I remember being 13 yrs. old and watching the fire on the news --- my Mom started crying and I asked her why she was so sad --- she said "me and your Dad fell in love as teens at Idora Park one summer"
EXCELLENT! I lived in Cleveland and “mourned the loss” of Euclid Beach Park. My Mom always called it “The Beach.” And I remember the shock when Geauga Lake closed so suddenly. But I was one of those “American Coaster Enthusiasts” that came to Idora Park to ride “The Wildcat” and “Jack Rabbit.” I went with a friend and we thought “The Wildcat” was the best coaster in Ohio. This video is an awesome memory.
There is something that is extremely sad about abandoned amusement parks....a place that created such a positive feeling to people is left to rot. Sad indeed.
I road those coasters with my mom and we loved it. She died 20 years ago and I cherish those memories. Sadly, it's not even noticeable anymore. It's just gone.
I often jog past the remaining ruins on my morning jog. It brings back memories of going there with the parents on the early 80s everytime. I’m glad Youngstown is making somewhat of a revival. The future is bright for this area in my opinion.
Went there many times in my early years. Most memory of it is gone, but this video definitely sparked some long buried experiences. I recall ice cream cones that were enormous and those sucker trash cans with circus animals on them. I feel privileged to have ridden on two of the most amazing wooden coasters in the world, the Wild Cat and the Beast at King's Island. They don't make them like that anymore.
I remember riding the Wildcat many times over the years and had the chance to ride the Shooting Star at Coney Island in Cincinnati the night that park closed its doors for the very last time. It was one of the few coasters that came close to giving a ride similar to the Wildcat. Was at opening day the following spring For King's Island and road all the new coasters there but I don't think even the Beast compares to the Wildcat and Shooting Star from days of old!
I will always remember the musty, damp smell when u entered the cave on the lost river! So many summers of wonderful memories, playing skee ball for hours on end!
@@mariamarinucci2251 I have tried to contact several people. I grew up around Idora. My Dad's name was Hal Wilson and he owned the Auto Skooter which was the bumper cars. I have tried so many times to reach out to someone that would listen to me. Gabe was the Park Supt at one time I remember. Tony Cavalier, Max Rindin and Pat Duffy owned Idora. I wish I could connect with someone. I'm 73 now but I hope this finds you doing great!! My email is hwilson89@comcast.net
I live about an hour from this park, & had been there several times as a kid..our church youth-group and our Girl Scout troop. When Idora Park closed down, we started going to Geauga Lake. Anyways, I am 45 now, and watching this video about Idora Park.....I can still remember almost every ride and the attractions. Miss those days !!
Some might remember the huge crowds on WHOT Days in the 60s. All rides were free, live broadcasts by Boots Bell and others, great local bands all day in the ballroom and fireworks at night all paid for as a promotion by and for WHOT. It was a madhouse and a wonderful day. I’m pretty sure they did it more than once, but it was a long time ago.
This video is so well done. Thank you for doing it. It brought tears to my eyes, and the only thing I have seen is what's left of it now...a few foundations and steps, and obvious former midways of times gone by.
I was born a year after Idora Park closed, and I'm not even from Ohio, but I love watching stuff like this. I grew up south of Nashville, TN, and we had Opryland as our theme park. Everybody hates that they turned it into a damned mall.
Im a 90s kid. Grew up in the Youngstown area. Still live here. Love it here. Its my one true home. But never knew idora park existed until a few years ago. I cryied when i saw this for the first time. I never knew it was so happy and prosperous here. I only knew plight. It makes me happy that i can ask an old timer from here "how was idora" "how good did those idora fries or candy floss taste. I will always hold idora close to my heart.
Good god the first three minutes are depressing. But really, it’s almost a microcosm of the hopelessness of Youngstown in general. While we watch other rust belt cities like Buffalo, Cleveland, or Toledo each experience a renaissance of their own, Youngstown continues to decay. It will never come back.
@Gordy Skymop Columbus is obviously the place to be in Ohio but I wouldn’t call it rust belt. Traditionally the economy there is service based as opposed to manufacturing, and it was never destitute like the other three cities I mentioned. Of course you mentioned Mill Creek, that is the one thing that’s legitimately nice. YNDC has done nothing of value.
