| INCREDIBLE DETAIL! CLICK PICTURE TWICE FOR FULL EFFECT |
| SHOOT THE CHUTES ROCK SPRINGS PARK CHESTER, WEST VIRGINIA July 28, 1906 |
| Less than an hour from Pittsburgh, Rock Springs Park is a defunct amusement park once located in Chester, West Virginia, Hancock County. The park officially began operation in 1897, and closed in 1970 after the death of its final owner, Robert Hand During the early twentieth century there were more than fifty amusement parks in southwestern Pennsylvania, many of which were located near Pittsburgh. The region became a hub for innovation in amusement park rides and attractions. George Washington Gales Ferris, the father of the Ferris wheel, was a Pittsburgh engineer prior to his invention in Chicago. T.M. Harton, the founder of West View Park, an amusement park formerly found in Pittsburgh's West View suburb, was a pioneer in the field of amusement park rides. His company was a leader in assembly line production of amusement park rides. In addition to West View, Neville Island boasted its own version of Coney Island; there were also parks in Homestead, Monroeville, Moon Township, Wilkinsburg, and Oakland. Many of these attractions did not last past the 1910s. Kennywood and Idlewild Park are the two longest surviving amusement parks in the Pittsburgh region. |
