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Willow Grove Park. Philadelphia's Fairyland: Season 1908 LEIGH MITCHELL HODGES

Willow Grove Park. Philadelphia's Fairyland: Season 1908

LEIGH MITCHELL HODGES

Other works by LEIGH MITCHELL HODGES

Publication: Privately printed, 1908, N P

First edition. 5" x 8" oblong pictorial wrappers printed in green and black, n. p. (48 pp.), illustrated throughout with full-page views from photographs, portraits, double column. Views include: Opening Day - Concert by Sousa's Band; Music Pavilion; $100,000 Electric Fountain by Night; Casino; Candyland; Photograph Building; Picnic Grove; Grand Army Day; Panoramic View around the Lake [centerfold]; Guards; Venice Building; Plaza of the Women's Building; Women's Building; Captive Flying Machine; Mountain Scenic Railway; Lakeside Cafe; Mirror-Maze; Night Scene on Midway; Coal Mine and Breaker; New Terminal and Tunnel; Boat-House; &c. The Philadelphia Transit Company (PTC) built Willow Grove Park in 1896 as a way of encouraging folks to ride the trolley from Philadelphia to the end of the line on weekends. Victorian-era amusements included: the orchestras of Arthur Pryor, Victor Herbert, John Philip Sousa and others; a casino; a lake with lighted fountain; athletic fields; ferris wheel; boating on the lake; mountain scenic railway (a roller-coaster venue built of wood and canvas, later called The Alps); soda fountain; candyland; mirror-maze; picnics; women's building; two carousels; springs; orange-juice booth; Willowgraph Theater; photograph building; captive flying machine; electric launch; lakeside cafe; coal mine and breaker; etc. Visitors in the photos are seen wearing floor-length skirts, straw skimmers, and walking sticks. By the early 1950s, Willow Grove was a favorite destination for teenagers eager to hear a new band called Bill Haley and the Comets. "Life is a lark at Willow Grove Park." Covers a bit used but overall a very good copy. [WorldCat finds four holdings of this title.]

Inventory Number: 42050

$135.00