My Junior/Senior Trip went to Idora Park (Class of 1982) and I still have black and white photos of my parents (who were just dating at the time) taken while teenagers at this park. Idora Park....then Geauga Lake. Both closed now. So much for revisiting childhood places. (Glad Sea World closed though....hate that whole theme of cruelty to animals). Hard to believe that the carousel is now in NYC. Weird. My mom rode it....and years later...so did I.
This was my dads union picnic every year..I was little so I mostly remember kiddie land.. and the kiddie coaster scared me but I still rode it. But the #1 thing I remember are those animal trash cans that sucked the trash in their mouth. The carousel has been restored has been restored and is now displayed in a glass box in Brooklyn park....so what was a beloved memory for so many children of steelworkers is now a Instagram backdrop for nebby snooty Brooklyn gentrifying hipsters ..it is a beautiful carousel though...you would think Disney would have bought it cause it makes Magic kingdom Royal carousel look like a Chuck E. CHEESE ride.
I remember going to Idora Park as a Young girl and my Teenage years!! Best Fresh cur French Fries Ever!! This is a Place that I will Always have Awesome Memories!!😁
One of the most well produced and narrative Amusement Park Documentaries Izvestia ever seen, this coming from the guy who helped stating the Dark Ride And Fun Hoiuse Historical Groups! Bravo Guys! Well done!~ Bret “Pretzel Rides”.
I just watched your movie on Idora park and was so saddened by the photos. My parents took us there and we enjoyed a lot of the rides and concessions, my aunt lived across the street from idora,so we were there pretty often,and we loved it. I can remember the sounds of the roller coaster as we would walk into the park. Also in later years we had the Trio Bell Conto band played there and miss Greece was our high light of the dance,Miss Corinna zopai (this is not right spelling). It was a beautiful event. Many,many fun times there. Thanks for the beautiful film and memories. I do want to purchase the books. Thanks again.
My dad used to take my brother n sisters n me to Idora Park back in the early 60s.....we were from Alliance......we also went to Meijers Lake........shop picnics etc.
I spent many hours in this park. Riding the coasters, fishing for goldish, spending pennies in the arcade, eating French fries and dancing to all the big bands...What wonderful and very nostalgic memories. We all loved it.
This video damn near brings tears to my brown eyes...this amusement park was legendary..I remember going here alot after church on Sundays..Youngstown has to be the unluckiest place in the world..First we had to endure Black Monday...the day back in 1977 that saw most of the steel mills start to close here...then this happened a few years later....a fire that destroyed our beloved Idora Park..I still have my own beliefs as to what really happened and why it happened but I'm going to keep it to myself...
In 1984, my Austintown Middle School 8th grade class had its class picnic at Idora Park. I remember that I rode the Back Rabbit several times. What a fun park and such good times.
Times, many, many times spent at Idora park were the highlights of my childhood! I wish I had a dollar for every time I rode the Wildcat sandwiched between my two older brothers, our heads rattling together on the jerky turns. I’ve loved roller coasters my entire adult life because of Idora and the Wildcat. I haven’t forgotten the other rides and especially not those best in the world French fries with malt vinegar!How lucky were we Youngstown area children to grow up with such an amazing amusement park like this and right on the outskirts of the absolutely beautiful Mill Creek Park. Wonderful memories!!! ❤❤❤
I just discovered this video. It is very well done. I grew up in Strurhers and Boardman, and my family went to Idora Park every summer. This video brought back wonderful memories. I loved the Jack Rabbit. They had the best cadied apples. They also made pulled taffee. The carousel was awesome. It really saddened when the fire did away with the park. All those years gone.
Omg do I miss this place. Youngstown used to be a great place. The rides. Ballroom. Spring thing. And look at it now. Nothing but weeds. Even the smell of the mills. Smell of money. Maybe not healthy but still. Sad sad
Maria Marinucci I moved in 2000. And go back to visit family. It’s heartbreaking to me when I go back and remember what it used to be verse now. Times have sure changed Dad worked at the mills forever. Then Black Friday. Idora park. I remember sitting at the mill watching the smoke as it went up. I will admit I miss mill creek park. I lived off of Bearsden road and that was one place I’d always go to as a kid. Oh the times
I'm from the southside of Youngstown Ohio... But I was born the year Idora burned down (apparently from the stories I was told) I can't even imagine anything in Youngstown being so amazing and it's sad I was born in 1984 so I'm not completely out of the old school genre💯💯😍😍😍😍
When we were kids we would ride our bikes down to Idora park for the day. We spent most of our summers down at the park. I remember being in 6th grade at Kirkmere Elementary at recess and seeing all the black smoke in the sky and hearing all the firetrucks as they rushed to the park because the Wild Cat was on fire. So many great childhood memories from Idora Park.
