What's left of Fairmont Park (1897-1930s) seems to be just a grassy picnic-type public park. And a housing complex now stands where Electric Park (1907-1925) was once located, leaving no remains of the park.
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| Fairyland |
Fairyland opened in 1880 as a trolley park. It was built at the south end of the Prospect Ave. trolley line, at 75th St. and Prospect Ave.
It was a great park that had everything; a wooden roller coaster, games, pool, dancing, picnic area, kiddie and adult rides.
Fairyland was owned by the Brancato family, who loved the park so much, they chose to live inside it.
The original wooden coaster "Sky Ride" lasted until 1966. It suffered damage from an intense wind storm in late summer of '66 when the back "turn-around" collapsed. A new, steel "Wildcat" coaster was built for the 1967 season.
In its day, the park was hit by a few disasters. There was a fire in 1938 and lightning struck and damaged a ride in 1942.
But, even so, Fairyland stood as the only amusement park in Kansas City for about 50 years.
Worlds of Fun Amusement Park was built in 1973. And, even though they were at opposite ends of the city, almost 20 miles apart, Fairyland quickly fell to the newer, more modern Worlds of Fun.
Mario Brancato passed away in April of 1977. After a successful season, Fairyland closed in September, 1977. When it was hit by a tornado in 1978, Fairyland never again opened its gates.
The steel coaster was disassembled and trucked down to Frontier City in Oklahoma City in 1988 where it is now the star attraction. The ferris wheel was relocated to an unknown location.
** Some of the above information was supplied by Chuck Fisher, a former Fairyland employee.
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