Lakeside reaches 100 with formula for family fun
By Janet Forgrieve, Special to the Rocky
Originally published 09:05 p.m., July 15, 2008
Updated 10:11 a.m., July 16, 2008
Denver City Auditor Dennis Gallagher recently left his office behind for a quick trip back in time, assuming the role of Mayor Robert Speer to help a local landmark celebrate the 100th anniversary of its opening day.
Speer led Denver in 1908, the year Lakeside Amusement Park first offered residents a place to swim, boat and play on slow summer days.
A century later, the pool and famous funhouse are gone, and boats no longer carry visitors over the lake.
But to lifelong fans like Gallagher, who grew up with sweet memories of a park that remains a few pleasant paces behind our high- speed lives, Lakeside will always be a reminder of simpler times.
"My first memories of Lakeside are riding the train and the merry-go-round," said Gallagher, 69, who grew up in the neighborhood and spent his childhood summers there. "Those are still my two favorite rides. The older I get, the more I appreciate them."
Lakeside is a survivor, one of a handful of small, family-owned amusement parks that have held enough appeal for succeeding generations to keep opening the gates when summer rolls around, despite the availability of bigger, flashier theme parks.
At one point last century, there were about 5,000 small parks dotting the country and providing seasonal amusements, said Jim Hillman, events coordinator for the National Amusement Park Historical Association. Today, fewer than 100 are still around, and Lakeside is one of only 28 that has lived to be 100.
The survivors live on because they appeal to families, offering an affordable day of fun and a balance of thrilling new rides and timeless attractions, he said.
At Lakeside, parking is still free and base admission is $2.50. Visitors can pay for rides as they go, or spend less than $20 for an unlimited day pass. And, while the park boasts plenty of carnival food, families are encouraged to bring their own picnic baskets.
"We're definitely geared for the family," said general manager Rhoda Krasner. "We can provide something for children of all ages, from 5 to 105."
Krasner didn't set out to take over the family business. In 1965, with the ink still drying on her bachelor's degree from Mills College in Oakland, Calif., she planned to attend graduate school. Instead, the death of her father, Ben, sent her back home, to help her mother and uncle run Lakeside. She's been there ever since, and has run the place for decades as its general manager.
She has no regrets about changing course, she said, and loves to see the faces, both new and familiar, that each new season brings to the family business.
"Lakeside evolves, just as our lives do and our society as a whole," she said. "Long gone are the days of elegant ball gowns and Saturday night dances at the old patio ballroom with the big name bands. They're replaced by a more casual time - one thing leaves and another takes its place."
Today, Lakeside boasts about 40 rides and introduces something new each season. Some old favorites survive each year, including the train that chugs its way around the lake, a tradition for many longtime visitors who come back with their kids and grandkids, she said.
A few years ago on Labor Day, traditionally the end of the season, the train returned from what was supposed to be its last trip of the night. That changed when a group pleaded to be allowed one last ride and Krasner told the conductor to add a trip.
Later, a fortyish woman approached Krasner, telling her of a long-standing family tradition of attending the park's closing day each year, capping the visit with a train ride at the end of the evening. This year, the woman said, her father was ill with cancer and not expected to see another summer.
"She told me 'Thank you so much for the last ride,' " Krasner said. "It's one of many comments that let us know we are making those kinds of memories. I can think of the serenity of the park in the middle of winter or at six o'clock in the morning, but it comes alive with the people."
Festivities * Lakeside Amusement Park is holding small anniversary ceremonies throughout the summer. On Saturday, the park will host the National Amusement Park Historical Association, which will award a plaque to commemorate Lakeside's 100 years of operation.
Timeline:
* 1907: The tiny town of Lakeside incorporates, an act led by prosperous brewer Adolph Zang as a way to break off from the city of Denver's strict liquor laws.
* 1908: Zang and his associates open Lakeside Amusement Park at what is now I-70 and Sheridan Boulevard. It's nicknamed "White City" because of the 100,000 white light bulbs that illuminate the 80-acre park after dark.
* 1930: The Depression years see business slow. Customers begin finding the park's Edwardian look seems dated.
* 1935: Longtime concessionaire Ben Krasner takes over the park, with financial backing from an investor group in his hometown of Binghamton, N.Y.
* 1936: Lakeside hires architect Richard Crowther, who begins renovations aimed at breathing new life into the park, with neon and art deco replacing incandescent bulbs and color drenching the former White City.
* 1965: Ben Krasner dies. Daughter Rhoda forgoes graduate school in California to come home and help out.
* 1970s to '90s: The park loses some attractions, including the swimming pool, and during the '80s must close its Classic Fun House and a few other rides because of insurance liabilities. During the same period, it adds a new attraction each year, to create a mix of classic attractions and higher-tech thrill rides.
* 2008: Lakeside turns 100, one of only 28 U.S. amusement parks to survive a century.
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