Luna, Luna Everywhere: Luna Park Cleveland

Years ago, I bought vintage postcards of amusement parks in Ohio. I have always been fascinated by vintage postcards, especially amusement parks, since they look like something out of one's dreams, with bright lights decorating the pavilions in the evening. The fountains from Euclid Beach, the dock to the ferry that used to run to Cedar Point, the windmill from Idora Park, and a pavilion from Luna Park, Cleveland, lit up at night.  What is unique about that last park mentioned is that it was one of the many amusement parks long back when it shared the same name, Luna. Long before chain amusement parks like Six Flags existed, the early 20th century had their chain of amusement parks often referred to as trolley parks. 

First off, what is a trolley park?

Trolley parks were early amusement parks in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Typically, as the name suggests, trolley parks were built at the end of a trolley line. They were built to help gain revenue for both the park and the trolley lines, as more people would ride on weekends.

During the early years, trolley parks were mainly known for their picnic areas and dance halls. Later in the year, amusement rides would be added. Trolley parks began to decline with the invention of the automobile and unfortunate events such as The Great Depression. Spoiler: this is going to be a common theme in this article. 

What are Luna Parks?

In 1903, entrepreneurs Fredrick Thompson and Elmer Dundy opened the first Luna Park in Coney Island. There are two theories of where the name came from: one was named after Dundy's sister, who happens to be named Luna. The second theory is that there was also an early dark ride that operated in 1903 called Trip to the Moon, where passengers boarded an airship called Luna. Some speculated that the name came from that.  

Soon, other entrepreneurs started copying the duo’s homework and opening their own Luna Parks. One of them was Fredrick Ingersoll, who would open 44 locations, including Cleveland.

Most Luna Parks were around for the early part of the twentieth century in the United States but did not go past the 30s and 40s due to the economy, world events, or fires. Some Luna Parks remain open today either under their name or now called something else. These are typically more seen in other countries than in the US. Two commonly known are the Melbourne (the oldest Luna Park in the world) and the Sydney locations in Australia. Both of them have the most horrifying arches ever made. There is a face of a man wide-eyed and smiling when guests enter the park. When I think of the Gates of Hell, I envision an evil smile peering down at people entering through to be devoured. Both gates are the definition of pure evil.

More would pop up over the years and counting in recent years internationally.It is because of this phenomenon that Luna Park, or Luna Park, became another word for amusement parks in some languages. For example, if you put Luna Park in Google Translate under Turkish, it would be the word theme park. They are mostly called amusement parks in the name. Also, many of them have a more carnival-ish vibe than theme parks. 

There are so many Luna Park locations that I will leave a list below, kind of like what I did in the Pythian Castle article. Looking into them, most of them in the United States, including the Luna we are talking about today, did not make it past the 1930s or 40s. 

Now, on to Cleveland’s own Luna!

The Cleveland location was founded and built by Frederick Ingersoll and opened in 1905.It was the second Luna Park location to open from Ingersol, the first one being Pittsburgh. One of the rides he designed and installed in the park was the flume ride Shoot the Shoots. In 1908, the property was sold to Matthew Bramley after Ingersoll declared bankruptcy. Bramley would make further editions to the park, which included a roller rink. 

The experience would go as such. There was a hill with stairs leading up to the gate with its signature crescent moon. The trolley line would stop at the bottom of the mountain for people to ascend. In later years, an escalator would be installed to make the trip upward easier. Inside, the park had rides, including Shoot the Shoots, a Ferris wheel, a funhouse, a concert stage, carousels, a dance hall, and bumper cars. 

There were also sideshow attractions. One attraction in particular that most people would think of as something other than a sideshow subject was Baby Incubators. At first, when I looked up the baby incubator, I thought it was a weird thing set up for families to leave infants in when they went on rides and attractions. Boy, was I completely wrong and confused when I read further? During the late 19th century and early 20th century, baby incubators were a revolutionary invention that helped save many infant lives. This medical marvel was often shown off at World’s fairs and amusement parks (including Luna Park Cleveland), with many premature infants on display garnering attention as infants fought for their lives. Yeah…this was a thing. Lucille Horn, who was an incubator baby who lived to be 96, said, “It's strange, but as long as they saw me and I was alive, it was all right. I think it was more of a freak show. Something that they ordinarily did not see.” Even an actual incubator baby had mixed feelings about this. 

