Bushkill Park Featured on "American Pickers"

Pennsylvania's Bushkill Amusement Park, currently closed, will be featured on an episode of the History Channel's "American Pickers."  The episode will debut tonight, December 6th 2010.

The show features two guys who travel the country rummaging through various locations in search of valuable antiques or collectibles.  The show's producers were contacted by a local resident, but soon learned of the park and made it their focus.

All the details were not released before the show airs, but the duo purchased a 1940s bumper car and several banners from the park.

Bushkill park closed after it was severely flooded by tropical storm Ivan in 2004, and while attempts have been made it has only briefly reopened once since then.  The park, which is aimed at families, first opened in 1902.  It is home to a classic funhouse, complete with rotating tunnel and wooden slide, as well as a Whip ride.

Big Drama at Bushkill Park, It's Not Opening

Agilitynut / Flickr CC 2006

It's sadly ironic that this past Monday I thought to myself, "Self, you should take the family to Bushkill Park once it's open to support the place," and then Tuesday the Morning Call published an article about how it probably won't open this year.

It sounds like there is a lot of bickering and fighting going on right now between the current owner, the man who currently leases the property from that owner, and the former owner / current partial owner.

Depending on who's side you want to take each party could have a list of things they've done wrong to doom the park. I think, 'who cares,' as what really killed the park is the flooding that keeps happening.

Flooding, of course, that seemed to keep on taking place now that there are tons of housing and other developments in the area causing their runoff to filter into the Bushkill Creek.

If you want to read the current park operator's side of things, check out their rant on bushkillpark.org.

It's all moot though, in my opinion, as it's just sad to see another old park slowing dying.