Friday, May 03, 2019
How A Picnic Spot Became A Pittsburgh Tradition: Kennywood's History
90.5 WESA: Kennywood Park is a staple for many Pittsburghers. The amusement park isn’t the largest and doesn’t have the fastest rides, but visitors return each season for a taste of nostalgia and the classic, rickety wooden roller coasters.
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4 comments:
It just dawned on me that I’ve been in Pittsburgh for 4 years, I’m moving away in about a month, and I’ve never been to Kennywood. It is interesting to hear about how this place came to be, I’m very surprised by how long it has been around. I never would’ve expected that there were lots of little amusement parks that disappeared as part of Kennywood coming into being. Honestly, my big takeaway from this is that I really should’ve gone to Kennywood by now. I’ve commented on a lot of articles saying that I’d like to see a show or go to a place, particularly articles about things in the Pittsburgh area, and I’ve commented on Kennywood articles before and haven’t suddenly felt the need to go, but something about this story makes me feel like I really need to see Kennywood before I leave Pittsburgh. Time will tell if I manage to follow through on that.
It’s so interesting to read about Kennywood’s history because I grew up going to Universal/Disney which are very well-established theme parks that many people know a lot about— Kennywood on the other hand—not so much. I thought I knew a bit about Kennywood before reading this article but after reading it found out that everything, I thought I knew was just pretty much nothing. Basically, I thought that Kennywood was like this thing in my town called “Fright Nights” which is essentially only open during October and it’s a bunch of haunted houses and some carnival rides. I thought this was the case because I had only heard about Kennywood during this past October when all of the seniors were going in groups (for I think what were haunted houses but obviously other things as well). I did not realize Kennywood had such a rich history behind it or that it had so many attractions open at so many times of year
Personally I have never been to Kennywood, Although sometime in the next three years I hope to go. I thought the comment about the stange college gear was wacky and also fun. So many amusement parks these days have cheaply built stuffed animals filled with styrofoam, not only is this bad for families with dogs, who have a risk of getting their pet sick, it’s also terrible for the environment, especially considering these poor made stuffed animals are often the first ones in the give away pile come cleaning. I liked this parks solution to give out college gear, not only is it fun for people to have various school gear, it provides something semi useful, rather than a desk ornament. Additionally, the fact that the actual school is a total grab bag just makes it more fun. I have grown up near Canobie Lake Park which was always a tradition to go to on the last day of school. Parents would organise group tickets for everyone to lower the cost and we alwayS had a fun time. Kennywood it seems is a similar place rooted in family and tradition.
Kennywood is one of those attractions that are so uniquely Pittsburgh that you really just have to visit it to see it. This article, and many others about Kennywood, always point out that the park does not have the tallest and fastest roller coasters, but yet people still visit the park all the time. The thing that draws people to Kennywood is the culture of that park and the evolution that it has gone through. I did not know that the park was initially a picnic spot for a wealthy coal family, although this phenomenon appears more often than one would think in Pittsburgh, Falling Water for example. I was really upset that I did not get a chance to go to Kennywood this year because it really is near impossible to not have a good time at the park. Overall, I love getting to read about the history of this weird little amusement park and I really need to try and make it a priority to go next year before they close for the season.
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