Conneaut's Blue Streak Demolished + The End of the Park

© Meadville Tribune

It's been a long journey following the story of Conneaut Lark Park, and I suppose this is the final chapter.  The writing was already on the wall that the new owner of the park had no intention of making it work as an amusement park, as developments in the past year made that pretty clear.  This past week the new owner started to demolish the Blue Streak roller coaster, which was probably the item that most folks cared about possibly saving.

While not too realistic to expect the ride to survive, it's not an issue any longer.  In a big dramatic spectacle the guys tearing down the coaster were doing a "controlled burn" to get ride of its pieces, and that burn got out of hand, did jump briefly to the ride's station and the fire department had to be called.  At first it seemed that the coaster was on fire, but really its remains were on fire on purpose and it just got a bit out of hand.  Either way, the ride is gone, forever.

And I don't think there's really any shot of much of the park existing as an amusement park even as soon as this year.  Most of the rides were sold or are for sale, and it seems that those who worked on the park as a labor of love have now turned their backs to it due to the owner's plans.  In short, this feels like the final chapter in the park's long history (which we've covered for years and years).  In a way the whole demolishing the coaster / fire story almost feels like closure, as sad as it is.  Sure, the park says on social media that that Carousel will be around in 2022, but the park proper won't.  And in that sense, we're at the end of the amusement park's story.