As a little boy from New Castle Pa, Idora Park was a wonderland of fun and happiness. Back the even New Castle had amusement park it was called Cascade Park and it was a great place also but it wasn't as big as much fun as Idora Park. Now neither city has a amusement park and that a tragic for the entire region. Isaly ice cream and the parks were the best.
My dad told us that the owner hired someone to burn down the wildcat for insurance purposes. He was going into financial ruin from the park and he had no buyers. It was a local rumor in our area till this day. The accidental welding torch incident was not such an accident. The park was still open for the smaller rides though and I remember having so much fun there.
There's not much sadder than a derelict amusement park. My bbf's parents took us there a couple times when they had their company picnic there. Back in the late 70's. :(
great video... Unfortunately born in 1982 I did not get to experience Idora in its hayday but I was one of the kids that enjoyed to go into the park(though illegal) and walk through the remains... used to go into the ballroom and sit with friends writing and making music (the old piano; though broken, did actually work; somewhat)... my one friend did a school project of the place and unfortunately lost all his negatives that he took... those were good times and was insanely outraged when someone set fire to the ballroom; leading up to what is now just an empty lot
I did go the final year it was open, and it was a very sad sight. In the video, you see happy kids playing. When I went, it was ghetto thug groups of teens pushing their way around. The demise of the steel mill turned the neighborhood into slums over the next 2 decades, and that was the final chapter of clientele at Idora Park. The property is now owned by a nearby church that hasn't done anything with it except let everything rot. Such a sad, yet typical end to things that were once beautiful in Youngstown.
"Ghetto thug groups of teens" also known as young black children who scare me shitless. I bet you turned back and went to your car right then with your scary ass.
No, she means young punks that have no respect for anything because they have shitty, absent crackhead parents who offer nothing to society. They don't have to be black, you said that. And p.s. I'm not afraid of them at all. Except they might leave teeth marks on my fist when I break their face
Donald Spera No doubt the owners were trying to get a paycheck out of it. Coincidentally, if I remember right, the year before there was a fire in approximately the same place but was contained. When one does not succeed try again
I was from Vienna and we lived to go to Idora Park!! I have a record that I recorded in one of those recording booths made at age 7. I always looked forward to Battle of the Bands or any 60s band that played there. The Wildcat, Jack Rabbit, Carousal, Fun House, the Rockets.... just to name afew rides.... The Rapids or Tunnel of Love.....
So did I! I threw him my love beads with my name address and phone number when he entered the back door. But saw him inside too! I was in the center back and had to stand on my chair because everyone in front of me stood on their chairs. Lol
Roller coasters weren't really tied by laws originally, so it was common to have accidents. Most deaths have been lost to time sadly, considering most coasters from that era are long gone. Only around 5 coasters from 1915 still stand today.
You can still look up a newspaper article about it. It was opening weekend and a train valleyed on dip the dips. Another train came from behind and hit it.
Im to young to have ever been to idora park while in operation. But I love history of the mahoning valley/ Youngstown and after I read “The ride of summer” And then watched this, I cried at the end. Our area has a lot of positives and negatives but this is up there with the worst.
It's sad that a beloved Ohio landmark was allowed to wither away and die so quickly. And it's shameful that no one with deep pockets in the area didn't step up and attempt save it. Barely 1/4 of the Wildcat was lost; that could've been repaired quite easily ... and the investment returned. If such a thing happened today, you can bet people who cared would band together and raise the funds to rebuild. Idora was a survivor when Euclid Beach, Chippewa Lake, Meyer's Lake, Cascade, West View and so many other area parks died. Like Kennywood, it should still be here. I miss the Wildcat and Jack Rabbit as well as so many other things that were unique to Idora.
all these parks closed way before my time. Although I live in Chicago I think Ohio parks are really interesting especially since one of the greatest amusement parks is there:P I wonder which park was better though Idora or Euclid Beach?
