There has been an amusement park at the south end of Main Street in Agawam for over a century, but there will never be another Riverside Park. Generations of area residents spent their youth at Riverside Park, working their way through college, enjoying the latest thrill rides, or searching for summer romance – and sometimes all three! While the current owners have spent millions of dollars building a world class amusement park filled with top-rated rollercoasters, the charm of the small, hometown park may never be duplicated.
Many local amusement parks had one major attraction or another, but Riverside had everything – steamboats, trolleys, and “transmobiles” to get you there, a picnic grove with mouthwatering clambakes and shore dinners, the largest, fastest rollercoasters, the newest rides, the hippest bands playing in their dance hall (one of the largest in New England,) the most popular celebrities of the day, a rollerskating rink, a giant swimming pool, a bowling alley, a race track, a drive-in theatre, an animal park, a giant clown head, and more!
The Agawam Historical Association is excited to announce its new exhibit — “Riverside Park: A Century as the Playground of the Connecticut Valley” — is now on view at the Agawam Historical & Fire House Museum at 35 Elm Street, Agawam. Museum-goers will be able to trace the history of Riverside from its earliest days as “Gallup’s Grove,” a popular picnic spot from the mid 19th century, to the construction of its first rollercoaster, the “Giant Dip” and its 1912 re-opening as “Riverside Park.” From wild success in the roaring twenties to near ruin during the great depression, from its rebirth in the 1940s to the Ed Carroll era that most of us remember, to the park’s transition to Six Flags New England.
The history of Riverside Park is chronicled in a giant timeline on loan from the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE), the world’s largest club of amusement ride enthusiasts. ACE was founded in 1978 as a not-for-profit, all volunteer club to foster and promote the conservation, appreciation, knowledge and enjoyment of the art of the classic wooden roller coaster and the contemporary steel coaster. The timeline display was part of a 2013 exhibit shown during ACE’s Coaster Con XXXVI, their annual convention, which was held in part at Six Flags New England. In 2008, ACE recognized the Thunderbolt rollercoaster at Six Flags New England as an ACE Roller Coaster Landmark, a designation reserved for rides of historic significance.
In addition to the timeline, visitors will be able to view postcards, photos, souvenirs, and other ephemera from the association’s archives and the collections of local residents. The exhibit includes postcards, photographs, and brochures of Riverside Park, a 1938 keepsake from a sentimental chap at the Riverside Rollaway rollerskating rink, tickets stubs, programs, and other memorabilia.
One photo, a panoramic photograph taken on July 27, 1919 captures the layout of the entire park – rollercoaster, airplane swings, tightrope setup, refreshment stands, and Lake Take A Dip, the famous swimming pool of yesteryear. Another interesting artifact is a 1932 real estate assessment that figured in a depression-era dispute between Riverside Park and the Town of Agawam over real estate taxes.
Also on display at the Agawam Historical & Fire House Museum are an expanded exhibit on tobacco growing and cigar-making in Agawam and the Connecticut Valley, and an exhibit of antique lamps and lanterns.
The first floor of the museum, which is housed in a c. 1918 fire house, features a permanent display of firefighting equipment and memorabilia, including two antique fire trucks.
Photo: Riverside Park midway, c. 1915. The Mountain Torrent ride replaced the Panama Canal water ride when public interest in the canal diminished after the real canal opened. Beyond the Mountain Torrent is the merry go round pavillion, and beyond that, in the center, is Riverside Park’s famous dance hall, located on the banks of the Connecticut River.