This article is about the former amusement park. For the shopping mall that now occupies its site, see Willow Grove Park Mall. Willow Grove Park Mall (generally referred to as just " Willow Grove Mall " by residents is a three-story Shopping mall located in the unincorporated community
Willow Grove Park was an amusement park located in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania (the part which is in Abington Township) that operated for eighty years from 1896 through the 1975 season. Theme park is the generic term for a collection of rides and other Entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a large group Willow Grove is a Census-designated place (CDP in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, about 10 miles north of Philadelphia Abington Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Year 1896 ( MDCCCXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The park also operated under the name Six Gun Territory for a short while just before closing (1972-1975). After closure, announced in April 1976, the park sat vacant until the land was cleared for a large shopping mall also known as Willow Grove Park which opened in August 1982. Willow Grove Park Mall (generally referred to as just " Willow Grove Mall " by residents is a three-story Shopping mall located in the unincorporated community The mall pays homage to its predecessor by displaying banners and other objects which harken back to the land's days as an amusement park; a merry-go-round built and installed in 2001 also operates within the mall.
The park was originally conceived by the local traction company (Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company) as a trolley park to encourage weekend ridership on the trolley line. In the United States, trolley parks, which started in the 19th century were Picnic and Recreation areas along or at the ends of Streetcar Willow Grove was for a long time one of the premier amusement parks in the United States, until being eclipsed by the openings of Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ, Disneyland and other more modern theme parks beginning in the 1950s. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Theme park is the generic term for a collection of rides and other Entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a large group The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive
One of the biggest attractions in the park was the music pavilion, at which John Philip Sousa and his band played all but one year between 1901 and 1926. John Philip Sousa ( November 6, 1854 &ndash March 6, 1932) was an American Composer and conductor of the late Year 1901 ( MCMI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Year 1926 ( MCMXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The pavilion was demolished in March 1959.
A documentary of the park was created in 1991 titled "Life was a Lark at Willow Grove Park" [NTSC / 1991 / 50 MINS]. The title is based of the popular park slogan "Life is a lark at Willow Grove Park".
A book from Arcadia Publishing entitled "Willow Grove Park" (2005) includes over 200 photos of the park and is the only comprehensive history of the park published thus far. The thoroughly researched book also correct many of the historical inaccuracies that have grown-up surrounding the history of the park.
Willow Grove Park, named Paradise
James A. Michener wrote a novel entitled The Fires of Spring, telling the story of a young orphan boy named David Harper growning up in a poorhouse in Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, which is near Willow Grove. James Albert Michener ( February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American author of more than 40 titles the majority of which poorhouse or workhouse is a government-run Facility for the support and housing of dependent or needy persons typically run by a local government entity such as a Doylestown is a Borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 34 miles (55 km north of Philadelphia. Bucks County is a County located in the US state of Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern Harper works at an amusement park named Paradise which is loosely based on Michener's own experiences as a young man when he worked at Willow Grove Park. Theme park is the generic term for a collection of rides and other Entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a large group Paradise is a word of Persian origin ( Persian: پردیس Pardìs) that is generally identified with the Garden of Eden or with Heaven.
External links
- Willow Grove Park on Amusement Park Nostalgia
- A Synopsis of Moreland Township and Willow Grove, by Joe Thomas, Upper Moreland Historical Association
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