The was a kid from New Springfield that bought the Jack Rabbit plans and built a scale model that was fully working. Can remember when and where I saw it but it was phenomenal.
Someone re-created this park in planet coaster. I downloaded it a while ago thinking it was just a random park someone made in tge game and im just now learning this was a real park.
I grew up near amusement park in Haslett Michigan it was called lake Lansing amusement park and by 1971 it was over they sold the carousel to cedar point for a million dollars and they stopped running the roller coaster in 1971 also because it was in bad shape by 1973 the park was closed this amusement had every ride you could imagine it ran for 40 years and then it stopped.... End of a area.... Google lake Lansing amusement Park and you can see what we had for 40 years
Anybody got some pics of the Lost River? Rare pics! I've been on many websites and even ordered the books from the Idora Park experience! I just wanna see it by the Wildcat!
I remember being 13 yrs. old and watching the fire on the news --- my Mom started crying and I asked her why she was so sad --- she said "me and your Dad fell in love as teens at Idora Park one summer"
I left Youngstown in 1998. These videos bring back great memories of growing up. Youngstown was a great town to grow up in.
EXCELLENT! I lived in Cleveland and “mourned the loss” of Euclid Beach Park. My Mom always called it “The Beach.” And I remember the shock when Geauga Lake closed so suddenly. But I was one of those “American Coaster Enthusiasts” that came to Idora Park to ride “The Wildcat” and “Jack Rabbit.” I went with a friend and we thought “The Wildcat” was the best coaster in Ohio. This video is an awesome memory.
I grew up a couple miles from Idora. This brings back memories of the best years of my life. 😢
In 1979 I was 31 and I took my 5 year old son with me on the wildcat...what a memory he never forgot and neither have I
There is something that is extremely sad about abandoned amusement parks....a place that created such a positive feeling to people is left to rot. Sad indeed.
Totally!
I road those coasters with my mom and we loved it. She died 20 years ago and I cherish those memories. Sadly, it's not even noticeable anymore. It's just gone.
I often jog past the remaining ruins on my morning jog. It brings back memories of going there with the parents on the early 80s everytime. I’m glad Youngstown is making somewhat of a revival. The future is bright for this area in my opinion.
I miss this place so much.
So many memories there.
Youngstown used to be so beautiful
I cried like a baby when this happened to the "Wildcat" while watching it burn on the news!!! What a horrible year 1984. I was 13.😔
Went there many times in my early years. Most memory of it is gone, but this video definitely sparked some long buried experiences. I recall ice cream cones that were enormous and those sucker trash cans with circus animals on them. I feel privileged to have ridden on two of the most amazing wooden coasters in the world, the Wild Cat and the Beast at King's Island. They don't make them like that anymore.
Every time I think of Idora, I think of those sucker garbage cans. Funny how something so simple sticks with you.
Beautiful place and memories to match!
Never have seen garage cans like that anywhere else. It made you want to put your garage in to hear the pig oink!
I remember riding the Wildcat many times over the years and had the chance to ride the Shooting Star at Coney Island in Cincinnati the night that park closed its doors for the very last time. It was one of the few coasters that came close to giving a ride similar to the Wildcat. Was at opening day the following spring For King's Island and road all the new coasters there but I don't think even the Beast compares to the Wildcat and Shooting Star from days of old!
Damn, I'm gettin old. Thanks for the good memories. My favorite was the lost river ride and the wild cat.
I will always remember the musty, damp smell when u entered the cave on the lost river! So many summers of wonderful memories, playing skee ball for hours on end!
Many beautiful memories for sure. Is very sad it's all gone. Just like the era we grew up in! Time goes SO fast!
I remember that Wildcat. At one time it ranked Top 10 in US.
I rode on that thing and boy was it a crazy ride. It was kinda old and rickety and by the time I got off, my legs were wobbly as heck.
@@mariamarinucci2251 I have tried to contact several people. I grew up around Idora. My Dad's name was Hal Wilson and he owned the Auto Skooter which was the bumper cars. I have tried so many times to reach out to someone that would listen to me. Gabe was the Park Supt at one time I remember.
