Wed 5/15 @ 7PM
There’s something magical about those old-time amusement parks, where admission was free, you paid by the ride, and young lovers could hang out, share cotton candy and dance in a starlit ballroom; where teens flocked to hear the latest top 40 sensations perform live; and where families could share picnics under the trees and no one waited in a two-hour line to get on the latest stomach-churning coaster.
That’s why there’s so much nostalgia for Euclid Beach Park, the last of Cleveland’s old-school amusement parks, which closed 50 years ago, as the onslaught of the large corporate parks such as Cedar Point was taking hold. Even those not old enough to have gone there can wistfully wallow in “Euclid Beach Memories,” the next program in the Music Box Supper Club’s Cleveland Stories series.
Euclid Beach historians John Frato & Dudley Humphrey will reflect on the park and its history. Frato is the current president of the nonprofit Euclid Beach Park Now, dedicated to preserving the park’s history, training and volunteer coordinator for the Euclid Beach Park Carousel at the Cleveland History Center, and devoted a collector of Euclid Beach memorabilia. Humphrey is a member of the Humphrey family which owned Euclid Beach Park from 1901 until its closure; he lived at the park until the age of 16.
The event is free; you can also order a three-course $20 dinner which reflects the evening’s theme: popcorn bisque, roast coaster and lemon sorbet (If you want the classic Euclid Beach taffy or popcorn, you’ll have to go to a local grocery, where those treats are still available). Doors open at 5pm.
musicboxcle/john-frato-dudley-humphrey/
Cleveland, OH 44113