There was also a 20,000-seat stadium called the Luna Bowl in the Park. Two football teams from the 1920s, the Cleveland Bulldogs and the Cleveland Panthers, played there long before the Cleveland Browns. 

The first blow to the park was Prohibition, enacted in 1920. One of the things that brought people to the park was alcohol. When Prohibition came to pass, it caused a dwindle in park attendance, as no booze was allowed. 

The final blow was in 1929 when America suffered from the Great Depression. Many businesses were destroyed because of it, with Luna Park among the casualties; adding insult to injury, the Luna Bowl was destroyed by arson. Afterward, the rides were relocated to other amusement parks, and everything else was demolished in 1931. The roller rink remained standing until 1938 when a fire destroyed it. 

WoodHill Homes Built on the Ashes of Luna Park

In the 1930s, US President Franklin Roosevelt initiated a program called the New Deals, in which public housing was provided as decent homes for struggling cities. The main focus was on big cities such as Cleveland. 

The former Luna Park site was demolished to make way for the development of public housing called Woodhill Homes. In 1939, public housing was built. This was an urban renewal project to provide affordable housing to those in need. It would end up helping out many low-income families in need; however, it would not be devoid of struggle. Due to funding issues over the years, the homes began to deteriorate. 

Currently, Woodhill Homes is working on plans to further redevelop the land with more updated public housing by 2026. Hopefully, this will come to fruition. 

Remembering Luna Park

Luna Park Cleveland and many other Luna Parks summarize the history and culture of the first 50 years of the 1900s. They’ve been impacted by world events. Luna Park has been one symbol of economic growth, as the heyday represented a time when transportation began booming. It also declined due to uncontrollable circumstances leading up to its eventual closure. The sad reality is that all good things must eventually end. Hopefully, the land Woodhill Homes occupies has succeeded in its redevelopment plan. 

Luna Parks 

(In red is of the 44 parks that Frederick Ingersoll built that I could get info on)

United States

Luna Park Alexandria County - Arlington County, Virginia  (1906-1915)

Luna Park Charleston- Charleston, West Virginia (1912-1923)

Luna Park Buffalo- Buffalo New York (1904- 1920)

Luna Park Cleveland- Cleveland, OH 1905 to 1929

Luna Park Mansfield - Mansfield, OH- 1905-1920

Luna Park, Chicago-Chicago, Illinois, U.S.-1907 to 1911

Luna Park, Coney Island-New York City, New York, U.S-1903 to 1944

Luna Park, Coney Island (opened 2010)-New York City, New York, U.S.-2010 to present

Luna Park, Denver-Denver, Colorado, U.S-1908 to 1914

Luna Park, Detroit-Detroit, Michigan, U.S.-1906 to 1927

Luna Park, Honolulu-Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.- dates unknown( likely somewhere between 1905 - 1927 as Ingersol who built it was active those years)

Luna Park, Houston-Houston, Texas, U.S.-1924 to 1934

Luna Park, Hull - Gatineau, Quebec, Canada-1925 to 1928

Luna Park, Johnstown, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S. 1904-1922

Luna Park, Los Angeles-Los Angeles, California, U.S.-1911 to 1914

Luna Park, Mexico City-Mexico City, Mexico- 1906 to 1983(supposedly according to a spanish wikicity)

Luna Park, Olcott Beach-Newfane, New York, U.S.-1898 to 1926

Luna Park, Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.1905 to 1909 

Luna Park, Portland Portland, Oregon, U.S-1903 to 1944

Luna Park, San Jose, San Jose, California, U.S.-1910 to 1916

Luna Park, Schenectady-Rexford, New York, U.S.-1901 to 1933

Luna Park, Scranton Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. - 1906 to 1916

Luna Park, Seattle- Seattle, Washington, U.S.-1907 to 1913

Luna Park, Sylvan Beach-New York City, New York U.S.- unknown date merged with a carnaval. There is also a postcard on ebay I saw on ebay mentioning it going back to 1910.