Tony Cavalier, Max Rindin and Pat Duffy owned Idora. I wish I could connect with someone. I'm 73 now but I hope this finds you doing great!! My email is hwilson89@comcast.net
I live about an hour from this park, & had been there several times as a kid..our church youth-group and our Girl Scout troop. When Idora Park closed down, we started going to Geauga Lake. Anyways, I am 45 now, and watching this video about Idora Park.....I can still remember almost every ride and the attractions. Miss those days !!
Some might remember the huge crowds on WHOT Days in the 60s. All rides were free, live broadcasts by Boots Bell and others, great local bands all day in the ballroom and fireworks at night all paid for as a promotion by and for WHOT. It was a madhouse and a wonderful day. I’m pretty sure they did it more than once, but it was a long time ago.
Yes!!!! Remember that well!!!
WHOT 1330..... (Singing)
Yes indeedy doody daddy!Boots Bell.
This video is so well done. Thank you for doing it. It brought tears to my eyes, and the only thing I have seen is what's left of it now...a few foundations and steps, and obvious former midways of times gone by.
Nick Shank thanks
Yes, very well done!
I remember seeing James Brown at the ballroom when I was 15 yrs old. And it only cost five dollars and I got to shake his hand.
Great memories as a child at Idora Park!!
I was born a year after Idora Park closed, and I'm not even from Ohio, but I love watching stuff like this.
I grew up south of Nashville, TN, and we had Opryland as our theme park. Everybody hates that they turned it into a damned mall.
Im a 90s kid. Grew up in the Youngstown area. Still live here. Love it here. Its my one true home. But never knew idora park existed until a few years ago. I cryied when i saw this for the first time. I never knew it was so happy and prosperous here. I only knew plight. It makes me happy that i can ask an old timer from here "how was idora" "how good did those idora fries or candy floss taste. I will always hold idora close to my heart.
Once upon a time it was a big deal to catch the train and spend the day shopping in downtown Y-town.
Good god the first three minutes are depressing. But really, it’s almost a microcosm of the hopelessness of Youngstown in general. While we watch other rust belt cities like Buffalo, Cleveland, or Toledo each experience a renaissance of their own, Youngstown continues to decay. It will never come back.
Soon, the city will lay dormant, without any residents.
@Gordy Skymop Columbus is obviously the place to be in Ohio but I wouldn’t call it rust belt. Traditionally the economy there is service based as opposed to manufacturing, and it was never destitute like the other three cities I mentioned.
Of course you mentioned Mill Creek, that is the one thing that’s legitimately nice. YNDC has done nothing of value.
My Junior/Senior Trip went to Idora Park (Class of 1982) and I still have black and white photos of my parents (who were just dating at the time) taken while teenagers at this park. Idora Park....then Geauga Lake. Both closed now. So much for revisiting childhood places. (Glad Sea World closed though....hate that whole theme of cruelty to animals). Hard to believe that the carousel is now in NYC. Weird. My mom rode it....and years later...so did I.
Sea World was not about cruelty to animals. You don't know what you're jabbering about. 👎🏾
This was my dads union picnic every year..I was little so I mostly remember kiddie land.. and the kiddie coaster scared me but I still rode it. But the #1 thing I remember are those animal trash cans that sucked the trash in their mouth.
The carousel has been restored has been restored and is now displayed in a glass box in Brooklyn park....so what was a beloved memory for so many children of steelworkers is now a Instagram backdrop for nebby snooty Brooklyn gentrifying hipsters ..it is a beautiful carousel though...you would think Disney would have bought it cause it makes Magic kingdom Royal carousel look like a Chuck E. CHEESE ride.
I remember going to Idora Park as a Young girl and my Teenage years!! Best Fresh cur French Fries Ever!! This is a Place that I will Always have Awesome Memories!!😁
3/10/17: Thank you so much for posting this video; Yes, it did bring tears to my eyes and Ohhhhhhh, the memories. God Bless.
Thank you for the many memories of Idora Park.
One of the most well produced and narrative Amusement Park Documentaries Izvestia ever seen, this coming from the guy who helped stating the Dark Ride And Fun Hoiuse Historical Groups! Bravo Guys! Well done!~ Bret “Pretzel Rides”.
We were there in the 70s . This was a great place in my childhood. We lived right there on park ave.
Lived on Sherwood for a spell!
