Idlewild and Soak Zone
Idlewild is the third oldest operating amusement park in the United States behind Lake Compounce and Cedar Point. The park was established by the prominent Mellon family in 1878, and remained family-owned for over 100 years. Since 2008, the park, as well as others formerly under Kennywood Entertainment, have been owned by Spanish company Parques Reunidos and operated by their American subsidiary Palace Entertainment.
About Idlewild and Soak Zone in brief
Idlewild is the third oldest operating amusement park in the United States behind Lake Compounce and Cedar Point. The park was established by the prominent Mellon family in 1878, and remained family-owned for over 100 years. Since 2008, the park, as well as others formerly under Kennywood Entertainment, have been owned by Spanish company Parques Reunidos and operated by their American subsidiary Palace Entertainment. The Ligonier Highland Games, a Scottish athletic and cultural festival that has annually drawn over 10,000 spectators, is held at Idlewild. The amusement park has won several awards, including from industry publication Amusement Today as the best children’s park in the world. It is located in the Laurel Highlands, about 50 miles east of Pittsburgh, along US Route 30. It was established as a campground along the Ligoniers Valley Railroad by Thomas Mellon in 18 1978. It expanded greatly throughout the first half of the 20th century, adding rides including a Philadelphia Toboggan Company Rollo Coaster in 1938, one of the company’s earliest. In 1983 the park was purchased by Kennywood entertainment Company, which oversaw additional expansion, including an attraction designed and voiced by Fred Rogers based on his television show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. In the mid-18s, three lakes, including St. Clair, Woodland, and Bouquet, were dug between 1880 and 1896. In 1896, a steam car company added the T.
Harton Company steam car in the center of the park. By the end of the 19th century, attractions at the park included a bicycle track around a lake, a hiking trail on the lake, and many walks and pavilions. The first structure, built that year, was a train depot measuring 10 feet by 25 feet. The depot was described as the smallest full-service station in the U.S. The park had dining halls, auditoriums, rowboating and many pavilating and gardens in the Loyalhanna Creek, rowing and rowing row. It also had a large hall, which included a dining hall, a boat house, and a pavilion for fishing and boating. The railroad provided easy access to the site, attracting visitors from 50 miles away in Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas for a getaway in the country. In 1875, the partially constructed railway was sold at a sheriff’s sale after the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Latrobe terminus of the line, declined to assume financial responsibility. The company changed its name to the Ligonier Valley Railroad and acquired a 10. 3 miles stretch of land. The land was later granted to William Darlington, landowner and namesake of the nearby village of Darlington. On April 15, 1853, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania granted a charter for a railroad to haul coal and timber between the towns of Ligonie and Latrobe. On July 4, 1890, the trains to the park were so crowded that the top of the coaches were covered with boys.
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This page is based on the article Idlewild and Soak Zone published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 31, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
