Thursday, January 1, 2009

Current Geauga Lake Photos


It's been a while since we've seen the status of the now closed Geauga Lake Amusement Park, but thanks to two of our readers, Kyle and Josh, we have some great new pics just taken recently. Be warned, though, they are pretty depressing!

A great thanks goes out to these guys for sending in their work to NewsPlusNotes! All photos are copyright Kyle and Josh and used on NPN with permission. Instead of me blabbering on about the photos, what follows is a short report of their trip in their own words:

"We started our trip on Depot Road behind the mostly intact Raging Wolf Bobs. A hammer banging in the distance, we wished it was simply off-season maintenance and not some sort of deconstruction. Standing northeast of the 1988 coaster you’d be unaware of the mass carnage opposite the ride. With a closer look though, the Raging Wolf Bobs is no longer a continuous circuit. There’s missing track between the turn from the station and the lift hill, most likely the pieces offered on E-Bay.

We would then take Depot to Brewster, past the far-too-large Wildwater Kingdom parking lot. On the left you’ll notice some car dealership using the water park’s lot for automobile storage. Eventually, we were back on Aurora Road with plans to photograph the entrance.

Walking across the field where X-Flight once stood its hard to miss the Big Dipper and Skyscraper, the only thing left of the 119 year-old skyline. It’s good to see the hills of the John Miller classic peeking over the foreground, but as each day passes the chances of riding the coaster again aren't favorable.

It’s amazing how quickly something can deteriorate without upkeep. The brick walkway just before the entrance is now beleaguered with construction cones, weeds and electrical wires. The front gate, once one of the more elegant entrances in the country, is full of gaping holes due to clock and window removal. The season pass processing center is boarded up with wood. 2007 admission prices remain on the ticket booths, but resemble more of a tombstone with the dying park looming beyond.


Peeking through the entrance an office chair with nowhere to go sits by itself. Collapsed buildings can be seen in the distance. To the left, a random stairwell is surrounded by rubble. The Merry Oldies entrance remains, but is stranded with trash and fallen trees.


Journeying further down Geauga Lake Road only a large field remains where the Double Loop and Villain shared space. Without any distinguishable landmarks or buildings, it’s impossible to know where certain elements of the former coasters stood. This sad reality is inevitable for the rest of the park as well. Eventually, former park goers will only be able to estimate the Big Dipper's lift hill, the Texas Twister's great theming or the Carousel's axis, which is a good reason to take this trip. Get a vision of what’s left before it’s all gone.


With the sun setting and the winter cold making it's presence felt we decided to leave. Hopefully we’ll return soon, maybe get some nice photos by walking up and down Aurora."

Thanks again to Kyle and Josh for the interesting views!


4 comments:

Unknown said...

These photos make me want to cry, but they are important to show and document...

So many people still say this was inevitable and that nothing else could be done. I will never believe that. Letting this special place that entertained people for over 100 years disintegrate was wrong.

dwitos079 said...

hmmmm I wonder what it looks like on the inside now.

Anonymous said...

I still can't believe that Darien Lake could be doing as well as they are, but Geauga Lake couldn't cut it. 700-800k attendance (as employees of GL claim) is right in line with where GL was in the mid 80's and they did fine then. It would never be Six Flags Ohio again in terms of size, but in 1988 (The first million-visitor year) us locals didn't care.

Unknown said...

Cedar Fair has no heart I will never forget Geauga Lake it was a spectacular park that should never have been treated this way. I wish Busch Gardens would have bought it and not cedar fair.