THOSE WERE THE GOOD OLD DAYS 😢
Thanks for sharing the memories. So much fun.
So many family memories! From Massillon to Youngstown! I love and thank my favorite aunt and uncle, who would bring me here to idora park!
I just watched your movie on Idora park and was so saddened by the photos. My parents took us there and we enjoyed a lot of the rides and concessions, my aunt lived across the street from idora,so we were there pretty often,and we loved it. I can remember the sounds of the roller coaster as we would walk into the park. Also in later years we had the Trio Bell Conto band played there and miss Greece was our high light of the dance,Miss Corinna zopai (this is not right spelling). It was a beautiful event. Many,many fun times there. Thanks for the beautiful film and memories. I do want to purchase the books. Thanks again.
THE NAPE1962 CHANNEL GIVES THIS VIDEO TWO THUMBS UP EXCELLENT PRESENTATION . WELL DONE JOSEPH NAPIER SR YOUNGSTOWN OHIO
I got to ride everything there Love it
Lee Little from Ellsworth?
I have fond memories of this when I was a young child.
So many memories watching this, both happy and sad.
My dad used to take my brother n sisters n me to Idora Park back in the early 60s.....we were from Alliance......we also went to Meijers Lake........shop picnics etc.
i want some idora park french fries
yea
Greasy fries in a tapered ice cream cone type cup- heaven on earth
I liked the candy apples ...yum!!
They were fabulous fries, add some vinegar, yum!!!
@@marieboyle6183, Yum!!
I spent many hours in this park. Riding the coasters, fishing for goldish, spending pennies in the arcade, eating French fries and dancing to all the big bands...What wonderful and very nostalgic memories. We all loved it.
I really miss that I grew up with that almost in my back yard
This video damn near brings tears to my brown eyes...this amusement park was legendary..I remember going here alot after church on Sundays..Youngstown has to be the unluckiest place in the world..First we had to endure Black Monday...the day back in 1977 that saw most of the steel mills start to close here...then this happened a few years later....a fire that destroyed our beloved Idora Park..I still have my own beliefs as to what really happened and why it happened but I'm going to keep it to myself...
In 1984, my Austintown Middle School 8th grade class had its class picnic at Idora Park. I remember that I rode the Back Rabbit several times. What a fun park and such good times.
Times, many, many times spent at Idora park were the highlights of my childhood! I wish I had a dollar for every time I rode the Wildcat sandwiched between my two older brothers, our heads rattling together on the jerky turns. I’ve loved roller coasters my entire adult life because of Idora and the Wildcat. I haven’t forgotten the other rides and especially not those best in the world French fries with malt vinegar!How lucky were we Youngstown area children to grow up with such an amazing amusement park like this and right on the outskirts of the absolutely beautiful Mill Creek Park. Wonderful memories!!! ❤❤❤
I was in Youngstown Ohio in August it has Changed at lot never forgot my roots Jeff Boswell
I just discovered this video. It is very well done. I grew up in Strurhers and Boardman, and my family went to Idora Park every summer. This video brought back wonderful memories. I loved the Jack Rabbit. They had the best cadied apples. They also made pulled taffee. The carousel was awesome. It really saddened when the fire did away with the park. All those years gone.
I remember towards the end when they ran the Jack Rabbut backwards. The Back Wabbit.
Omg do I miss this place.
Youngstown used to be a great place.
The rides. Ballroom. Spring thing.
And look at it now.
Nothing but weeds.
Even the smell of the mills.
Smell of money. Maybe not healthy but still.
Sad sad
Same with chippewa
I agree.
Maria Marinucci
I moved in 2000. And go back to visit family. It’s heartbreaking to me when I go back and remember what it used to be verse now.
Times have sure changed
Dad worked at the mills forever.
Then Black Friday.
Idora park. I remember sitting at the mill watching the smoke as it went up.
I will admit I miss mill creek park.
I lived off of Bearsden road and that was one place I’d always go to as a kid.
Oh the times
I'm from the southside of Youngstown Ohio... But I was born the year Idora burned down (apparently from the stories I was told) I can't even imagine anything in Youngstown being so amazing and it's sad I was born in 1984 so I'm not completely out of the old school genre💯💯😍😍😍😍
I Adore A Park , rest in peace, thanks for the good times
Many hours of fun in my younger years.