Luna Park, West Hartford- West Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.-1906 to 1930

Luna Park, Wheeling Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S. 1905 to 1907

Around the world

Luna Park Cairo - Cairo, Egypt 1911-1915 - closed in 1915 to be a World War 1 military hospital

Luna Park Obala- Obala, Cameroon 1970-2000

Luna Park Abha- Abha, Saudi Arabia 2004 -present

Alanya Lunapark- Alanya, Turkey  1989- present

Luna Park Baku - Baku, Azerbaijan 2000-2005

Luna Park Beirut - Beirut Lebanon- 1966 - present

Luna Park Bombay- Mumbai, India -dates unknown( likely somewhere between 1905 - 1927 as Ingersol who built it was active those years)

Bostanci Lunapark- Bostanci,Turkey - 1983 - present

Eski Lunapark- Balikaser,Turkey - 2022-present

Girne Lunapark - Karşıyaka, İzmir, Turkey - unknown - 2010 (earliest I could find was a ride that opened in the park before 2000 so it’s possibly earlier)

Mersin Lunapark- Mersin, Turkey - unknown to present (earliest I could find was a ride that opened in the park around 2004 so it’s possibly earlier)

Lunapark, Nazilli- Nazilli, Turkey - sometime around 2004 to present

Sincan Luna Park-Sincan, Turkey- Before 2000 to present

Luna Park, Larnaca (now Lucky Star Park)- Before 2013 - present

Luna Grand Park Haifa, Israel- 2001 - 2013

Luna Park Tel Aviv- Tel Aviv, Israel- 1970 to present

Luna Park Hong Kong- North Point Hong Kong- 1949 to 1954

Luna Park Osaka- Osaka, Japan- 1919 to 1923

Luna Park Tokyo- Tokyo Japan- 1910-1911

Luna Park Tehran - Tehran Iran  1970-1980

Luna Park, Yerevan- Yerevan, Armenia 2000-

Luna Park, Aidonakia- Athens, Greece 2001-present

Fantasia Luna Park- Near Faliraki, Greece 2003 to present

International Luna Park - Near Athens, Greece before 2008 to present

Luna Park, Brent Cross- London, UK - 2020 to present

Luna Park Berlin- Berlin, Germany 1909-1933

Luna Park, Cologne- Cologne, Germany 1909-1927

Luna Park Hamburg Altona- Hamburg- Germany 1913, and again 1917 to 1923

Luna Park Leipzig-Leipzig, Germany- 1911 to 1932

Luna Park Saint-Brieuc, France- 1982 to present

Luna Park, Cap d'Agde- Cap d'Agde, France-Before 2015 to present

Luna Park, Fréjus- Fréjus-France Before 2006 to present

Luna Park, La Palmyre- La Palmyre, France Before 2000 to present

Luna Park Paris- Paris, France 1909 to 1931

Luna Park, Argelès-sur-Mer - Argelès-sur-Mer, France - date unknown to present

Luna Park, Nice  - Nice, France - date unknown to present (currently closed)

Luna Park Funfair - Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom-unknown date to present (one review from Yelp goes back to 2009)

Luna Park, Geneva- Le Parc des Eaux Vives alongside Lake Geneva, Switzerland 1912 to 1918

Luna Park, L'Escala- L'Escala, Spain- Before 2017 to present

Lunapark, Łódź-  Łódź, Poland- Closed January 2016

Lunapark Sowinski- Near Władysławowo, Poland- 2006 to present

Luna Park, Odesa- Odesa Ukraine- 2011 to present

Luna Park, Rome- Rome Italy- (somewhere between 1905-1930)- closed 1930

Luna Park, Milan (now Europark Idroscalo Milan) - Milan, Italy- 1965-present

Luna Park, Moscow- Moscow, Russia- 1993 to present

Luna Park, St. Petersburg- St. Petersburg Russia May -1912 to 1924

Luna Park, Skopje Skopje, North Macedonia-  1973 to 2022

Luna Park, București-București, Romania-1920s-1936

Luna Park Glenelg,  Glenelg, South Australia, Australia 1930 to 1934

Luna Park Melbourne Luna Park Melbourne 1912 to present

Luna Park Redcliffe Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia 1944 to 1966

Luna Park Sydney Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 1935 to present (there were periods of time it closed and reopened on and off)

Luna Park Scarborough Scarborough, Western Australia, Australia - November 25, 1939 to 1972

Luna Park Auckland Auckland, North Island, New Zealand 1926 to 1931

Luna Park, Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, Argentina- 1934 to present

Luna Park, Rio de Janeiro- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil- date unknown to 2006

Lunapark, Lima Lima, Peru -date unknown to 2007

Lunapark, Lecherias Lunapark, Lecherias - 2003 to present

Luna Park, Santa Fé Bogotá, Colombia - 1921 to 1948

Seriously! Who thought this was a good idea?!