers every couple of years. | |||
| Bill232 Citizen Username: Bill232 Post Number: 98 Registered: 3-2003 |
Olympic Park. Closed down in the mid sixties. Located on the property where Camptown Road is off of Chancelor Ave. The Carousel that used to be there is now in Disney World in Fl. Also had an Olympic size swimming pool. | |||
| Boomie Citizen Username: Boomie Post Number: 214 Registered: 7-2005 |
Yes I lived very close to Olympic Park. It was already closed when I was a kid but my parents tell me stories that it was *the* place to go in NJ for amusements. | |||
| Bob K Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 9371 Registered: 5-2001 |
Google Olympic Park, NJ. There are a number of nostalgia websites with pictures, stories, etc. The park was originally built by the electric (also ran the trolley cars) utility (now PSE&G) to create demand for trolley service during off peak hours and use excess generating capacity. | |||
| Cubeless Citizen Username: Cubey Post Number: 252 Registered: 9-2003 |
A few weeks ago, in one of the antique stores in Somerville, they were selling a huge old metal sign advertising Olympic Park in Irvington. I considered buying it, but if I remember correctly it was hundreds of dollars. It was cool though. | |||
| Brett Weir Citizen Username: Brett_weir Post Number: 893 Registered: 4-2004  |
Olympic Park was great, though in decline in the early 60's when we hung out there. It was another casualty of the 1967-68 riots. | |||
| gj1 Citizen Username: Gj1 Post Number: 228 Registered: 11-2003 |
Part of Olympic Park appears in the lower right corner of this scan from a 1924 map.  The same area now from google maps:  This area is now occupied by industrial buildings. | |||
| Phil Supporter Username: Barleyrooty Post Number: 954 Registered: 5-2001  |
Beth Boyden? | |||
| Phil Supporter Username: Barleyrooty Post Number: 956 Registered: 5-2001 |
Satellite Image: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=maplewood,+nj&ll=40.720429,-74.251571&spn=0.003600 ,0.007308&t=h&hl=en | |||
| Psychomom Citizen Username: Psychomom Post Number: 82 Registered: 5-2005 |
Yes Olympic park was great. I live across from where the roller coaster would have been. There is a book available about Olympic Park don't know the author offhand, I believe it's called "Smiles" Here's the Story bookstore in Union Center stocks it usually. The pool was bigger than Olympic size, It was a large square with the deep end in the middle. You could go all around the perimeter and it was shallow. I think there was a platform or something out in the middle of the pool at the deep end. They had sand all around the pool so it was like the beach. | |||
| the catman Citizen Username: Catmanjac Post Number: 3 Registered: 2-2004  |
Alan Siegel, a historian born and raised in Irvington is the author of "Smiles." | |||
| Psychomom Citizen Username: Psychomom Post Number: 84 Registered: 5-2005 |
check this out for more info on Olympic Park October 16, 2005 Amusement Close to Home: Maplewood's Olympic Par Time: 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Information: The Durand-Hedden House and Garden, 523 Ridgewood Road, Maplewood invites the public to its October open house titled, Amusement Close to Home: Maplewood’s Olympic Park . On Sunday, October 16 at 1:30 and 3:00 p.m. historian Alan Siegel will stir memories and amazement with his popular slide show about this beloved local amusement park in the Hilton section. Olympic Park began in the Victorian era as a German picnic ground and grew to delight thousands with varied entertainments that spanned an opera house, a roller-coaster and a roller-rink, marathon dance contests, the world’s largest outdoor swimming pool, and a merry-go-round that now graces Disney World. The park closed in 1965. Mr. Siegel will also sign copies of his book,"Smile" which will be on sale. Also on view will be the exhibit "Historic Hilton and its Historic Highway (Springfield Ave.)". | |||
| Dennis J O'Neill Citizen Username: Plungy Post Number: 44 Registered: 6-2005 |
I got lost there once when I was 3. My parents said they found me in front of a bandstand conducting the orchestra. That was fifty years ago! Men loved to bring thier families there because they could hang out in the beer garden while the wife and kiddies had fun. | |||
| jezor Citizen Username: Jezor Post Number: 9 Registered: 3-2001 |
For those of you who use Google Earth (http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html), the attached (once unzipped) will bring you right to Olympic Park. {Jonathan}
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Zipped Google Earth Link to Olympic Park