When we were kids we would ride our bikes down to Idora park for the day. We spent most of our summers down at the park. I remember being in 6th grade at Kirkmere Elementary at recess and seeing all the black smoke in the sky and hearing all the firetrucks as they rushed to the park because the Wild Cat was on fire. So many great childhood memories from Idora Park.
It breaks my heart to see Dead Idora Park! Love it always!!😥
As a little boy from New Castle Pa, Idora Park was a wonderland of fun and happiness. Back the even New Castle had amusement park it was called Cascade Park and it was a great place also but it wasn't as big as much fun as Idora Park. Now neither city has a amusement park and that a tragic for the entire region. Isaly ice cream and the parks were the best.
You did a nice job in this production. 'm proud of you folks.
This park was really fun for us kids
My dad told us that the owner hired someone to burn down the wildcat for insurance purposes. He was going into financial ruin from the park and he had no buyers. It was a local rumor in our area till this day. The accidental welding torch incident was not such an accident. The park was still open for the smaller rides though and I remember having so much fun there.
The best French fries, dun wl cakes and corn dogs!!!
There's not much sadder than a derelict amusement park. My bbf's parents took us there a couple times when they had their company picnic there. Back in the late 70's. :(
if i had the money i would rebuild this :,C
That’s impossible. The neighborhood around it and the city itself wouldn’t allow it.
This was very sad my dad my aunt and uncle used to went here when they were kids back then.
great video... Unfortunately born in 1982 I did not get to experience Idora in its hayday but I was one of the kids that enjoyed to go into the park(though illegal) and walk through the remains... used to go into the ballroom and sit with friends writing and making music (the old piano; though broken, did actually work; somewhat)... my one friend did a school project of the place and unfortunately lost all his negatives that he took... those were good times and was insanely outraged when someone set fire to the ballroom; leading up to what is now just an empty lot
It's alright Ryan, you at least got to grow up with black mob violence against whites. That's what I call Culturally Enriched!
@@1neAdam12 If you are scared Get the FUCK out of the Yo. Don't ever come back. Racist bitch. 🤛🏾👊🏾🖕🏾
Shit got me tearing up. How sad.
I did go the final year it was open, and it was a very sad sight. In the video, you see happy kids playing. When I went, it was ghetto thug groups of teens pushing their way around. The demise of the steel mill turned the neighborhood into slums over the next 2 decades, and that was the final chapter of clientele at Idora Park. The property is now owned by a nearby church that hasn't done anything with it except let everything rot.
Such a sad, yet typical end to things that were once beautiful in Youngstown.
"Ghetto thug groups of teens" also known as young black children who scare me shitless. I bet you turned back and went to your car right then with your scary ass.
No, she means young punks that have no respect for anything because they have shitty, absent crackhead parents who offer nothing to society. They don't have to be black, you said that. And p.s. I'm not afraid of them at all. Except they might leave teeth marks on my fist when I break their face
@@laurenchristianna2092 triggered.
How sad. Makes you wonder though if the fire was arson
Donald Spera No doubt the owners were trying to get a paycheck out of it. Coincidentally, if I remember right, the year before there was a fire in approximately the same place but was contained. When one does not succeed try again
Beautiful ❤️
Such wonderful memories!
I was from Vienna and we lived to go to Idora Park!! I have a record that I recorded in one of those recording booths made at age 7. I always looked forward to Battle of the Bands or any 60s band that played there. The Wildcat, Jack Rabbit, Carousal, Fun House, the Rockets.... just to name afew rides.... The Rapids or Tunnel of Love.....
Well done. And yes, I had a tear while watching. Such a shame.
I was there to see Bobbie Sherman concert
So did I! I threw him my love beads with my name address and phone number when he entered the back door. But saw him inside too! I was in the center back and had to stand on my chair because everyone in front of me stood on their chairs. Lol
My Uncle died on a roller coaster here back in 1915, Daniel Denehy
Roller coasters weren't really tied by laws originally, so it was common to have accidents. Most deaths have been lost to time sadly, considering most coasters from that era are long gone. Only around 5 coasters from 1915 still stand today.
My Dad was in one and wheel came off right @ top before it went down he got out ..But not sure about others,Dad told that a long long time ago.
