See The Idora Park Carousel : In New York

I imagine if your from Youngstown or have any memories of Idora Park, this video is very bittersweet. The truth is that I find this almost too upsetting to post about and I know almost nothing about this.

However, I can tell you as a former New Yorker, Your Carousel is very much alive--or at least perfectly restored and housed almost in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge cause i've seen it.



From The Wikipedia

"The park (Idora) opened as Terminal Park on May 30, 1899 which was Decoration Day. At that point in American history, it was common for trolley parks, or amusement parks, to sprout up at the end of trolley lines to generate weekend revenue. Without an admission fee, anyone who had the money for the trolley fare could go. The park's first season presented its guests a bandstand, theater, dance pavilion, a roller coaster, a circle swing, and concession stands. By the end of 1899, it was renamed "Idora Park" as a result of a contest.

When a bridge spanning the Mahoning River opened on Youngstown's Market Street on May 23, 1899, the entire South Side was unrolled for development. The trolley line linking the downtown to Idora Park ran south on Market, west on Warren, south on Hillman Street, Sherwood west to Glenwood Avenue, then cruised through Parkview Avenue (west) into the Idora terminal."



And then it died slow and ugly like a lot of things around those parts. But never forgotten.



Even more sad is that a lot of folks in NYC, don't even seem to want the Carousel--which to them is little more than an object, now so apart from the place that gave it meaning. Is there even a remote chance it could come back to Youngstown--perhaps as a centerpiece of it's downtown?

Interesting, that's for sure.