lakeside

Lakeside Amusement Park was opened in 1890 by Moses More (other reports list James Kirk as the original owner) on 7 ½ acres at Gettysburg and Lakeview Avenues on the west side of Dayton. The park was official called Dahomey Amusement Park but is much better known as Lakeside.

Within a few years, the park was owned by E.J. Laterbach and he hired immigrant Aural Vaszin to redesign some the park’s rides.  The park featured a carousel, a small stream with boats for six people and five other “amusement devices.”  The park took advantage of the crowds already visiting the renowned Soldiers Home (now known as the VA Medical Center) and the Victorian landscaping, lakes and manicured grounds.

By 1898, the estimated attendance at Lakeside was estimated around 100,000 patrons annually. In 1913, the park was sold to the Lakeside Park Company, Inc. In 1914, the Derby Racer roller coaster debuted.

In 1916, a new 48-foot diameter carousel (referred to as PTC #31) was installed by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.

In 1920, Aural Vaszin founded the National Amusement Device Company at 141 Hatfield Street and began manufacturing amusement rides. Some of the rides were tested at Lakeside.   Lakeside in the 1920s was the busiest on Wednesdays. Rides were three cents each and the streetcar fare from downtown Dayton was five cents making for a very inexpensive day for families.

In 1929, the Flying Turns made its international debut at Lakeside. Designed by J. Norman Bartlett, the ride gave an illusion of flying through a half-tube in a four-passenger car. The Derby Racer roller coaster was torn down to make way for a new coaster.

In 1930, the land the park occupied was annexed to the City of Dayton. The park added the Wildcat Roller Coaster, built by PTC/John Miller. The coaster sat along Home Avenue and provided an easy landmark for park patrons coming to the park from the east.

In 1946, Hilarity Hall, the park’s funhouse, was closed and torn down to make room for more rides and attractions. Despite the end of the war and plans for expansion, a number of incidents lead to the downfall of Lakeside.

In 1950, the park added a Ferris wheel and remodeled the ballroom, the park’s most popular attraction. Artists and groups appearing in the ballroom on Saturday evenings during this time included Jimmy Dorsey, Lee Brown, Artie Shaw, Ray Anthony, Woody Herman, Hal McIntyre and Art Mooney.

For the 1951 season, the park added a Kiddieland with seven rides, concession stands and a miniature railroad. In 1951, the IRS filed a tax lien of $267,885 against park president and general manager Gerald T. Niermann. He pled guilty to tax evasion, fined $20,000 and spent six months in jail.  

In 1956, a 13-year old boy was awarded $22,500 in damages after he was injured on one of the rides in 1953.  In 1960, eight Fairview High School students were injured during a prom night accident on the Merry Mix-Up.  In 1962, a 19-year old Dayton man was killed after falling from a moving roller coaster car.  Finally, in 1964, court officials closed the park after the park failed to pay creditors.

On July 6, 1967, an auction was held by Dayton Municipal Court bailiff William Hoffman to sell the assets and pay off creditors.  All of the parks’ assets were sold except for eight rides. The auction was attended by 25 people. Some of items that sold included 1500 tables for $625 and the PTC carousel for $5000 to the owners of Russell’s Point Amusement Park.

In 1968, Dayton businessman George D. Tuck purchased the park and announced that the roller coaster would be torn down and the Crystal Ballroom would be saved and remodeled. He renamed the ballroom Lakeview Palladium and used the structure to host music shows, dances and meetings. Stars such as Flip Wilson, Ike & Tina Turner, James Brown and Aretha Franklin graced the ballroom in the early 70s.

In 1993, the Lakeview Palladium was closed and torn down to make way for the extension of U.S. 35 through the west end of Dayton.

Rides and Attractions through the Years

Penny Arcade (also known as Amuseland)

Caterpillar

Magic Carpet

Moon Rocket

Also noted for tasty saltwater taffy

Amateur talent shows

Bingo played with kernels of corn

Bumper cars

Wild Mouse

Laugh in the Dark dark house

Octopus

Merry Mix-Up

Cuddle-Up

Paddle About

Shooting Gallery

Pretzel

Whoopee

Flying Skooter

Bumper Cars

Carousel-1916
In 1916, Lakeside installed their new carousel. Built in 1915 for the park by the Philadelphia Toboggan company, it was a three-row carousel with 48 hand-carved horses and two cherub chariots. PTC #31 remained at Lakeside until the park closed in 1967. It was then sold to Russell’s Point Park. On May 6, 1996, the remains of PTC #31 resurfaced at Seabreeze Park in Rochester, NY. New horses and a new building were constructed with the mechanism from the Lakeside carousel.

Wildcat-1930 Designed by Herb Schmeck and built by PTC (#85) in 1930. It used PTC's compact two-bench rolling stock. 

Flying Turns-1929
The Flying Turns was a prototype ride designed by Norm Bartlett and John A. Miller. It was a trackless, bobsled-type roller coaster which ran in a bamboo trough. Other Flying Turns were later built around the country.

Racing Coaster A large racing coaster (Miller's Derby Racer?)

Hilarity Hall
The park's first fun house. It was torn down in 1946 to make room for other attractions.

Gettysburg Cyclorama
Opened in 1887, the cyclorama was the first attraction at Lakeside. It featured a 16,000 square-foot portrayal of the Battle of Gettysburg 40 feet high and 320 feet in circumference.