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Luna Park, Alexandria

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Coordinates: 38°50′40″N 77°03′20″W / 38.84444°N 77.05556°W / 38.84444; -77.05556
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For other amusement parks known by the same name, see Luna Park.

Luna Park (also known as Luna Park Arlington, Luna Park Washington, and Luna Park Washington D.C.) was an amusement park in Arlington, Virginia, USA, from 1906 to 1915.[1] A trolley park that was constructed (for $350,000[2]) and owned by Frederick Ingersoll, the park occupied 34 acres (140,000 m2) near the intersection of South Glebe Road and Jefferson Davis Highway (U. S. Route 1) and featured a figure eight roller coaster, a shoot-the-chutes ride, a ballroom, circus arena, restaurants, and picnicking facilities for 3000 people.[2] Exhibits were housed in buildings displaying different architecture styles (Japanese, Moorish, Gothic).[2]

The Arlington Luna Park was one of several that Ingersoll built and ran in 1905 and 1906 (including Indianola Park in Columbus, Ohio, Rocky Glen Park near Moosic, Pennsylvania, and Luna Parks in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Scranton, and Mexico City). Although Ingersoll's amusement park empire was drastically reduced as a result of his declaration of bankruptcy in 1908, he retained ownership of the Arlington park.

On April 15, 1915, a fire destroyed the Arlington park's signature roller coaster. According to the Washington Post, "the origin of the fire is thought to have been from sparks from a blaze in the woods adjoining the park" (the nearest fire hydrant was in Alexandria, Virginia, miles away).[3] The damage was extensive, and the park's precarious finances forced the park to go out of business. The structures in the park were mostly dismantled later in the year, though traces of the park were evident until as late as 1988. The site is currently occupied by the Arlington county sewage treatment facility.


References

  1. ^ "Vintage Amusement and Theme Parks". NorVApics.
  2. ^ a b c "A Pictorial History of Arlington - Area H Neighborhoods". Arlington County Website. Archived from the original on April 1, 2010.
  3. ^ "Luna Park-1915". Arlington Fire Journal. June 24, 2009.

38°50′40″N 77°03′20″W / 38.84444°N 77.05556°W / 38.84444; -77.05556


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