The History of Puritas Spring Park -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recently, new entrance signs were installed at Puritas Park, leaving some residents wondering what the entrance signs represented. There was a picture of an amusement park called Puritas Spring Park with the name Cyclone that looked very much like a roller coaster ride. On our property we have the name Cyclone for name of one of our streets. Well, what does this all mean? Just on the North side of Puritas Avenue, across the street from Puritas Park property, the entrance to the amusement park Puritas Spring Park was located. Our property was actually used as a parking lot to the amusement park. The following is a little history of the area and what happen to the beloved name sake Puritas Spring Park. In 1894, the Puritas Springs Bottle Plant was built to meet the demand for spring mineral water. In 1898, John E. Gooding of Painesville built Puritas Spring Amusement Park on the grounds of the Puritas Springs Bottling Plant at the edge of the Rocky River Valley. Taking a cue from the recently opened Euclid Beach Park, Gooding did not charge an admission fee. The park remained in the Gooding family until it closed in 1958. The Dance Hall (1898-1943) was destroyed by fire in 1946 along with many of the early historical records and photographs of the park. In 1905, the Cleveland and Southwestern built a branch line to serve the amusement park at Puritas. The line ran from the Cleveland border at West 98th then south on West 105th to Bellaire, Puritas and the park. By the late 1920s, automobiles were driving the interurban to financial ruin. In an effort to stem the tide, less profitable lines were abandoned. Puritas Springs will always be remembered for its Cyclone Roller Coaster which was the highest, fastest and most dangerous in the Cleveland area. Designed by the most famous coaster designer of the time, John A. Miller, the Cyclone opened in 1928. Miller utilized the terrain to the fullest, and the Cyclone roared in and out of the Rocky River Valley ravine twice throughout its course. The coaster would ascend some 85 feet and would plunge some 90 feet into the ravine. (Ref; Dan MacKellar, coasterglobe) According to the July 26, 1946 edition of the Plain Dealer, the Cleveland Police Department temporally shut down the Cyclone based on several accidents occurring over a 2-3 year period. The amusement park eventually shut down in 1958. Much of this information and dialogue was taken from From Rockport To West Park by Ralph A. Pfingsten, 2004.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 14:54:36 +0000