The park was located on Easton Rd. between Welsh and Moreland Rds. (Rte 63).

The park was founded by a traction company that operated the line to Willow Grove for the purpose of boosting weekend ridership. In time, several trolley lines from Philadelphia and Doylestown served the park in addition to the Reading Railroad.

Willow Grove was one of the largest and most beautiful parks in the early 1900's. It is said that upwards of 30,000 people would visit the park on a day when a big star was appearing.

The park was designed by Chester Albright and Herman Wendell of the firm of Wendell and Smith Corporation. Albright would later join with Henry Auchy, of Chestnut Hill Park, to form the Phila. Toboggan Co., which still manufactures amusement rides today.

The park opened on Memorial Day (then Decoration Day) in 1896. It offered music, boating, picnic groves and amusements.

In the early days of the park, a dress code was strictly enforced. Any male, young or old, without a jacket and tie would be escorted from the park, even in the sweltering August heat.

In the early days, the trolley lines looped around the park. However, with the addition of the Glenside line in 1904, a large terminal was built for the 1905 season across Easton Rd. from the park, on a narrow strip of land. People would depart their trolley, then descend stairs to walk through a tunnel under Easton Rd. After the trolley ride through the countryside, there was a special thrill to step out from the tunnel to the sights and sounds of the amusements.

The park had two large lakes in the area near Easton and Moreland Rds. Here people could rent rowboats or ride in the electric launch.

John Philip Sousa and his band played at the park every year for several weeks between 1901 and 1926, except for one year when they were on a world tour. The bandshell they played in was acoustically perfect.

The Electric Fountain was a wonder to behold. It was located in the lake adjacent to the Music Pavilion. During the intermissions in the musical performances, the fountain show would begin. The water would spray from the fountain in ever-changing patterns creating a beautiful show. The evening show would include multi-colored lights shining into the spray. Remember, this was in a day when electric lights were still a novelty.

On opening day, the Fountain was not yet operating. However one patron observed "The frogs did their best to entertain the visitors."

The Music Pavilion was demolished in March, 1959. Earlier, in September 1956, the last concert was performed in the pavilion. The United States Marine Band played an assortment of Sousa's compositions, the very last piece played being "Stars and Stripes Forever".

One of the biggest attractions was the Mountain Scenic Railway, later known as "The Alps". This was a large roller coaster advertised as "a circular tour of the Alps, under roaring waterfalls, through cool, dark tunnels and a thrilling toboggan ride." At the time it was the "longest scenic ride in America." The ride was built for the 1905 season and was renamed the Alps for the 1934 season.

When the park was built in 1896, one of the rides was the Scenic Railway (not to be confused with the Mountain Scenic Railway). This was a mild "out and back" coaster through the trees. It was the longest running ride at the park, operating until the park closed. It was also known as the Nickel Scenic.

The third coaster was the Thunderbolt. This was the big, fast and exciting wooden coaster. It was built in 1928.

He wrote of two tragic accidents at the park. However these accidents never did happen. The book was a novel - a work of fiction.

The first he wrote of was a fictional account of an accident on one of the roller coasters, "The Chase Through the Clouds", which brought the ride to a tragic ending. The coaster consisted of two intertwined tracks, where two cars would race each other over and under and around the trees and each other, at treetop level.

In his book, one of the cars failed to make a high, sharp turn one evening, and left the tracks, falling into the treetops. Several people were killed and others were injured. This was the end of "The Chase".

In reality, while there might have been an accident on the ride, it remained through the end of the 1931 season, several years after its demise was claimed in the book.

The second tragic accident he wrote of concerned the "Unique Coal Mine". This ride was a roller coaster with a 'coal mine' theme. Replica coal cars would zip riders along through a 'mine' past "realistic" animated 'workers'. Michener wrote that it burned to the ground in a terrible fire with the loss of several riders.

In fact, there was a fire that destroyed the Coal Mine, but it occurred in December 1929 and there was no loss of life (the park was closed at the time). The only minor injury was to a fireman.

Willow Grove Park is one of the two parks on Amusement Park Nostalgia that I had personal experience with.

My parents took my sister and me to the park in our younger days. When I was old enough to drive, I took myself. I remember the park in the years from the early 60's to the early 70's.

There were major changes even in that short period. One year the Rocket Swing ride burned down. Rather than rebuild, it was converted into a "creatures from outer space" exhibit. Tony D. remembers "The base of the building was covered with a crater-pocked spherical shell (the lunar surface), with one of the old rocket ships crashed into it. Inside you could walk past dioramas of 'creatures from outer space.' "

Another year, a bowling alley was built in one of the parking lots. It was the largest bowling alley in the area. But, part of one of the lakes was filled in and paved to make up for the parking lost to the alley. The pavilion that once sat on the lake, now sat in the middle of the parking lot.

In 1972 the park opened as "Six Gun Territory". Most of the same rides were still there, but now it had a western theme, complete with staged shoot-outs, bank robberies, can-can girls, and a honky-tonk piano at the "Palace Saloon" (soft drinks only).

Once the park converted to "Six Gun Territory", I never again patronized it. Somehow, I subconsciously felt it was a 'last-ditch' attempt to save the park. And I wanted to remember it as I knew it.

In April 1976, it was announced that Willow Grove Park would not open for the upcoming season. The park remained abandoned until it was demolished in 1981 to make way for the Willow Grove Park Mall.

Fountain at Willow Grove	Scenic Railway	Aerial View of the Rockets

Trolley Station at the Park	Aerial View of Willow Grove Park	A Later Aerial View - Mid 60's

The Alps Sitting Unused	The Pavilion That Once Sat On The Lake... Later Guarded the Parking Lot	Willow Grove Park - CLOSED