Kennywood Legend Carl Hughes Passes On

Carl Hughes, Via IAAPA

If you've ever visited Kennywood Amusement Park and had a wonderful time, then you owe a great part of that to the park's legendary Carl Hughes, who's influential career at Kennywood started in 1956 and lasted for several decades.

Mr. Hughes passed away on December 29th at the age of 91.

Serving as General Manager of Kennywood, he is responsible for bringing the park from a fairly standard traditional property into something truly special, including the addition of rides such as the Laser Loop and the Log Flume.  He also was behind the man behind building Sandcastle and purchasing Idlewild into the Kennywood family.

During his long career at the park he first worked in marketing, then became the park's leader for a great many years.  Coining the park the "roller coaster capital of the world" and having it added to the National Register of Historic Places, he certainly knew how to generate interest in the amusement park.  His love of perfection and attention to detail has truly made Kennywood one of the best parks out there.

A great obituary can be found here, from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.