You can still look up a newspaper article about it. It was opening weekend and a train valleyed on dip the dips. Another train came from behind and hit it.
Closed due to a fire that did some damage to the park in 1984. Could you imagine where the park would be now if the fire never happened?
Im to young to have ever been to idora park while in operation. But I love history of the mahoning valley/ Youngstown and after I read “The ride of summer”
And then watched this, I cried at the end. Our area has a lot of positives and negatives but this is up there with the worst.
I remember idora park Jeffrey Boswell 64 lives in Houston in born in Youngstown Ohio
Richard Morris 65 lives in Tampa,born in Youngstown..
Jeffrey Boswell can I please know where is this place and who the owner of this IDORA PARK, this probably has something to do about my family
What memories.
It's sad that a beloved Ohio landmark was allowed to wither away and die so quickly. And it's shameful that no one with deep pockets in the area didn't step up and attempt save it. Barely 1/4 of the Wildcat was lost; that could've been repaired quite easily ... and the investment returned. If such a thing happened today, you can bet people who cared would band together and raise the funds to rebuild. Idora was a survivor when Euclid Beach, Chippewa Lake, Meyer's Lake, Cascade, West View and so many other area parks died. Like Kennywood, it should still be here. I miss the Wildcat and Jack Rabbit as well as so many other things that were unique to Idora.
The neighborhood going bad killed any thoughts of someone buying the park and rehabilitating it. You don't try and cut a diamond out of a crap hole.
Eddie debartolo should have bought it, but there was no money in the area to support it.
The wildcat was top ten in the us in the 80s right before it closed
I never road the wild cat! I was gonna go with my older cousin and my grandmother said I was too little🥲
all these parks closed way before my time. Although I live in Chicago I think Ohio parks are really interesting especially since one of the greatest amusement parks is there:P I wonder which park was better though Idora or Euclid Beach?
Thats a close one....but id say idora....but im from Youngstown..so im bias. Lol
At least the Euclid Beach Comet still lives on at great escape. The Wildcat never had a chance.
@@societyofamusementparkhistory Nah you're thinking of the Crystal Beach Comet
Neither park could survive any longer due to competition from cedar point and kings island.
They should have sold pieces of the Wildcat and Jack Rabbit when they were demolished.
That would have been WONDERFUL!!!
Wild Cat burned to the ground. I remember cruising through mill creek park and saw it on fire. I couldn’t believe it. Park was closed at that time.
The was a kid from New Springfield that bought the Jack Rabbit plans and built a scale model that was fully working. Can remember when and where I saw it but it was phenomenal.
The Wildcat.
Yep only the memories remain now with a few traces of blacktop.
PTC Carousel spotted.
Its still a beautiful place. You can almost see its potential...that is if that stupid church would just sell it to jim amey or mill creek
We went there as kids
I'm from Sebring Ohio went to that Park quite a few times as a kid would like to hear more about Sebring Ohio in alliance Ohio
Someone re-created this park in planet coaster. I downloaded it a while ago thinking it was just a random park someone made in tge game and im just now learning this was a real park.
I don't know if Idora park would add a Looping Star model to the park.
Wouldn't survive past the recession though.
It's always sad to drive through mill creek Park and see the wildcat rotting away!
Grew up on Neosho Dr went here and stopped by the empire club
Anyone remember Pat Duffy? ( one time owner)
I remember this when I was about 8-9
I grew up near amusement park in Haslett Michigan it was called lake Lansing amusement park and by 1971 it was over they sold the carousel to cedar point for a million dollars and they stopped running the roller coaster in 1971 also because it was in bad shape by 1973 the park was closed this amusement had every ride you could imagine it ran for 40 years and then it stopped.... End of a area.... Google lake Lansing amusement Park and you can see what we had for 40 years
It is soooooo very sad
Same demise happened to Seaworld & Geauga Lake park Sad to see they werent cared for
The Jackrabbit
I almost feel like I died & came back to look @ a nightmare!
I loved Idora Park but good riddance to Youngstown, a lost city.
WHOT Thomas John and "hot" days. Awesome 70's rock&roll. Making out with a hot chick up on the hill, man, those were the days.
I live ten minutes away from there
Anybody got some pics of the Lost River? Rare pics! I've been on many websites and even ordered the books from the Idora Park experience! I just wanna see it by the Wildcat!